Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A COMPREHENSIVE INVASION ACCOUNT, 16 Feb 1999
By A Customer
This is one of those books that rates five stars for comprehensiveness of military history and battle analysis; it's probably a three for light readers. Overall, the account is very interesting and clearly written, with much detail about the scenario as well as the Marine and Navy personnel involved. The author brings the reader to the reef and the lagoon where the landing Marines are being shot one after another in a seemingly fruitless attempt to take this tiny little island. The account is well illustrated with easy to read maps. This is important because the island being invaded, Betio, is only one island in the Tarawa lagoon. If the reader is looking for a professional, well-researched account of this invasion, this is probably the one.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Fighting Account of a Terrible Battle, 21 April 1999
By A Customer
This is an excellent book of the fighting at Tarawa in WW2. The author has done a great job in presenting the story, it was so well told that I found it hard to put the book down. Ever since I was a kid I have had a fascination for the USMC and after reading this book I remember why. What guts! The author also presents the Japanese defenders as humans, rarely done in many books about combat in the Pacific during the war. The author has researched his story well and has used numerous maps and a number of sobering B&W photos to assist his narrative. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story, well done to the author!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A military analysis, not a war story., 26 Oct 1997
By A Customer
While the book gives a thorough description of the battle, it is more a military analysis than a war story. The author discusses many military aspects of the campaign, including background on the decision to attack the Gilberts and the planning of Operation Galvanic, the problems preparing for the attack, the nightmarish experience of the Marines in the landing, the post-battle recognition of the Betio assault as a watershed between Gallipoli and Normandy in the history of amphibious warfare, and much more. Many of the complexities of this type of assault were encountered for the first time at Betio, emerging as critical failures at great cost of life, such as proper equipment for crossing the shallow reef of an atoll while under fire, the consequences of inadequate communications and the failure of the pre-landing artillery barrage to suppress the defense, all of which are discussed in detail. Many of these problems were solved as the battle progressed, and the author describes how new assault tactics were developed by units in the field. The portion of the book which chronicles the assault itself was painstakingly researched and documented, and though it includes accounts of individual actions and heroism, there is very little first-person narrative other than comments used as corroboraton for some conclusion by the author. Nontheless, the "utmost savagery" and horror of close combat to the death by thousands of highly trained, heavily armed men on this small, flat island is clearly communicated. I appreciated the inclusion of the Japanese side of the story; the explanation of their overall situation at this point in the war, their defensive strategy and preparations for the assault, unrealized plans for a counterattack against the American fleet, and accounts from the few Japanese survivors are very illuminating and add important context to the story. Although I can't say I "enjoyed" the book in the usual sense - does one "enjoy" a textbook? - I have gained a larger understanding and appreciation of the battle that will be most useful as I go on to read other, more personal accounts.
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