Somehow I wasn't quite pleased with Hoyt's "Japan's War", though I don't remember why. Perhaps I need to give it another look. Hoyt's book on the European theater, "The GI's War", is so good I would actually recommend it before Ambrose's works (in a "read this first" sense).

One that I have "mixed positive" feelings about is a two volume book called "Japan's Imperial Conspiracy". I am a doubter about the conspiracy aspects of the book, but as I recall the level of detail and interconnection the author went into is incredible.

And on the Pacific War, two other books (still in print) I would wholeheartedly recommend: "The Rising Sun" by John Toland (an absolute must-have) and "Eagle Against The Sun" by Ronald Spector.
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After reading "Band of Brothers" by Ambrose, read "The Biggest Brother: The True Story of Dick Winters" as a follow-up.

Also, after you finish reading the non-fiction hook yourself up with a couple of series written by W.E.B. Griffin - and I suggest reading them in order. "The Corps" follows a group of Marines from Pre-WWII China though the middle of the Korean War. Very entertaining series about old MARINES. The second series is "The Brotherhood of War" and it follows some Army types from WWII through the late-70s Viet Nam.

Griffin served in Korea and writes entertaining historical FICTION. Don't mistake it for anything but that even if you do swear that you know some of the characters in his books. (He's really good at describing the a$$es all of us military types have come across.)
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Thanks for the feedback. This book was the first one I've read for this perspective on the war, so I would take my view on it as such. But it was given to me by a fellow lifter and BOTL, who is an avid history buff and a Marine. His dad was a WWII bomber guy also. He told me it was one of the better books on Japan's perspective/history of their involvement. One thing I did note; it did seem to try to make the emperor seem more of a dupe of the Army and Navy in the whole thing, and I don't know enough to judge that view.

Also, thanks for the other Hoyt recommendation; I will give that a read. I really have been bitten by the bug on WWII and Revolution history. I'm lucky to have a 94 year old neighbor who fought in Europe and survived, who wants to tell me his stories. Unbelievable what they had to do. From what I've read, the Pacific campaign was even worse.

Joe
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once I get my book published you can add that to your civil war reading list
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My godmother was one of those who interviewed soldiers returning from the PTO for the Army. Until the day she died she hated and refused to forgive the Japanese for what they did to our fighting men over there. I can only imagine....
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You may have posted about this elsewhere, but what is your book about, regarding the war?
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I have 44 letters of a Civil War surgeon with the 111th and 98th NY infantries. His letters are between 1862 and 1885. He was present at the surrender of Harpers Ferry, the defenses of Washington DC, Gettysburg, and the siege of Petersburg. I edited the letters, wrote background info on who he was, the role of surgeons during the war, as well as how the armies were organized because he mentions a lot of ranks and what not, I figured it would help the reader. I also added a large amount of footnotes on key people, places, events mentioned in the letters.
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A friend of mine is a longtime jeweler and watchmaker, still working in his 90s. He was in the PTO from Guadalcanal all the way to the Philippines, and he too refuses to forgive the Japanese. He'll talk with them if they come into his shop, but he will not forgive.

Given some of the more unsettling stories he's told me over the years, I can't blame him.
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Here are the titles I've picked up off ebay in the last 2-3 days. They were all pretty highly rated on amazon...~50 bucks for all 8 books.

Patton: A Genius for War Carlo D'Este
The First World War John Keegan
The Second World War John Keegan
A History of Warfare John Keegan
The Western Way of War: Infantry Battle in Classical Greece Victor Hanson
The Civil War: A Narrative(3 volumes) Shelby Foote
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I didn't read the whole thread, but...

I'd suggest the Newt Gingrich trilogy that begins with Gettysburg. If Lee won. Great read. Very realistic. Hard to put down.
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