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A review by joabroda
Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945 by Evan Thomas
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Informative narrative of the Leyte Gulf battle during WWII. The battle is told through the eyes of four commanders, 2 Americans and 2 Japanese. I have not read anything better that explores the mindset of the Japanese during the war. The duty the top brass of Japan felt to the Emperor reminded me more of a cult. One ridiculous instantce is how they had to be sure to grab the Emperor's portrait before abandoning ship...still makes me shake my head.
The Battle of Leyte was the last massive sea battle to fought by any nation. [author:Evan Thomas|7112] does a fabulous job, in the second half of the book, taking us through the build up and the final confrontation. Sorry to say though, I just cannot give it 4 stars as the 1st half of the book was very, very slow for me.
Like all other recently written history of WWII, we learn things that never came to light immediately after the war. It never surprises me anymore to read about the super egos of our military commanders, and the pettiness and bad relations between them. You would think that during a massive campaign, as this one in the Philippines was, egos would be set aside because of all the lives at stake.
The Battle of Leyte was the last massive sea battle to fought by any nation. [author:Evan Thomas|7112] does a fabulous job, in the second half of the book, taking us through the build up and the final confrontation. Sorry to say though, I just cannot give it 4 stars as the 1st half of the book was very, very slow for me.
Like all other recently written history of WWII, we learn things that never came to light immediately after the war. It never surprises me anymore to read about the super egos of our military commanders, and the pettiness and bad relations between them. You would think that during a massive campaign, as this one in the Philippines was, egos would be set aside because of all the lives at stake.