Review
"A graphic and brutally compelling history of the battle from a front-line perspective". -- Flint Journal (Mich.)
Synopsis
Revealing and dramatic reconstruction of the terrible, four month conflict that preceded the Japanese surrender in WWII - A thoughtful analysis of one of the century's most decisive battles - Graphic eyewitness accounts Just eight weeks before the surrender of the Japanese on V-J Day, Operation Iceberg, as it was known, saw the fiercest attack of kamikazes in the entire Pacific Theatre of War. The U. S. fleet suffered severe losses: 34 ships sunk, 368 damaged, 5,000 sailors killed and 5,000 more wounded. Before the Japanese, with a garrison of 100,000, finally surrendered, 7,700 American soldiers were killed and 31,800 were wounded. Gerard Astor draws on the raw experience of marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen under fire, from generals and admirals to correspondents, line officers and enlisted men on both sides of the battle lines. Their accounts are dramatic and graphic, brutal and awe-inspiring. Based on these first-hand accounts, and presenting a view of the battle that places it in the greater context of the entire Pacific theatre, Operation Iceberg is a remarkable account of the last great battle of World War II.
