I really wanted to like this book as I am a big fan of Stephen Ambrose's work and I hoped his son Hugh Ambrose would be able to write as well. The big difference here though is that while Stephen Ambrose had a knack for telling soldiers tales he also applied his own historical analysis to the work.
In "The Pacific" what we get is the story of five soldiers who served in the Pacific War and whose stories overlap enough to cover the whole course of the war. There is no attempt at analysis or discussion of the strategy and tactics but simply a re-telling of what was presumably a recorded interview with these veterans.
What is particularly annoying is that part of the book relays the story of Eugene Sledge almost exactly as he wrote it himself in his war memoirs "With The Old Breed". Is there any real need to repeat that story here, as surely there were other unpublished veterans Hugh Ambrose could have talked to.
Its strange therefore that the other 'character' from the television series, Robert Leckie is not included in the book. Hugh Ambrose explains that this was because his experiences were covered in his book "Helmet For My Pillow", and that he has included another similar account that covers the same period. So why repeat one and not the other?
In addition to these two three other veterans add their voices to the story of the Pacific War as seen through their eyes. But that remains the problem - five peoples experiences, even if they were involved in all the major events of the war does not even begin to tell the whole story. For Stephen Ambroses book "Citizen Soldiers" he interviewed dozens of soldiers and gives a much better overall impression of what war in Europe was like for the average soldier. For the war in the Pacific this only tells you what the war was like for five individuals.
As others have pointed out the style of writing is also slightly annoying. Hugh Ambrose attempts to add drama to events by writing in short snappy sentences. While his father was able to do this to great effect Hugh Ambrose over does it and you get entire chapters of tiny sentences which ruin any emotional impact the story might have had.
By the end of the book you get some idea of what the Pacific War was like but I still found myself crying out for some input from the author. At no point does he even try to talk about the background to the war, the weapons, the tactics, the commanders and their strategies, the vehicles and planes, or even the differences between the different branches of service involved. If you are hoping for a history book on the Pacific War this is not it. This is more of a biography of five very brave and resilient men who fought during the war but with nothing more added to place it in context.
The Pacific: Hell Was an Ocean Away
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
Neil Lennon
The Pacific
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2014Verified Purchase
David I. Howells
A good balanced overview of the war in the Pacific.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 December 2014Verified Purchase
pee
Not as good as the Ambrose name demands
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 April 2012Verified Purchase
StefS
Well documented and reasonably well written
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2012Verified Purchase
Strachan Cathcart
It was not a new book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2021Verified Purchase
