1941-1942 - Pacific Crucible - War at Sea in the Pacific

A well written history that covers those early months of WWII in the Pacific. The author captures the uncertainty and confusion immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor through the US Navy's recovery with its victory at Midway. I also appreciated the insight given to key leaders on both sides.

Mr. Toll writes well. His descriptions of the actions are vivid, and his profiles of the admirals and leaders are excellent. Together with Double Cross by Ben Macintyre we have a clear view of the enormous importance of the intelligence operations including code-breaking for the Allied victories in Europe and in the Pacific. I want to read more about the rivalries between the code-breakers in Washington and Honolulu, and I hope that Mr. Toll is at work on a volume to pick up after the Battle of Midway.

I just want to echo the sentiments of other reviewers. This is a great book for those unfamiliar with the war in the pacific and those who already know about it. I have been reading books about the Second World War for over thirty years, and I know much about the Pacific War. This book adds new insight, especially with regards to the historical, political, economic, and social issues in Japan that led to the invasion of China and eventually the attack on Pearl Harbor. As others have mentioned, the Battle of Coral Sea gets its proper attention.
Toll is a great writer who knows how to pull in readers through his writing style as well as his perspective of the larger picture combined with the smaller picture and with personal stories added to complete the mix.
Great book! If the Pacific War interests you, grab this book now!

Pacific Crucible is the riveting story of the US Navy in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor until the first turning of the tide at Midway. Toll brings the period to life, even though he is covering much-trod ground. He conveys how much the US had to learn and how painful some of these early lessons in the Pacific were.

The Second World War must have been the most horrific and most
important event of the second millennium. It has been the subject of
numerous books, mostly from the Western viewpoint. Paradoxically most
of the fighting and killing happened in Eastern Europe. Few books
published in 2011 are going to say anything much new, but it is still
well worth while to explain a major component of it to a new reading
public. The phrase `The Great Sea War', perhaps due to Admiral Nimitz,
springs to mind: out of the countless wars in recorded history the
naval component of WW2 is the only claimant to this title. There is a
great deal of water in the Pacific Ocean.

The strategic summary of what happened is that the US Navy managed to
hold back the then rather superior Japanese Navy (IJN), particularly
at the twin battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. In 1943 the major
re-armament program started in 1940 gave the USN an enormous superiority
and that was that. Toll explains the events of 1941 and 1942 with great
clarity. In particular the description of what it was like to be at
Pearl Harbor immediately after the raid of December 1941 is memorable.

One incident that should have been included was the sinking of the
Japanese submarine I-142 in January 1942 in relatively shallow water
about 80km north of Darwin, Australia. The Japanese Navy appears to
have believed that the ambush carried out by the USN at Midway in June
1942 was based on encryption materials salvaged from the sunken I-142.
In fact the wreck of the I-142 was never entered. The source of
insecurity of Japanese naval signals lies elsewhere and was not
identified by the IJN.

Having read a lot of WWII books on the Pacific War, I can say that Toll delivers a great read, one of the best in my opinion. His narrative style puts one right in the heart of the various campaigns. From Dec. 7th, 1941 to the Battle of Midway, Toll brings the events, the men, the leaders, and the tactics to life. An outstanding book.

The book was very accurate as I lived through this trying time for our country as a boy. Of course we did not know that the Navy had broken the Japanese naval code but that was a story for the post war era. I liked the personal stories about the commanders of both forces.

A good book.

When a reader picks up a book of military or naval history he/she expects a fresh, if not entirely new presentation, and this effort fills the bill. Considerable research has made this a worthwhile addition to the mass of information available 70 years after the event. It was a do-or-die time for the American fleet, indeed, for the nation, and the admirals did well. The author presents a balanced view from both the Japanese and American bridges and brains.

To really understand the beginnings of WWII from the American point of view, this is the book to read. I read a lot of book on history and this is one of the best I have read. You must take the time to read this to get the total picture of those days. I recommend this book highly.

I love it. As real as any Hollywood movie if not more so. The characters involved are described with reasonable depth; the action pulsating as if you were there; and the horror of war is poignant.

A great read all round and informative on American and Japanese culture at the time. Kindle edition is good.

I was most impressed with this book. A lot has been written about the Pearl Harbour attacks, but this gives in depth looks at other battles and the context within which they happened. It pulls together the 3 major battles, Pearl, Coral Sea and Midway.
The analysis of the major players and their backgrounds is excellent.
The only fault I found (in my view) is that some of the minor actions such as Balikpapan did not have the same depth of analysis, but in the overall scheme of the book, this is a minor quibble.

The story vividly related in this book is so astonishing and unpredictable, with the rule of half the world precariously balanced from moment to moment on the best guesses of mere men and the whimsical coincidences of implacable fate, that the reader has to continually remind oneself that this is non-fiction. Meticulously researched, skillfully written, with insightful and detailed descriptions of the men behind the military actions, this is a real page-turner -- "history" in the best sense of the word. (It would make a great movie, too!)

Well written and researched. Moves seamlessly from the leaders in Washington, DC to sailors and marines. The book does an excellent job of providing background on leaders and the politics impacting strategy. I strongly recommend this book.

This was my second copy. The first book ruined by my lack of care when I left it out in a tropical rainstorm. Written to flow like a novel, it really tells the story of how close we came to being defeated after Pearl Harbor and the major events that led to the turn around.

This is more for the casual reader than a history buff. The authors book, Six Frigates is even better. I seek out his books

I'm not an expert on naval warfare in WW2 but I've always enjoyed historical, non-fiction literature told with the flow and excitement of a novel. This requires balance since the author needs historical details that can become pedantic. This book is a great read with good balance. By the time you get to the battle of Midway you really understand the historical significance of this unbelievable naval upset. For the first time we see the impact of modern information theory and intelligence gathering on the outcome of the entire pacific war.

On every page of this extraordinary book I found myself learning something new and downright cool. Ian Toll has knocked the ball way of the park with this one. In depth research, coupled with tight writing, makes this one you cannot pass up if you're a history buff.

I'm not an expert on naval warfare in WW2 but I've always enjoyed historical, non-fiction literature told with the flow and excitement of a novel. This requires balance since the author needs historical details that can become pedantic. This book is a great read with good balance. By the time you get to the battle of Midway you really understand the historical significance of this unbelievable naval upset. For the first time we see the impact of modern information theory and intelligence gathering on the outcome of the entire pacific war.

On every page of this extraordinary book I found myself learning something new and downright cool. Ian Toll has knocked the ball way of the park with this one. In depth research, coupled with tight writing, makes this one you cannot pass up if you're a history buff.

This is a great read. The author is particularly good at explaining things from the enemy side, i.e. The military buildup in Japan in the thirties. His understanding of the culture is not found in most naval histories.

I have long been a fan of the history of WWII in the Pacific. This book took me places that I had never been. This book is an excellent choice for someone who wants to understand the roots of WWII in the Pacific.

First time I've read about early WWll. Very enlightening. The reasoning about pre-war naval strategies was a great stage-setter for what was to follow.

Would recommend to reader who know lots about Europe Campaign and little about Pacific.

A slow starting book but it picks up well with much detail of ship to ship combat and aftermath. Great macro level strategic
elaboration. Important for all those (unlike myself) who have no experience or memory of the actual events or the immediate
follow up time frames.

The first 7 months of WWII were the most important time in the history of the USA. The sleeping giant was brought to life. The parallels to todays world were scary. . It was brought to life by the author. When I finished the book I was hoping there was a sequel, the next 7 months. I could not put the book down

A well written piece of history describing the glory of the US Navy in the Pasific theatre. The film futages never capture the real events especially those behind the scenes. This book does. The book describes well the events that started not so glorious but the gift to learn from mistakes improved the situation well.

The book gives insight to both sides of the war, as well as background to many of the people who were instrumental in the cause and conduct. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of WW II.

I have a great interest in the war in the Pacific and this book is one of the best sources of information I have in my library. Every historian needs this book in his/her collection. Buy it!! This book is one reason why I do so much shopping at the store Books.

I've read a number of WW2 books on naval and land actions; this was one of the best ones I've read. I especially liked the information on the relation of our eary raids on Japan and its territories and how that helped our code breading efforts.

As a student of the naval war in the Pacific I really enjoyed the authors exhaustive research and very reasoned interpretation of events. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to know what really happened and why!

I have always been interested in WWII history. My father was on the Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. This book tells more about that and the rest of the Pacific theater than anything else I have read. It is a terrific book and it is hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the History of WWII Pacific.

A thoroughly engrossing read. The behind the headlines view of key command decisions surrounding major Pacific campaigns and battles was illuminating. Very rare where most history books are mainly concerned in recounting the actual tactical events as they happened and not how the forces came to be in their predicament in the first place...

A wll written narrative with an enjoyable read. Ian Toll does a great job of telling the history in a way that brings history on the fist half year of the pacific war to life. Not a dry history of events, It is a human story that brings the events to life.

I have always been interested in WWII history. My father was on the Oklahoma when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. This book tells more about that and the rest of the Pacific theater than anything else I have read. It is a terrific book and it is hard to put down. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the History of WWII Pacific.

A thoroughly engrossing read. The behind the headlines view of key command decisions surrounding major Pacific campaigns and battles was illuminating. Very rare where most history books are mainly concerned in recounting the actual tactical events as they happened and not how the forces came to be in their predicament in the first place...

A wll written narrative with an enjoyable read. Ian Toll does a great job of telling the history in a way that brings history on the fist half year of the pacific war to life. Not a dry history of events, It is a human story that brings the events to life.

Excellent chronicle of the U.S. Navy in the pacific. The detailed accounts of the battles and their impact on the war as a whole invoke a deep appreciation for what our sailors and naval airman accomplished to secure total victory!

OK - I'm only up to chapter 5 but for all the fans of Ian Toll's "Six Frigates" who want an early review; he's done it again.

To be honest I'm not a history buff nor fanatically interested in WWII or the Pacific Theatre (although as an Australian, I probably should be). But once again, Ian Toll's gripping writing has me keen to finish work today and get home to find out what happened to the overwhelmed lads on Wake Atoll, surrounded by Japanese and abandoned by a shell shocked naval leadership in Hawaii.

And pardon my complete ignorance, but Yamamoto went to Harvard and Nimitz spoke fluent german... It's a funny world. The portrait of Yamamoto is fascinating. He's more than a likable character.

Two books in, the author is fast creating a Toll trademark for combining enormous research and a gripping story telling ability.

I'll update this review when I've finished. I almost want to read it slowly and enjoy it for longer. You know he won't be back with his next book for few years. So five chapters in and I can't put it down. He's done it again.

Ian Toll is truly a master of his craft. This is one of the finest histories I've read about war in the Pacific Theater. I have also read his "The Conquering Tide," the second book of Mr. Toll's trilogy. I can't wait to read the conclusive story in the final edition.
Why then merely a four-star rating you ask? On the inside back dust cover of "The Crucible," Admiral Yamamoto's first name is misspelled - Isokoru i.s.o. Isoroku. Worse, this mistake is repeated in the beginning of the book's text. Call me a purist, but I find that such lack of good proofreading and editing have no place in a book of this caliber.
Perhaps I should therefore amend my rating to five stars for Mr. Toll, but four stars for the proofreader and publisher.
This, of course, should not deter anyone from purchasing and enjoying Mr. Toll's great effort.

The tale of the war in the Pacific is told in real terms with a clear understanding of events that shaped that conflict. A real eye opener about the state of readiness of the U. S. Navy in the beginning of the war.

The author did a good job at using all the available English sources to document the Pacific Campaign of WWII. Unfortunately, that approach just doesn't work anymore. Western authors have got to start using the available Japanese sources to give both sides of these events. This author did not, apparently, make the effort to use Japanese-language sources according to the bibliography.

The Senshi Sōsho, Japan's official, multi-volume war history, has been available to Western researchers and historians for at least 20 years now. Apparently, the only reason they haven't been using it generally is because of the language barrier. That is no excuse, because there are some Western historians, such as Richard B. Frank, John Lundstrom, and a few others, who haven't let that get in the way of using that source, and their books are so much the better for it.

The Senshi Sōsho, along with many other books covering the Japanese experience in the Pacific War, is kept at the War History Office at the National Defense Institute in Tokyo, Japan. The staff at that office can speak English and are more than willing to help any Western historian. All the Western historians have to do is go there and ask. Again, apart from penny-pinching, there is no excuse not too. Here's the thing, if you, as an historian, is going to spend a year or more of your life writing a book on an event from WWII, why wouldn't you take the extra effort to make it as complete as you can?

The author of this book doesn't appear to have made this effort and it shows in the lack of detail on the Japanese perspective in the depicted events. For one thing, the record of Japanese losses in airplanes, personnel, and ships will be much different, and greatly more accurate, when Japanese sources are used. I recommend that everyone interested in purchasing a Western book on the Pacific War to first check the bibliography to see if the author used the Senshi Sōsho. If they didn't, don't buy the book.

As a Navy veteran, I visited a number of these islands and area's, thus my interest in this book.
A very "detailed" and historic account of the first 6 months in World War 11, for the United States, in the pacific.

Pacific Crucible and its mate, The Conquering Tide, are very well written and researched books on the war between Japan and the U.S. in WWII. However, the titles are deceiving. The Pacific Theater was divided into the Southwest Pacific under command of General MacArther and the Southeast Pacific under Admiral Nimitz. The author completely excludes the history of The Southwest Pacific. The author makes several snide remarks about General MacArthur. The other oddity is that the second book, The Conquering Tide, ends in 1944. Given the magnitude of events in this war in 1945 I am at a loss to understand why it was excluded. Was the author tired and burned out? It was a very dissatisfying end to the second volume.

A good book, particularly about the Washington DC issues at the start of the war and of the challenges of the code breaking efforts.
The title is somewhat misleading, though, in that the book ends after the Midway action, and so contained no discussion of the rest of 1942. The battles of Santa Cruz and Guadalcanal mattered, but were not addressed.
A better title would be "...1941-June, 1942."

There's not a whole lot new here, but it's a readable, lively re-telling of the events of the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. Excellent context, strong use of resources.

Good for armchair historians or anyone who wants to understand why two nations would spend enormous fortunes to construct two huge flotillas who would meet in the middle of the ocean and try to kill each other.

It is a fortunate and powerful thing moment when a thinker trained for policy analysis finds his voice as a story-teller. That Ian Toll has lent that voice to narrating events in ‘the other war’ is a profound boon.

The persistent thread around which Toll weaves his story of the early war in the Pacific is the Alfred Thayer Bahan doctrine of concentration and battle wagons. The weaving is a subtle art in Toll’s hands, because the astonishingly brief moment between Pearl Harbor and Midway both debunked Bahan’s confidence in the battleship and proved that even Japan’s naval might was fallible when deployed without due concentration.

The author has delved deep into the minds of both Japanese and American warriors, from deck-swabbers and lowly engineers to admirals and their quirks. The result is a profoundly respectful telling, one that never allows the reader to forget that both strategy and humanity were as fully in play as it is possible to imagine.

Toll writes calmly, in fact the potency of his narrative may lie chiefly in the clear serenity of his pen. He wears his scholarship lightly, and so the reader’s attention is not distracted from the Real Thing, which in this case is the awful, unstoppable vengeance of an emerging global power whose butt had been shamefully kicked as Christmas, 1941, bore down on its complacent citizens. The world was at war, not us. Until suddenly, the war came knocking and the United States Pacific Fleet was a smoking ruins. Then we were all in, and fear flooded in where men had so recently slept.

The author tells us what is almost impossible now to conceive, except in the hands of a master teller: the deeply depressed American confusion after Pearl; the non-automatic nature of Roosevelt’s leadership; the barely drawn claws of the American isolationists; the stunningly improbable over-confidence of the post-Pearl Japanese; the can’t-shoot-straight incompetence of the American Navy in early 1942; the utter sacrifice of Wake, the Philippines, and other distant Pacific outposts as the U.S. marshaled its strength for what was possible; the unforeseeable success of a diverse pantheon of personalities and leadership styles among the American admiralty; and, above all, the stunning surprise that was the American victory at Midway.


So much of this should never have happened, could not have happened. Yet Toll’s patient prose, ever at the service of his story, shows us with nearly seventy-year-old surprise, how exactly it did happen.

An added bonus is the real insight that Toll provides into the Churchill-Roosevelt relationship and, more generally, into the prickly collaboration between a Britain wearied by war and expert in its dark arts and an America just now diving naively into its waters.

The news gets better: this is merely the first of three intended installments in Toll’s Pacific, violent story.

The opening months of the war in the Pacific have always interested me because the odds were so against the US and yet six months later we pulled off what Walter Lord described as an "Incredible Victory" in his book about the Battle of Midway. If this period of WW II interests you then get this book. I was expecting the author to cover the changing of the commanders at Pearl Harbor, the failed relief of Wake Island, the early carrier raids in 1942, Doolittle's Raid, and finally the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway. They're all there and Toll does a great job covering them. One thing that did seem to be missing in the chapters on the Battle of Coral Sea was the focus seemed mostly on the Lexington and not so much the Yorktown, but that's a minor thing.

What I wasn't expecting was the detailed information about how the Japanese government worked in the decades before WW II. Toll goes into a lot of detail about how the army basically went rogue and took the nation down the path to war in the 1930s and no one dared to oppose them. It's very similar to what I'd read in William Craig's book "The Fall of Japan" which I'd also highly recommend. I was also pleasantly surprised at the detailed information regarding the two camps in the Japanese Navy. One advocated for more and bigger battleships while Yamamoto's camp believed the carrier would rule the sea. I also liked the details about the lives of Admirals Isoroku Yamamoto, Ernest King and Chester Nimitz. I enjoyed reading this book and getting it on sale was a bonus. No matter how many books I read about the Pearl Harbor attack and the Battle of Midway I always pick up some new information I hadn't read before. This book added to my knowledge of those events.

Hard time on 3 or 4 stars here; it seemed a somewhat limited view on the Pacific War, but then it's designed as a book about the Navy in the Pacific theater, so that may be an unfair criticism. It just seemed weird to me to read about the Pacific theater & not see much about the Marines...tho I was under the impression they are part of the Navy.

One thing which absolutely astonished me was the author completely ignored the code intercepts in the days leading up to Pearl Harbor. The concept of code breaking doesn't even appear until page 302, at which time he gives some background of the code-breaking group in Hawaii, their battles with those in Washington, then goes on to talk about how such intelligence was used a few weeks into the war. It's not like the author failed to provide any info on occurrences prior to Pearl: there are several biographies (Hirohito, Yamamoto, several Americans). But if all you read on this subject was this book you'd come away with the impression that there was no hint whatsoever that something was going to happen before Sunday morning, December 7th, when out of absolutely nowhere Japanese planes & subs appeared & nearly wiped out the entire Pacific fleet. And this is not the case, not even close. Even leaving out the question of how much/whether Roosevelt knew beforehand or whether he let it happen to force Americans out of isolationism & into the war (which I don't subscribe to*), there was a tremendous amount of intercepted code traffic & other intelligence in the days & weeks leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor et al. To pretend none of that existed is to ignore a big chunk of history & skew the whole picture.

One of the subjects Toll does go into --more so than any other of the numerous WWII books I've read-- is the training undergone by the young Japanese men as they trained in the military. To say it was viciously cruel would be an understatement; the literal beatings & tortures they endured --from THEIR OWN PEOPLE-- are incredible. It makes it a bit... less incomprehensible how they ended up being so inhumane, and so utterly fanatical.

Basically, as part of broader reading on the Pacific theater and WWII in general, this makes a good addition. Just don't make it the only book on those subjects, as there are significant gaps.

*I've been reading & researching the subject since the 70s, & attribute the PH debacle to bureaucratic bungling, sloth, toxic interservice rivalries, & intense racism.

Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 by Ian Toll, outlines the beginning of the Pacific front of WWII, including events leading up to Pearl Harbor. The book ends with the Battle of Midway – Japan’s first major loss. Similar to Toll’s Six Frigates, this book is extremely engaging, teaching the reader about the political and military history of the beginning of a long a bloody war that spanned from the Indian Ocean to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Toll focuses on (as the title suggests) the naval aspect of the war, in particular the surface vessels of the naval fleets. I am giving Pacific Crucible 5 out of 5 because it is a compelling, well-researched book, providing a perfect balance of military detail and human stories.

Toll masterfully documents the underhandedness of the Japanese, including that of Emperor Hirohito at the outset of the war. Toll gives an overview of U.S. and political politics before the war, including covering the signing of the Portsmouth Agreement, the treatment of the Japanese in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century, and Japan’s aggression in China. I appreciate Toll’s coverage of Japanese politics at the time of the war, including their advancement into Manchuria and their animosity towards the USSR.

In December 1941, when Japan sent its fleet to attach Hawaii, Europe was in the midst of pulling itself apart, the Bolsheviks were anxious about Japanese attacks in their eastern realm, and the U.S. was attempting to remain “neutral.” With the dropping of the first Japanese bombs on Pearl Harbor, U.S. history took a dramatic turn. Suddenly the U.S., a nation with many isolationists, rallied behind their war machine, a reaction which would also catapult the U.S. to enter the European front as well as the Pacific.

Toll’s coverage of the Battle of the Coral Sea is excellent, particularly his discussion of the importance of Port Moresby to the Allies and the Japanese. Later, the Australians (and eventually the Americans) would fight a traitorous war along the now infamous Kokoda Track because of Japan’s failure to capture Port Moresby in 1942. [See my review of Paul Ham’s Kokoda http://russianhillreader.com/2015/01/02/kokoda/]. I especially love Toll’s inquiry into who really “won” at the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Toll does an excellent job acquainting the reader with notions of naval warfare after Napoleon, particularly the works of Alfred T. Mahan and the naval developments after World War I. Japanese and U.S. naval, marine, and air force troops are the primary focuses of Toll’s Pacific Crucible. Though he discusses submarines, he mainly sticks to covering surface ships, particularly the aircraft carriers of the Japanese and U.S. Toll does an excellent job describing the movements of the ships, and their play-by-play actions; yet, he does not go into excessive detail about weapons, armor, and ammunition.

I love Toll’s coverage of intelligence gathering and code cracking that quite literally changed the course of the war. With details of the Japanese plans of attack, the U.S. and other allies prepared efficiently and thoroughly for future engagements. Notably in the book, the Battle of Midway was in large part won because of the intelligence gathered in Hawaii and the mainland.

Having read Six Frigates, I know Toll is a great historian, writing about history and politics in a way that makes it feel as though one is reading a novel. Pacific Crucible is exceptionally well researched, containing information gleaned from primary sources, government documents, military records, interviews, journals, and just about every other source you can imagine. Pictures are included in this book, though they weren’t always the most compelling photos. Personally, I didn’t read the book for the photos; they were superfluous but nice additions.

My one tiny reservation: I wish Toll discussed what was happening in Europe prior to Pearl Harbor (and after). For example, Japan was constantly fueling the fire in Germany, hoping to keep the Soviets occupied while the Japanese expanded into China and the Pacific. Basically, it would have been nice to know what was happening elsewhere in the World War, just to get a better understanding of the two-front war as a whole. Though the takeover of Singapore involved the British more than the Americans, I wish there was a bit more coverage considering the fall of Singapore was such an incredibly significant blow. Likewise, more discussion on the Philippians would have been nice. However, both Singapore and the Philippians were largely land/army battles, and this book is focused on the sea; therefore, I do not fault Toll for not including more on these two decisive, early Japanese wins.

In summation, I am giving Pacific Crucible 5 out of 5 stars for three reasons: 1) The prose is highly engaging and colorful; there is never a dull moment. 2) The level of detail covered is exactly the right balance. Unlike some historians who feel it necessary to show readers that they know everything (ex. inseams of generals, pounds of toilet paper use on ships, diameter of the button used to sound an alarm…), Toll avoids filling pages with such clutter, instead sticking to the facts that are truly important to know and understand. This isn’t to say that Toll avoids antidotal tidbits; however, they appear naturally and sparingly. And, 3) the scope of this book is excellent. Toll’s focus on surface vessels was well grounded. He covers the relevant politics, but doesn’t get carried about, instead focusing on the military actions of the war. Finally, Toll restricts his discussions to the U.S. and Japanese troops, only occasionally discussing other allies, especially the British, Australians, and New Zealanders.

Tags: WWII, Pacific Front, Military History, Navy, Japan, Surface Ships, Aircraft Carries

I bought The Conquering Tide, thinking that I had already read the first book of this trilogy on the War at Sea in the Pacific. As I started reading it I figured out that I hadn't read the first volume, so I immediately went out and bought Pacific Crucible. The book I had previously read was Neptune's Inferno, which was an excellent book focusing on the naval war in the waters around Guadalcanal. Since The Conquering Tide started at Guadalcanal I soon realized my mistake. Anyway, I am very glad I went back and started with the first volume of this series.

What an incredible effort, It was readable throughout and very in depth on the reasoning behind decisions, both on the American side and on the Japanese side. It was great to read the accounts of Pearl Harbor, the battle of the Coral Sea and the battle of Midway, as well as lesser events, from the perspective of both antagonists. Why they did what they did instead of proceed in some other way. For example, the reasoning behind the Japanese not going to attack Midway that was promulgated by admirals and officers against Yamamoto's view of attacking Midway with the primary objective of drawing out the American carriers so they could be destroyed, seemed very sound to me. They felt it was a hazardous operation with little benefit to be gained, as Midway would be extremely difficult to keep supplied and supported from half way across the Pacific. They felt that the best course was to use their carriers to cutoff the life line between America and Australia. That would have put a severe strain on America being able to supply Australia and use it as a base of operations. But Yamamoto, extremely popular in Japan, won out.

Through superior intelligence on the Japanese fleet movements, the 3 U.S. carriers were able to get the first licks in at the battle of Midway, which made all the difference in the outcome. I knew of the battle of Midway of course, and that it was an American victory, but I didn't know it was such a close call, and I didn't realize the devastation visited on the Japanese navy by the loss of 4 of their top of the line aircraft carriers. In just a 5 minute period, 3 carriers were put completely out of the action. The author argues that the battle not only turned the tide in the Pacific, but also the entire World War, as the United States was much more able to focus its primary war effort against Hitler and on keeping the Soviet Union in the fight. It was a very enjoyable book to read, very well written, and very enlightening - one of the best I have read on the Second World War.

Like Ian Toll's previous book, Six Frigates, this book balances well-researched facts with smooth narrative flow. It is well named: a crucible is a vessel in which ore is heated and refined; during the period covered, from Pearl Harbor to Midway, the (mostly) American navy refined its naval strategy and tactics, learning from its many mistakes, while the Japanese Navy continued to believe it was essentially invincible.

Toll starts with the pre-war Mahanian strategy of massed battleships seeking out a decisive battle. That strategy more or less literally sank with Battleship Row at Pearl Harbor, combined with British losses in Southeast Asia. While the Japanese continue to seek a knockout punch, the U.S. Navy resorts to carrier raids and the daring bombing of Tokyo. Toll shows how carrier pilots gradually learned to coordinate attacks and developed tactics to battle the renowned Japanese Zero fighter, and how combat air patrol and shipboard anti-aircraft defenses became more effective.

The author is particularly effective in describing the battles and their aftermaths. At times he is almost novelistic in the way he can take you into the battle and show you the sights, sounds, and experiences of the participants. This is especially true as he describes the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor or the efforts to save damaged ships at Midway.

Even for those who are familiar with this subject, I recommend this book for its emotional impact. For those who are less familiar, this is an excellent read and first rate history.

I picked this up because I thought it would fill the relative void in books covering the naval warfare in the Pacific in the first six months of the war. I assumed that was the essential promise of the book. I was looking forward to learning more about some archane encounters in the Marshalls, the actions around the Philippines and the initial submarine warfare. One does get a flavour of some of this, but there is simply too much happening in Mr. Toll's book to make it terribly engrossing on any subject.

He has tried to cover all major events and people leading up the war and the events related to the actual naval combat encounters. In this volume Toll covers the old ground of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the political machinations in Washington, a history of Japanese-US relations in the time leading up to WWII, the political-social landscape in both the US AND Japan, the historical story of predation from Japanese and American viewpoints, the tactical and technical themes of the powers fighting, the actions against the British in Malaya and Britain's other colonies There is also large segments of the book with substantial mini-bios of Halsey, Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito, Admiral King and many others -- he simply has far too much in the mix to do justice to any of them.

And this shows in the style of writing that is hurried in some parts, incredibly detailed in others, but there is at times, a lack of underlying theme to determining events of importance to Toll and why he includes them. To be fair, he does develop rather nicely the theme of naval intelligence over the course of several chapters, and then plugs it in very nicely with the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway. The beginning of the book however needs reworking. It takes time for any theme to develop from the swamp of disorganised biographies and clipped battle narratives( an incredibly sloppy account of the Battle of the Java Sea, and no account of the Battle for Hong Kong, a very hurried account of the loss of the Philippines, passing reference to the Japanese Carrier attacks on Ceylon and India).

It has a tone of a historian who read all the major popular narratives on the Pacific War and then cobbled together a history. There is a lack of depth underscored by some major historical blind spots: the recounting of old canards ("the guns of Singapore really could face a variety of directions, unlike Mr. Toll's statement they only faced out to sea and not towards the Malay penninsula), and factual errors (numbers of troops engaged in Malaya are far larger than Toll cites); several stereotypes on Japanese infantry tactics were in many places - especially Malaya, much more than just Banzai Attacks. The Japanese soldier could move quickly, but he carried much more than his "rifle, cartridge belt and a bag of rice." These stereotypes go as far back as the war itself and they are patently wrong. He does however cite others with good understanding of the Japanese perspective (e.g. Tulley and Parshall's ground breaking "Shattered Sword" ), which does lend integrity to his assertions of Japanese tactics and strategy.

If you look at the bibliography in the back you can see that he has used almost all of the popular historical masterpieces in English that have been published over the past 50 yrs. No original source material. If you have read even a fraction of the popular Pacific War classics you will not find much meat in Toll's volume. To be fair he does show fair understanding of many aspects of the war and does get away from the regular "evil Japanese" interpretation of the war. Toll, surprisingly understands and give a good feel of the why Japan felt berated, and treated like a second-class nation, and how the actions of the US (immigration barring, and blocking a racial equality clause at Versailles) and the "Open Door" policy in China really contributed to a conspiratorial interpretation for US predation at percieved Japanese expense.

I found the book to be fairly thin gruel. I think that Toll should have concentrated on a detailed naval history of the first six-months of the Pacific War, concentrating on the US-Japanese encounter, gathered some original sources, throwing in some Japanese sources, losing the long pointless bios and concentrating on the Naval History of the first zix months of the war. If he had of done this, he would have had a definitive text on the first naval encouters of the Pacific War. He has instead added another volume covering events that are much better covered by other historians.

Any book that starts with Pearl Harbor and ends with the Battle of Midway is a blockbuster. But this isn't just any book. This is a blow blow account of the war in the Pacific, and an intimate look at the men who waged the war. Toll tries to make history interesting, fascinating, engaging - to make events from the past as powerful and vivid as they were for the people who were living through those years. He succeeds. We get to know the leaders, the rationale for the decisions they made, and the men and machines that battled it out before America had even entered the European theater.

One important aspect of the book is that in hindsight we know the outcome of each battle and of the war, but at the time, much was uncertain. The uncertainty, the fear, the lack of intelligence, the propaganda, and the racial stereotypes on both sides of the ocean drew people to make decisions based on the information at the time. Toll makes us aware of what was known and what wasn't, giving us a view from their perspective, both American and Japanese.

The book reads like a thriller, and looking back it reads more powerfully than any Clancy novel I've read, not because the stories are true but because the book is superbly researched and written. We know the impact each move will have on the dynamic of the battle, we know the consequences of a sunken carrier on the overall battle. Not only that, but the book is dense, and fills in all the holes that were not covered in history class and are overlooked by documentaries. Read this book! (and the next one as well)

The many fine reviews here well emphasize my view that
this is a very worth while book to read.

What I don't think has been discussed to date is the
author's IMO questionable view of Admiral King.
He states that there are 4 main arguments made
against King:

1) He had a huge temper
2) He was too narrow minded, demanding a huge navy at the expense of other priorities
3) He was anti-British
4) He tried to subvert the Germany first policy and implement Pacific first.

The author states that with the partial exception of #1,
all these points are wrong. However he does not submit
any proof for this view.

Now, this may be considered outside of the scope of the
book, but the author could have discussed the German
U-boat blitz against the US Atlantic home waters in the
first part of 1942.

Did King put adequate forces into this theater or was it starved
for the Pacific? Did King take the advice of the British in anti-sub
warfare or did his caustic personality prevent this from happening?

Answering these questions would do more to address points 3 & 4
than the simple evidence free assertion in the book.

I would add that, IMO King was also an extremely poor strategist.
He failed to make Japanese merchant shipping (JMS) the priority
it should have been.

This is shown in the inexcusable blunder in failing to correct the horrible
US torpedoes for almost two years after the war started. A better USN
CO should have fixed this problem in the first 6 months of the war covered
in the book.

This is a minor quibble against a wonderful book. Again, I felt
it was very well worth reading.

The author has put in a large amount of time preparing this historical account. It covers more than just the naval history of the U.S. Navy during the early days of its involvement in World War II. It provides biographies of key individuals in both the U.S. and Japan, and discusses the political situation and the opinions of the individuals. It goes into well researched details of events from Pearl Harbor to Midway, including the determined defense of Wake Island that drove off the first Japanese attempt at a landing (they sank two Japanese destroyers and set fire to a troop transport, as well as damaging a couple light cruisers). There were failures on both sides - commanders who did not press home attacks, inaccurate anti-aircraft fire, etc. Things were sometimes compounded by rivalries between people and competing interests. The book is definitely not a quick read, but it is worth spending the time to read it.

I love reading WW2 history, but until late 2013 when I read The Admirals, I hadn't ready anything about the Pacific theater. As a member of the History Book Club, I decided to take advantage of the numerous titles on the subject. The Admirals was first, Pacific Crucible was second.

I wasn't exactly super excited to read this book...it kinda felt like a "have to." But then, about 70 pages in, I realized what an exceptional book it truly is. To be sure, readers who already know a good deal about the Pacific theater may not be as impressed as I was, but Toll does a tremendous job with a dramatic story. Numerous times I thought to myself, "this would be so cool as a movie!" (such as the defense of Wake Island, the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, and of course the thrilling victory at Midway).

There's plenty in this book to like, but I want to focus on chapter 3. This chapter is a masterful tour-de-force. Just read those 60 pages and try to put the book down. In it, Toll introduces the reader to Admiral Yamamoto, painting a sympathetic portrait of the mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack. Yamamoto was a realist, but he was also a patriot. War with the U.S. would be "a calamity" he wrote, almost exactly a year before Pearl Harbor. "To fight the United States is like fighting the whole world. But it has been decided. So I will fight the best I can."

We learn of the near-barbaric treatment of young recruits of the naval flight training program, the development of the Zero, the modernization of the navy. We learn of the rise in Japan (not unlike in Axis partner Germany), of a vocal, right wing nationalistic/militaristic cabal who saw war as the way to break through the perceived limitations placed on Japan by the Anglo-American powers.

We learn of the god-emperor Hirohito, the Tenno (heavenly sovereign). Japan had developed a "Confucian order" which "offered to advance the lot of lesser people by bringing them under the care and guidance of the emperor, the only sovereign who was also a god, and the only god who was also a sovereign...It [Japan's political order] gave the Japanese people a reason to believe they were fighting for something more than national aggrandizement."

Toll explains that as relations between Japan and the Western powers frayed, "it was a peculiar tragedy of Japan's ultranationalist psychodrama that the men best qualified to deal with the West were shunted to the margins of power...Professional diplomats sensed that war with the United States was coming, but felt as if nothing could be done to stop it."

The chapter ends with a couple key observations. In the fall of 1941, "The ears of the Japanese people were ringing with propaganda calculated to arouse them to war, and they never heard a dissenting point of view." And, the corollary, "With a shared sense of relief, the men who ruled Japan turned away from the great issues of foreign policy and bent to the more familiar task of launching a war, as if it were a mission that had been assigned to them and not one they had chosen."

The rest of the book is just as engaging. The passages dealing with battles, and there are many, are electric. It feels as if Tom Clancy (when he was at the top of his game) is handling the narration.

Read it!

Pacific Crucible is a very well written history of the events of 1941 - 1942 Pacific theatre. I enjoy the way that Mr. Toll provides insight into the reason why people and governments acted as they did. I also appreciate the personal stories and accounts of those who were there. I consider myself of amateur WW2 historian and Mr. Toll disclosed facts and antidotes that I had never heard before.
I enjoyed this book very much, although I did not think it was as good as his previous work, Six Frigates. That being said, I liked it enough to go ahead and order the next one in the series, The Conquering Tide.

Ian Toll received his BA in history from Georgetown and, prior to becoming a full time author he worked for the Federal Reserve (I will not hold that against him!) and Wall Street. However, there is no doubt in my mind that he has found his true calling. Pacific Crucible is a magnificent work, the sort of work I think all of us wish we could write.

Toll starts his work with a great introduction to the events prior to the outbreak of war on December 7. This part is crucial to the story and includes a discussion of the influence of Alfred Thayer Mahan and his vastly influential work, "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783." He also goes into "War Plan Orange" and the growth of Japanese militancy (fascism if you like).

As a synthetic work, some might argue Toll brings nothing new to the table. I disagree. This work may not be "original" but it does a remarkable job fusing and synthesizing both Japanese and American sources and does not simply rely on either recently published works or older volumes. Furthermore, there is an unfortunately large amount of attention paid to the European theater, and, as a consequence, the Pacific seems to be ignored. This work should go a long way to righting that wrong.

As noted above, Toll does a remarkable job describing the rise of the right in Japan. What I found particularly interesting was his description of Japanese training techniques for their naval air forces (I am a US Navy veteran and I served on an aircraft carrier). The brutality of their training (as well as the overall brutal nature of the Japanese military training) made me realize our "boot camp" was nothing in comparison.

If you are a fan of the Pacific campaign or new to the subject, there is something in this work for everyone. I highly recommend you pick up this book. You will enjoy it as much as I did.

A great narrative of the Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway. The strength of the book is that is deals with little-known conflicts between these two larger events such as Wake Island, the Battle of The Java Sea and the Battle of The Coral Sea. Most importantly it tells the story, although only in rough outline, of Halsey's raids on the Marshall Islands in the weeks after Pearl Harbor, which are almost unknown to the most people today, but served as an important training ground for the pilots that would fight in later battles. The only weakness of the book is that it tends to retell familiar stories and spends a great deal of its length on Midway - which is told very well, but this is well-trodden ground. The title of the book seems to indicate that it will cover the events of 1942, but it ends only halfway through that year in early June, right after Midway, with many important events left uncovered.

This is the first volume of a projected trilogy on World War II in the Pacific. The beginning of the was a time of triumph for the Japanese and a time of trial for the United States. Mr. Toll is well acquainted with the relevant sources and confidently explores the war and it leaders. He has a fine eye for the telling anecdote; thus, he quotes Chester Nimitz's terse, but never bettered assessment of Pearl Harbor delivered when Nimitz relieved Admiral Kimmel. "The same thing could have happened to anybody." The author tries to give everyone his due, but he does not gloss over shortcomings such as the failure of the Hornet's (captained by Marc Mitscher) air group at Midway. This is a thoughtful and lively retelling of the beginning of the great Pacific War.

Ian Toll's Pacific Crucible is an excellent work of history. This book provides a context for the events of 1941-42 that makes the story seem real, almost a report of contemporary events. Toll has an incredible ability to move the action along in the manner of a novel (an exciting novel) while providing rich insights about the events and people involved. All of the important players receive full and, to my eye, fair portrayal. For example, Toll provides details of Churchill's stay at the White House after Pearl Harbor that made it a more vivid and compelling story than I had ever perceived. We learn of the participants' virtues and vices and how they impacted the war effort. It is the same with all the players and discrete epidodes Toll describes. And his description of the action is gripping.

If one reads only one book about the beginning of the Pacific War, this should be it. But it is so well-written and entertaining that those of us who read too many books about the war will really enjoy it.

I have read a number of books about Pearl Harbor, its run-up and aftermath, including Gordon Prange's At Dawn We Slept, but Ian Toll's Pacific Crucible is a gem. Toll is a gifted writer who skillfully brings to life the people who shaped and were caught up in the epic events of the Pacific during the first year of WWII. Toll's adept use of quotes from prime sources span the range of participants from FDR to seamen, aviators, and civilians on both sides of the war.
If you are at all interested in this time period, do yourself a big favor and read this book.You will want a hard copy for your library.

This is a great read! But it's also well-rounded history. I'm not greatly expert on the Pacific war, so I found the author's explanation of international positions, nterservice rivalries, interpersonal relationships, overall planning, specific responsibilities, all the myriad details that impinged on the conflict, to be very helpful. I'll be recommending this enthusiastically, and I look forward eagerly to this author's continuation of the story.

This book is simply outstanding. I won't duplicate the well-deserved praises from the other reviewers, but will simply add that I have read a lot of accounts of the Pacific War, and this is the best treatment I've seen of the prewar and immediate prewar periods, and the early, desperate months. It's not a history of the entire war, and that is one of its strengths, as the early battles (both political and military) are rendered more poignant by the understanding on both sides during those hectic days and weeks that either side could win, and either side could lose. Of course, it's not a first-person account, a combat diary or a memoir; but within its genre, it does an unparalleled job of letting us know "what things were like then."

Partly due I'm sure to the book's limited scope (early Pacific War), it contains the best treatments I've seen of several discrete subjects: Japanese prewar militarism, and the fall of their democracy; the Pearl Harbor attack, and the immediate aftermath; the Battle of Wake Island; the war of the Codebreakers, especially Station Hypo in Hawaii; US fleet carrier and refueling operations & techniques; and the Battles of Coral Sea and Midway. There is also ample treatment of issues usually neglected by military historians, such as the reaction of civilians to the major events, impact on daily life, etc. This book helps us realize that the psyche of the average American on VE and VJ Days years hence, was markedly different from that immediately after Pearl Harbor, and during the early, cliff-hanging months of the war.

So, not just highly recommended, but respectfully mandated!!

While I was a little disappointed that this book didn't cover the entire Pacific campaign through the end of the war, I was amazed and fascinated by the amazing detail Toll puts into this history.

He supplies the necessary backstory and sub-plots to help you understand the main story and crucial decisions made throughout the time period, but doesn't get egregiously sidetracked, and manages to hold the reader's interest quite well.

One of the longer books I've read recently, I was amazed how fast I got through this book. At first I thought Toll's coverage of some of the characters in history was a bit lengthy, but in retrospect, I'm glad he did it because it really helped me understand the context in which these people made the decisions they did.

I would highly recommend this book to any fan of the era, or anyone who loves compelling non-fiction.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I received Ian W. Toll's "Pacific Crucible" as a Christmas present, and sped through it. It's engaging, insightful, and gives a vivid depiction of war in the Pacific with breath-taking details that even casual history fans can eat up. Toll's unique ability to make you feel like you're there while reading about the events leading up the climatic battle of Midway. Even knowing how it ended, knowing what would happen, I could feel my heart racing, the tension building page by page during the battle that so much has built up to. Toll makes you feel like you're in the cockpit of the Dauntless diver-bombers, racing to the Japanese carriers below; he makes you feel like you're standing next to the crews aboard the stricken Japanese carriers, and the American Yorktown as they desperately fight fires and flooding. I could even feel the jubilation of the American crews as they began to realize the decisive blow they have dealt, and the heartbreak of both sides as they watch precious ships sink to the bottom. This is definitely a must read for any fan of naval or WWII history.

This book is a must read for anyone interested in the twentieth century, World War II, or naval history. Award-winning author Ian Toll is one of the best naval history writers around today; and ranks as perhaps one of the best ever. First, his writing is extremely enjoyable, interesting, and personable. His research is exhaustive and impeccable. He organizes a very complex subject in a way that is easy to follow and understand; the chronology is excellent. He introduces key characters in a way that allows the reader to understand and appreciate their personalities and predicaments. Toll constantly interjects fascinating small points and stories to illustrate a point or a key character. And he thoroughly understands the history and its broad significance. In short, this book is another most enjoyable read by an excellent author.
The main thrust of the book is the story of the Pacific naval war from Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) through the Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942). Toll sets up the beginning of the war at Pearl Harbor very thoroughly. He explains not only the course of the fighting, but also strategic thinking, the psychology, and war technology of both sides. His analysis of the meaning of the events is detailed, and supplemented by quotes from other analysts to give the reader differing points of view. I highly recommend this book!
Ian Toll continues his examination of World War II in the Pacific with a second book; "The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944", released in September 2015. I am anxiously looking forward to it!

Ian Toll is an excellent writer and he does a great job of telling the story of World War II in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to Midway. The narrative starts fast and never lets up. The 491 pages of text went by very quickly. So much so that I wished he would have kept going and told the rest of the story of the Pacific War. Given that he includes an Epilogue, I have a feeling that he does not intend to write additional books on this subject.

You should note that this is a popular history told primarily from secondary sources. Toll has read most of the most important books on the subject and has woven them into this narrative. He has done very little work in archives or used many primary sources. He also appears to have read very few articles in the academic military history journals. So, this is not the place to go if you are looking for a pioneering reinterpretation of this period based on primary sources.

One other caveat: Although, overall, the writing is terrific, here and there I spotted glitches that probably are the result of that bane of modern publishing: A lack of careful editorial work. There are some topics that Toll picks up and then drops without returning to them. For example, he mentions that the Japanese military conducted itself in an exemplary manner during the Russo-Japanese War and World War I. Prisoners of war and civilians were treated with courtesy and respect and the rules of war were carefully adhered to. During World War II, very much the opposite was the case, with the Japanese military frequently engaging in abominable treatment of prisoners and civilians. What happened to cause the change? I have a suspicion that Toll intended to address this issue but never did. A good editor would have caught this lapse. Similarly, Toll provides a good account of the initially successful defense of Wake Island, mentioning the names of a number of U.S. military. The later fall of Wake is mentioned only in passing. I was left wondering about the fates of the soldiers and marines we had been introduced to earlier. His discussion of Admiral Yamamoto is also not completely satisfactory. He discusses Yamamoto's opposition to war with the United States and his later insistence that if war was inevitable it should start with the Pearl Harbor attack -- others in the Japanese military wanted to wait and fight a decisive battle with the U.S. Pacific Fleet off of the home waters of Japan. But what did Yamamoto expect the next step to be following Pearl Harbor? We know that eventually he conceived the ill-fated (from Japan's point of view) attempt to occupy Midway. At the time of the planning for Pearl Harbor, though, he must have had some followup in mind, but Toll doesn't tell us what it might have been. I'm hardly an expert on these matters, so perhaps this one is an unknown that no author can address. Finally, the transitions between topics are sometimes a bit abrupt. Occasionally, his discussion of one topic ends and another topic is taken up -- sometimes within a chapter -- without an attempt to link the topics. Again, this strikes me as a lapse in editing.

So, if you are looking for a readable, exciting account of Pearl Harbor and Midway, look no further. If, on the other hand, you have already read many books on the Pacific War, you may not find anything new in this book.

The major strength of this book is how it sets the major events of the first seven months of the Pacific theater in context. It covers broad issues such as the political and economic issues surrounding the decisions that lead to Japan's decision to start a war against the United States and Great Britain yet also covers details associated with the individual events such as the personal backgrounds of individual leaders and the technology and decisions that determined the course of the individual battles and campaigns. The author somehow managed to avoid making the book a mishmash of facts. Instead, the book impressively flows in a generally chronological manner and provides a real feel for how the Pacific War unfolded from the initial attack on Pearl Harbor to the US Navy's lopsided victory at Midway. It is also effective at portraying how events that many books treat as minor or inconsequential, such as the raids on the Marshall and Gilbert Islands in January and February 1942, had a major role in developing the competency of the combatant and administrative forces. This book is highly recommended if you are looking to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of how the events in the first part of the Pacific theater came to happen.

There is no doubt of Ian Toll's ability: his "Six Frigates", a history of the founding of the United States Navy is a classic.

But it is highly unlikely that this printing of "Pacific Crucible" will be well-remembered because it is riddled with errors, mostly small ones and most of those would go unnoticed by anyone unfamiliar with the period and military vernacular. Still, the errors are annoying and, frankly, surprising because they could have been so easily avoided. If the book sells well, I suspect the errors will disappear, all of them having been identified in the store reviews.

Toll was obviously intent on writing a popular history, something that would grab and keep the reader's attention focused on events that took place more than 70 years ago, long before most American were born. He succeeds.

Naval warfare is difficult for many to comprehend. The battle space covers millions of square miles. In World War II, aircraft and submarines dominated in the Pacific and only rarely did the warships of the opposing nations come within sight of each other. Toll explains this by first explaining how sea power rose to prominence in the 19th and 20th Centuries in an excellent treatment of Mahan's role in educating policymakers in the power of the battleship and the rise of that class of naval combatant. In this prologue, he describes Japan's amazing two-generation rise from reclusiveness to becoming a major naval power.

Toll's treatment of the attack on Pearl Harbor is excellent and contains material I've never seen before.

The book ends rather abruptly shortly after the Battle of Midway in June, 1942, barely six months after America's Pacific Fleet was essentially destroyed at Pearl Harbor. Toll weaves together a narrative that pokes and prods at every aspect of America at war from yanking America's populace out of its isolationism to ramping up the national economy to produce huge numbers of ships, aircraft, munitions and all the tools of war and mobilizing the millions of men and not a few women who would fight that war.

Avid students of WWII will find little new here, but others lacking a grasp of the period will find "Pacific Crucible" to be a painless, entertaining way to learn about six months when the future and freedom of the United States was in doubt. It is an excellent history of those intense early months of the Pacific war.

Jerry

Incredible research behind this book. In addition the writing is active and grabs your attention all the way through the book. He developed all the major players, all of whom played a major role in WW II, each of the players are not only introduced, but he adds insight into the building of their thought processes
The book is so well written you will be looking for more after the epilogue.

For perspective, I'm widely read on a lot of topics but never delved much into WWII. I picked this book up on sale somewhere.

To my pleasure and surprise, this book proved extremely well researched and thoroughly engrossing. Starting with Pearl Harbor and ending after Midway, it offers a profound and detailed understanding of that early period of the war in the Pacific. It gives you the broad picture yet carries in close at times to give you a feel of what it was like to be there. This was a really excellent book, no matter how much (or little) you know of the events beforehand.

Lately a series of books have been written about the Second World War. These are better than the last generation written on the period and seems to contain more detail. The knitting together of events from one place to the other gives the reader a better sense of how the forces were stretched, and what the military and civilians might have heard or witnessed all in the same week. For example, the reader is able to grasp without date checking the purpose of the invasion of the Aluetian islands, that is as a feint to draw the US Navy away from the Midway invasion force.

Further this is the first book ever that I have read that talked about what life was like in Japan during the 20's and 30's. We know a lot about what was going on in Germany during the time, less about Italy, but in my experience almost nothing about Japan other than their invasion of the Asian mainland.

We hear about the personalities, strengths and shortcomings of the Japanese actors in this work. Not since the film Tora! Tora! Tora! has anyone really examined this important aspects of who was behind this crucial period in the the history of two nations. The short time it took for the tables to turn are written in the dates: Decemeber 1941 to June 1942. We escaped this period and were able to move from a time when anything could happen to a long, hard slogging war of attrition.

Good work for any student of the period.

Pacific Crucible is popular history at its best. The author uses a number of sources from both the American and Japanese perspective to describe the events leading up to and the first year of WW2 in the Pacific. The books is both highly readable and highly informative at the same time.

To me, the most useful chapters were when the author did a great job explaining what the heck was going on in Japan leading up to Pearl Harbor. He gives a great history of Japan post-Meiji leading into the Pearl Harbor attack.

I do not know if the author necessarily had anything new in this book that perhaps you have not already read in other books dealing with Pearl Habor, Midway, Coral Sea, Wake Island etc, but he sure tells a great story.

Other highlights to me were the very good job he does telling what happened at Wake Island.

Great book, highly recommended.

"Pacific Crucible" opens with an expansive prologue that some readers might find a bit too long - it looks a lot more like a major chapter. In fact, it is. The prologue is Toll's setup for the entire Pacific War, going back to the 19th century for a detailed review and analysis of decades of history that ultimately turned December 7th into a day of infamy. Digesting the prologue will give the reader a solid grounding for all that follows. Without its thoroughness, the book would start to look like a lot of others that begin with little more than bombs falling on Oahu.

There are 12 reasonably-sized chapters that cover every element of the war through the Battle of Midway, and the level of detail and fresh analysis that Toll brings to each is superb. The other five-star reviews here adequately express any other reasons you should get this book, so I won't repeat them. Suffice to say, if you have a strong focus on World War II in the Pacific, this volume belongs front and center on your bookshelf. It's arguably the new standard for Pearl Harbor to Midway.

For those curious as to why Toll's fine effort ceases with the end of the Battle of Midway, be assured that it doesn't. This is but the first volume of what will probably be a trilogy that takes its subject into Tokyo Bay and beyond.

Much like David McCullough, Ian Toll balances research with smooth, skilled writing—a real pleasure to read. While some have criticized the limited research, I found the book to be highly informative.

"Pacific Crucible" is an exciting, fast moving, five- hundred pages, beginning with Pearl Harbor, and culminating in the Battle at Midway. Seven months after the worst naval disaster in history, the Americans pulled off what could be the greatest victory of the war.

There were certainly some surprising heros. I had never even heard of the cryptanalyst, Joe Rochefort, and yet he, perhaps more than any other individual, is responsible for the victory at Midway.

It was fun to read about America coming together, galvanizing its many resources and building the greatest war machine the world has ever seen. At the same time, the book was written with understanding and compassion for the Japanese, who didn't have our natural resources. It never understates their bravery and patriotism.

The sections on Roosevelt and Churchill were delightful, the battle scenes thrilling, and the detail and description, beautiful. It is an important book.

Absolutely incredible how the United States banded together to overcome Japanese. The entire country was behind the military. American ambition, nothing like it.

Ordering the next book in the series now, I have high expectations.

I only wish we had the same pride, and courage today.

Pacific Crucible is an important and scholarly chronicle of the opening months of the Pacific war. More than that, it is truly a pleasure to read. The writing is both information-rich and beautifully literary (for example, Toll's comparison of the weather-buffeted B-25s on Hornet's flight deck to butterflies on a windblown leaf.) The author takes you through the run up to and the first half year of the war against Japan. Reading it is truly like being there (on both the Japanese and the American sides) without having to duck the bullets.

Pacific Crucible was a can't-put-it-down treasure to read and will continue to occupy a prominent place on my bookshelf for years to come.

This book is a great read. It brings to life an important period. Ian Toll has the benefit of time and corrects many older versions of events. He is able to delve into the character of many leaders of that period and adding the Japanese side makes the action taken more understandable.

A very complete look at the Pacific war starting with pearl harbor and ending with midway in this first book. The author has a firm grasp of the details and it is very readable. Looking forward to the second book.

I found Ian W. Toll's Pacific Crucible to be a very well written book that is highly readable with a sense of flair. He writes very fairly, taking cues from both sides of the Pacific and examined the first seven months of the Pacific War and the period prior to the war. All this is done very informatively and very professionally. Technically speaking, there is nothing truly wrong with the book.

But this I will say. The book may be well written and very readable but its not very original or new. Anyone who is well read in the Pacific War, will gain no new information or knowledge by reading this book. Everything that the author wrote in this book have been written before many times by other authors just as good if not better. This is a very good introductory book on the subject, for newcomers whose library is still very tiny. And I would recommended this book to anyone who is new to the subject but not to anyone who is well read already. You can say that this book is a current state of the art intro book. It got all the latest information that came out already regarding this period of the Pacific War and concisely put together in one readable volume. Perfect addition to any high school library or casual reader wishing to get into the subject.

This is an interesting book, but I am giving it four stars for the following reasons:
1. Toll spends too much space detailing the meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt. A more brief description would have allowed
more space for the remainder of 1942 (Toll stops in June of 1942).
2. Paragraphs detailing the shortcomings of certain Japanese military practices are repeated almost word for word several times in succeeding chapters, i.e. lack of firefighting protocol on Japanese ships, the training of pilots, etc., when Toll could simply have said
something to the effect of "Ship X suffered from the same lack of firefighting protocol as previously mentioned." This would have saved space and the reader would not have suffered through having to read basically the same paragraph several times.
Having said that, there are some interesting things that can be learned from this book. I did not know that an officer in the US Navy had written what, at that time, was the "bible" on naval warfare. There were several things about Admiral King that I had not heard before. There is also an interesting page of actual talk between aircraft in battle that helps the reader understand why those listening on the ships
had a hard time following the battle taking place beyond the horizon.
All in all, I think this is an interesting read for those interested in the first year of battle for the US Navy in the Pacific in WWII.

"Pacific Crucible" is the first book I have read focusing specifically on naval history; this has simply not been an area that I've previously been motivated to explore. However, this book was recommended to me by a friend, and I quickly found myself entirely engrossed.

The book does a great job of covering virtually every aspect of the Pacific War: the lives of average sailors, the aircraft and naval technologies, the strategic decisions and thinking of admirals Nimitz and King as well as their Japanese counterparts, the political decisions by Roosevelt and Churchill, as well as very vivid, blow-by-blow accounts of major battles. The part covering the battle of Midway is especially good, to the extent that I am now also starting to read The Battle of Midway (Pivotal Moments in American History).

I also really enjoyed the focus on the code-breakers who were able to decode the Japanese military communications and predict with great precision the Japanese assault on Midway. Were it not for this feat, the battle would quite likely have gone the other way. The individuals who pulled this off certainly deserve far more historic visibility than they currently have!

Overall, a great book that I would highly recommend even to people who feel they have no particular interest in or passion for naval history. I sincerely hope the author is planning another book to cover the period from 1942 on...

An engaging book that does not want for detail, this is a fast read that highlights the nuance of politics and technological advancements and their profound impact on events in the Pacific Theater. Highly recommended.

Well-written, excellent blend of overview and individual remembrance. I particularly found the code-breaking sections to be informative and helpful in understanding how the USA managed to to turn back the Japanese tide.

I was also impressed with the willingness of the author to incorporate the Japanese viewpoint through participant interviews and background info. It added color to help understand and process such a broad and nuanced event.

One of the better books on WWII I've read, period

This is an account of the Pacific naval war from Pearl Harbor to Midway. It tells the story of Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, The Doolittle raid, and Midway from both sides. Other than telling in too great detail of inconsequential operations in January 1942 the book is full of interest. The author is also the author of Six Frigates, which I read 12 Sept 2007--and liked very much except for too much detail on the war with the pirates. The author rightly points out how Midway was a near run thing, and one is greatly gratified that so many things went right which could have gone greatly wrong.. The six months aftr Pearl Harbor were doleful months but Midway brings the book to a great conclusion. There is a great deal of good researh in the book, with a good bibliography and plenty of source notes.

I agree with others who have rated this book 5 stars. I have read a lot of WWII histories over the years and consider myself well versed on the subject. However, I found myself reading a lot of facts of which I was hitherto unaware. I love the minutiae that Mr. Toll has included in his book.
I have already ordered this second volume of this history and am looking forward to another interesting book.

I have to admit that non-fiction is not my typical reading material, but I found this novel engrossing and completely enjoyable!

The blend of quotes and historical snippets mixed wonderfully with Toll's own verse, and painted strong visuals that gave the novel it's impact.

And, as any good historical account should do, it provided numerous background tidbits of which I had no idea, making it enjoyable and informative.

I enjoyed his style so much that I am hoping Toll's next novel makes a slight departure and is fiction with a mix of time travel and martial arts :)

Toll has a keen ability to bring the past alive in this book covering the dark, desperate days of the War in the Pacific up until the Battle of Midway. He does a masterful job of fairly and engagingly representing the characters on both sides, their flaws, prejudices and triumphs coming together to paint a very complete picture of just how close the US Navy came to utter defeat. This book isn't just for historians and history buffs, it's for everyone with a passing interest in the Navy, in WWII or anyone who wants to read an epic and true story.

Toll's excellent narrative reminded me of another author whose writing also was done as if he held a microscope over the many underlying threads of an intricate tapestry. Toll and Shelby Foote write/wrote about different historical periods, but each of these gifted writers makes the events they describe come alive and matter, even many decades after the events. This is the first book by Toll that I have read, hopefully not the last. 10 stars, Ian Toll.

I "found" this book when browsing at a bookstore and bought it. I'm glad I did. To use an old analogy, "it puts you there in the middle of the battle." I also liked it because it tells about the background of the major admirals. That gives good insight on why they did what they did. The book also relates some episodes early in the Pacific War that I hadn't even heard of before. The net result is that you're shown how everything that happened is related and not just stand-alone events. Buy it!

Toll does a great job of bringing some fresh insight to a period in history that has been the subject of countless books and movies. He effectively connects politics, grand strategy, operational tactics and period ship and aircraft tactics with interesting people and fresh (or at least not well publicized) anecdotes. Here's hoping he has a "1943 to 1945" volume in the works!

This book dragged on through the first several chapters but gained speed to a dramatic and excellent account of the battle of Midway. I appreciated the author's measured approach to decisions made by Commanders on both sides of the conflict.

An engaging book that does not want for detail, this is a fast read that highlights the nuance of politics and technological advancements and their profound impact on events in the Pacific Theater. Highly recommended.

Well-written, excellent blend of overview and individual remembrance. I particularly found the code-breaking sections to be informative and helpful in understanding how the USA managed to to turn back the Japanese tide.

I was also impressed with the willingness of the author to incorporate the Japanese viewpoint through participant interviews and background info. It added color to help understand and process such a broad and nuanced event.

One of the better books on WWII I've read, period

This is an account of the Pacific naval war from Pearl Harbor to Midway. It tells the story of Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, The Doolittle raid, and Midway from both sides. Other than telling in too great detail of inconsequential operations in January 1942 the book is full of interest. The author is also the author of Six Frigates, which I read 12 Sept 2007--and liked very much except for too much detail on the war with the pirates. The author rightly points out how Midway was a near run thing, and one is greatly gratified that so many things went right which could have gone greatly wrong.. The six months aftr Pearl Harbor were doleful months but Midway brings the book to a great conclusion. There is a great deal of good researh in the book, with a good bibliography and plenty of source notes.

I agree with others who have rated this book 5 stars. I have read a lot of WWII histories over the years and consider myself well versed on the subject. However, I found myself reading a lot of facts of which I was hitherto unaware. I love the minutiae that Mr. Toll has included in his book.
I have already ordered this second volume of this history and am looking forward to another interesting book.

I have to admit that non-fiction is not my typical reading material, but I found this novel engrossing and completely enjoyable!

The blend of quotes and historical snippets mixed wonderfully with Toll's own verse, and painted strong visuals that gave the novel it's impact.

And, as any good historical account should do, it provided numerous background tidbits of which I had no idea, making it enjoyable and informative.

I enjoyed his style so much that I am hoping Toll's next novel makes a slight departure and is fiction with a mix of time travel and martial arts :)

Toll has a keen ability to bring the past alive in this book covering the dark, desperate days of the War in the Pacific up until the Battle of Midway. He does a masterful job of fairly and engagingly representing the characters on both sides, their flaws, prejudices and triumphs coming together to paint a very complete picture of just how close the US Navy came to utter defeat. This book isn't just for historians and history buffs, it's for everyone with a passing interest in the Navy, in WWII or anyone who wants to read an epic and true story.

Toll's excellent narrative reminded me of another author whose writing also was done as if he held a microscope over the many underlying threads of an intricate tapestry. Toll and Shelby Foote write/wrote about different historical periods, but each of these gifted writers makes the events they describe come alive and matter, even many decades after the events. This is the first book by Toll that I have read, hopefully not the last. 10 stars, Ian Toll.

I "found" this book when browsing at a bookstore and bought it. I'm glad I did. To use an old analogy, "it puts you there in the middle of the battle." I also liked it because it tells about the background of the major admirals. That gives good insight on why they did what they did. The book also relates some episodes early in the Pacific War that I hadn't even heard of before. The net result is that you're shown how everything that happened is related and not just stand-alone events. Buy it!

Toll does a great job of bringing some fresh insight to a period in history that has been the subject of countless books and movies. He effectively connects politics, grand strategy, operational tactics and period ship and aircraft tactics with interesting people and fresh (or at least not well publicized) anecdotes. Here's hoping he has a "1943 to 1945" volume in the works!

This book dragged on through the first several chapters but gained speed to a dramatic and excellent account of the battle of Midway. I appreciated the author's measured approach to decisions made by Commanders on both sides of the conflict.

I'm hoping this is the first in a series. It's on par with Atkinson's "Army at Dawn" as an overview of the USA's first years in WWII. There wasn't a dull moment in it. More than other similar histories of the Pacific Theater, Crucible describes the major players' characters and backgrounds, especially in the cases of Nimitz and Yamamoto. Generally, Crucible provides the excitement that the Pacific War deserves, and is worthwhile for casual and more knowledgeable readers.

Toll's Pacific Crucible is a lucid and engaging account of the war in the Pacific from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midway. Concentrates on the conditions which created ultranationalism and militarism in Japan; gives good biographical information of the major participants: Hulsey, Nimitz, Hirohito, and Yamamoto. Talks about Roosevelt's "Europe First" policy. Toll is a good story teller who gives accounts of the various battles without bogging the reader down in an excess of names and details. Excellent book.

After reading "Six Frigates" and loving it, I was surprised to see his second book, "Pacific Crucible", available at a big discount. I guess it's not surprising when today's students can't even identify our first President.

When WWll started I was 10 years old and followed the war in fascination until it's end. But detail keeps emerging and Toll does a magnificent job of putting these details in context. I'm a big fan of David McCullough as a chronicler of history. Ian Toll is in the same class. I can't wait for his next effort!

I have read many volumes on this subject. I agree with all the complimentary reviews. To me the new and very interesting stuff was the brilliant description of the Japanese diplomatic/political mood in the years before the event. I had not read this before. I was also gratified by the author's cool use of the vernacular and nice local, small event descriptive prose, not usually seen in academic history. Like what it felt like to be adrift in a sea of oil. A wonderful book!

Outstanding military history. Author creates a solid background of geopolitical events leading up to Japan's Pearl Harbor attack. The early months of America's violent entry into WWII are well covered leading up to the Battle of Midway as America awakes from a slumbering sleeping giant to become a military super power eventually overwhelming Japan. Author keeps a fact filled moving pace that holds the reader's interest throughout making for some good reading.

After his rather amazing "Six Frigates" I expected more from Toll than this. Pacific Crucible offers little in the way of either deep or original research and covers only the carrier war during '41 and '42. Toll is nonetheless remarkably readable and does offer an occasional insight others have missed. It's not the must-have for your history library, but it's a decent secondary reference.

I was very pleased with the book. It takes you thru the history in a linear way. He pulls together many points of view from both the Japanese and American's. I am looking forward to the follow-up book.

I was really looking forward to this Ian Toll book because I really enjoyed Six Frigates. I am a retired naval officer and my knowledge of the WWII era is much stronger than my knowledge of the War of 1812. After noting the errors in his WWII book I now question how accurate his Six Frigates is. It was not a bad read but I would recommend much more strongly the First Team, Black Shoe Admiral, Rochefort's War, Shattered Sword and Neptune's Inferno for Guadalcanal. The subtitle says it is about the naval war in the Pacific in 1942 but doesn't cover Guadalcanal. How can you discuss the naval war in the Pacific in 1942 and not talk about Guadalcanal? The subtitle should be Pearl Harbor to Midway. The following are the factual errors I noticed:

After the Pearl Harbor attack the author makes a comment about possibility of Enterprise and Lexington striking the Kido Butai and makes it appear that they formed into one task force at some point on December 7.

The author refers to Takagi as "King Kong" Kurita. The admiral with the King Kong nickname was Hara.

His entire description of Rochefort and Hypo is not at all how it is described in Rochefort's War. Toll describes Rochefort as aristocratic and that there were pin ups on some desks. Hypo under Rochefort was not tidy but from Rochefort's War I found it difficult to believe that he would allow unprofessional distracting material into Hypo. The description of HYPO having a guard also is refuted in Rochefort's War. Toll incorrectly states that OP-20-G was working on JN-25B current messages before Pearl Harbor which is refuted in Rochefort's War.

Toll doesn't go into much detail with the naval battles in the Dutch East Indies and doesn't describe how the various cruisers are armed. So the casual reader might equate the De Ruyter with the Houston in capability.

The author repeatedly refers to oilers as tankers. Anybody that is familiar with modern naval operations knows a tanker is not an oiler. An oiler is equipped to perform underway replenishment where as a tank carries petroleum products from point A to point B. It would be like describing a carrier as a freighter with no superstructure. Oilers were sophisticated marvels of technology and underway replenishment was so essential to winning the war and essential today to modern global naval operations.

In one of Toll's most inexcusable phrases he references Fletcher's conduct in terms of actions that would later in the war would have been called a "court martial" offense when he describes Fletcher's refusal to authorize an attack based on information that had initially been reported incorrectly. Earlier in the day a contact report had been botched putting the force at great risk when in that case he did empty his decks. He had all this to consider combined with the fact his most important job was to make sure his CVs were not sunk. The small number of CVs were the US military effort in the Pacific in 1942. Without them holding anything west of Hawaii or maybe the west coast was impossible. No US fleet commander was ever court martialed for their actions including Halsey for running a fleet through two typhoons resulting in the needless death of 1,000 men and leaving San Bernadino Strait undefended at Leyte Gulf. Not only was he not court martialed he got a 5th star and was not sent to a desk. Spruance did not aggressively pursue the CVs at the Philippine Sea and no court martial was held. I think his actions were more correct than Halsey at Leyte Gulf but others like King disagreed. Ghormley was fired as commander of the SW Pacific and there was no court martial. Using the term court martial in reference to a US commander is speculative, inflammatory and unjustified. Softening the criticism by excusing his action as allowable in 1942 just creates the impression that Fletcher was old fashioned and not up to advancing his ideas as the sophistication of CV warfare improved by 1944. This is really just a rehash of the King criticism. Every knows how King sidelined one of the best crypto minds and leaders in Rochefort because Rochefort made the Washington intell people look bad when they were wrong about Midway. King was far from a perfect COMINCH/CNO whose own mistakes through his career were excused but if he took a dislike to an officer he was gone with no due process. For the record Nimitz defended Fletcher.

Toll refers to bulkheads as walls in another example of him not understanding basic naval terminology which is much like the tanker example.

Toll does not describe Butch O'Hare shooting down 5 G4M in Feb `42 in the Coral Sea, becoming an ace and single handedly saving the Lexington.

The author refers to Lexington elevator #2 being amidships when she only had two elevators making the amidships elevator the #1.

Toll says at one point that the Japanese believed the CV-3 Saratoga was only CV in the Pacific without explaining that the Japanese believed they had sunk the other carriers.

Toll states that the two dimensional radar of the era could not determine altitude of incoming planes. That is incorrect. It is true three dimensional radar had not been invented yet but they had fade charts that would allow them to be reasonably accurate in determining altitude based on how strong the signal was. Read the First Team.

The TBD Devestator is described as being obsolete at Coral Sea but due to SBDs diverting enemy fighters they were effective at Coral Sea. The TBD was better than the British Swordfish yet no one said the Swordfish was a death trap. All torpedo bombers are more vulnerable in the attack then dive bombers. That is why proper coordination which the Japanese were masters at in `42 and Americans were hopeless at is how you give any torpedo bomber a chance. Look at how the Midway based TBFs did at Midway if you doubt me.

Toll described the F4F as good as the A6M. The only tactic the F4F could use to stay in the air against the A6M was the defensive Thach Weave. The Thach Weave did nothing to defend American carrier bombers. The author describes that Thach weave as a section tactic used by two planes when as devised it was meant to be used by a division of 4 planes. Each section of two would clear the tails of the other section. See First Team. VF-3 did not perform successfully at Midway and took heavy losses.

Toll states that the Japanese order of battle was intercepted by Hypo and that is disputed in Rochefort's War as a popular myth.

The description of the Midway AF ruse credits Rochefort with the idea when I believe it was LT Dyer. It was not Rochefort. See Rochfort's War.

Toll states that Enterprise retired from Coral Sea after King authorized it where in Rochefort's War it states that Nimitz ordered the withdrawal before King agreed to it. Nimitz showing the ability to do what was right even if it meant he went out on a limb with King.

The timing and location of Layton's Kido Butai arrival prediction off Midway does not match Rochefort's War.

The author Monday morning QBs and says the Japanese Midway plan was too complex and fleet not concentrated. Had Hypo not deduced the Japanese plan the US carriers would not have been at Midway lying in ambush. They would likely have been in south Pacific. After Midway had fallen they would have raced north into a Kido Butai that was then in possession of Midway's airfield. The Japanese failed despite one third of the US carrier attack planes getting lost and poor tactical coordination of the other two air wings because no plan can succeed if the enemy has it. In the 80s it was discovered that the Soviet Union was reading US naval communications due to the Walker spy ring. Two authors believe loss of submarine Scorpion was due to USSR attack made possible by knowing where the Scorpion was which they acquired by reading US radio messages. If US had gone to war against USSR in the 80s the US Navy would have been in big trouble much like the Japanese at Midway.

The author does not describe the technological development of dive breaks on dive bombers that made that form of attack so effective.
In attacks on Mikuma and Mogami Toll refers to after turret on Mikuma implying she only had one after turret when she had two.

Author provides excellent balance between events and the main characters. His portrayal of Admiral Nimitz was exceptionally informative. Events are described in detail and are accompanied by eye witness accounts. The ships are seen through sailor's loving eyes.

The book is extremely well written and researched. I could not put it down and I read it in two sessions

I hope there is a sequel 1943-1945

Would have loved to have read and given this book an honest review, but the Footnote Links drove me crazy by chapter 2. Some pages were completely linked not allowing you to turn the page unless you reduced the font and found a link free space. Contacted the store to disable them but was told that the publisher did not allow it. Was given a refund and the book was removed from my device.

Overall I found Pacific Crucible to be a pretty good read. I thought its' strength rested on all the information it presented regarding what was going on in Japan during the period in question (1941-42). It also provided a good background as to how the militarists took control of Japan and helped to usher in the war at the expense of more seasoned Naval Officers and politicians who knew it would be a ruinous affair. Some of the weaknesses I thought were more technical in nature such as the author saying a pilot wore a "gas mask" vs. an "oxygen mask"; and on page 453 where he states the Japanese carrier Hiryu was "...only 110 miles east..." (of the American Carriers, when in fact the Japanese were to the west.

Over all though an informative read.

Very disappointed. Title says "War at Sea in the Pacific 1941-1942" Nothing about the monumental clashes around Guadalcanal in 1942. Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea and Midway have already been covered ad infinitum.

I'll make this short. The book is an easy read and informative - if you can trust what the author says. He clearly does not feel comfortable with naval terminology. In one particularly annoying passage he refers to THE 'ships name' and then in the next sentence correctly leaves out the THE. A ship is its name, not THE. Houston, not THE Houston. One other VERY annoying thing about the book is that FDR can do no wrong whereas MacArthur is tarred at every opportunity. At one point, he takes MacArthur to task for not having picked the correct tactical course, and explains that he is called Dugout Doug because he lived in a bunker. The first is Monday after analysis, the latter totally unfair. Corregidor was not a bunker, although that terminology is more associated with someone holed up, safe and sound so it serves his purpose. One need only read about MacArthur in WWI to know he did not lack courage. But immediately following his slam at MacArthur, Toll serves up a positive analysis of FDR's cold-blooded sacrificing of those in the Philippines and its people. After all these years, get off the slam of MacArthur and worship of FDR.

Very detail oriented, presented in rather straightforward prose.
Toll is not a great stylist, but it's a good read nevertheless.
There's a whole lot of information in this book, reasonably well presented.