War In The Pacific 1941-1945

A detailed look at the war against Japan in the Pacific Islands during the Second World War. Published to coincide with the forthcoming ten-part HBO mini series, The Pacific, produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Speilberg and Gary Goetzman - the team behind the hugely successful Band of Brothers.

War in the Pacific 1941-1945 looks at the relentless war against Japan in the Pacific Islands which formed an integral part of eventual Allied victory in World War II. Setting the scene with the unprovoked Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and the almost simultaneous attack on US bases on Guam and Wake Island it then goes on to document the bloody battles fought in the jungle islands of Guadalcanal and the Philippines and the seas of the Pacific. As fortunes turned in 1942 the Allies fought hard to regain lost ground and the intensity of battle did not waver. It tells the story of the heroic actions of the men who toiled on the islands, the names of which have now become synonymous with bloodshed, hardship and unstoppable spirit which eventually resulted in victory for the Allies - Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Rabaul, Guam, Iwo Jima and finally Okinawa.

This fascinating and heart-wrenching story is brought to life by the addition of 15 pieces of carefully selected facsimile memorabilia, ranging from military orders, to propaganda leaflets dropped by the Japanese on US troops to the personal diaries and letters home of both generals, officers and ordinary soldiers.

About The Author

Richard Overy, Professor of History, University of Exeter, UK, is an expert on the history of the Second World War, air warfare, and the Hitler and Stalin dictatorships. He has published over 20 books, including the landmark four volume series: The Second World War Experience, Russia's War, The Battle of Britain, Why the Allies Won. He has been general editor of the Times History of the World for the fifth, sixth and seventh editions, and wrote and edited the Times History of the Twentieth Century. He has won five prizes for his published work, including in 2005 the Wolfson Prize for History and the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History, both for The Dictators: Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia.

In 2001 he was awarded the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize by the Society for Military History. Richard Overy is a regular contributor to the Independent, Sunday Telegraph, Guadian, and the Literary Review. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.