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Title details for I Will Run Wild by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver - Available

I Will Run Wild

The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway

by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
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In many popular histories of the Pacific War, the period from the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor to the US victory at Midway is often passed over because it is seen as a period of darkness. Indeed, it is easy to see the period as one of unmitigated disaster for the Allies, with the fall of the Philippines, Malaya, Burma and the Dutch East Indies, and the wholesale retreat and humiliation at the hands of Japan throughout Southeast Asia.

However, there are also stories of courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds: the stand of the Marines at Wake Island; the fighting retreat in the Philippines that forced the Japanese to take 140 days to accomplish what they had expected would take 50; the fight against the odds at Singapore and over Java; the stirring tale of the American Volunteer Group in China; and the beginnings of resistance to further Japanese expansion. In these events, there are many individual stories that have either not been told or not been told widely which are every bit as gripping as the stories associated with the turning tide after Midway.

I Will Run Wild draws on extensive first-hand accounts and fascinating new analysis to tell the story of Americans, British, Dutch, Australians and New Zealanders taken by surprise from Pearl Harbor to Singapore that first Sunday of December 1941, who went on to fight with what they had at hand against a stronger and better-prepared foe, and in so doing built the basis for a reversal of fortune and an eventual victory.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 17, 2020

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

      • ISBN: 9781472841322

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781472841322

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781472841322
      • File size: 9665 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from June 15, 2020
      A focused look at the first six months of World War II in the Pacific, drawing on government documents and interviews with veterans. Cleaver admits to a fascination with the Pacific war since his early school days, and it shows in the depth in which he examines the battlefield details. The author, who has written multiple books on the Pacific theater, puts special emphasis on naval aviation, which was the dominant mode of action at the time. The second chapter, describing U.S. and Japanese preparedness for the war, includes accounts of the development of the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, two of the iconic warplanes of the era. At times, the catalogs of how many planes of which types took part in a given attack may stretch the patience of general readers, though this type of data will thrill military history buffs. Cleaver amply makes up for any slow bits with comments from and anecdotes by many of those who took part--on both sides. The author includes quotes from Eisenhower's diaries and Roosevelt's speeches and battle accounts from American and Japanese servicemen along with contemporaneous news reports to show what the general public was being told about the campaign. Cleaver has strong opinions about many aspects of the Pacific war, including a negative judgment of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's performance in the defense of the Philippines, one evidently shared by many of those in the field at the time. The author's diligent research and careful citation of sources give his opinions considerable weight; as a result, the book deserves attention from anyone interested in the difficult months between the disaster of Pearl Harbor and the triumph of Midway. Authoritative and colorful--a must-read account of the initial phase of the war in the Pacific.

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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