Okinawa : A Decorated Marine's Account of the Last Battle of World War II

Penguin delivers you to the front lines of The Pacific Theater with the real-life stories behind the HBO miniseries. Former Marine and Pacific War veteran Robert Leckie tells the story of the invasion of Okinawa, the closing battle of World War II. Leckie is a skilled military historian, mixing battle strategy and analysis with portraits of the men who fought on both sides to give the reader a complete account of the invasion. Lasting 83 days and surpassing D-Day in both troops and material used, the Battle of Okinawa was a decisive victory for the Allies, and a huge blow to Japan. In this stirring and readable account, Leckie provides a complete picture of the battle and its context in the larger war.

marine And Pacific War Veteran Robert Leckie Retells The Epic Story Of The Battle Of Okinawa From Both Sides. Strikingly Intimate Portraits Of The Japanese Generals, The American Soldiers, And Their Commanding Officers Brilliantly Illuminate Those Individuals Who Fought In This Bloody Confrontation.

publishers Weekly

larger In Both Number Of Troops And Tonnage Than The Normandy Landing, The Battle For Okinawa, April 1-june 21, 1945, Was The Last Great Campaign Of Wwii. Leckie Here Recreates The Events, From The Planning By American Fleet Admirals In A Suite At San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel To The Ritual Suicide Of Lt. Gen. Mitsuri Ushijima On A Cliff Overlooking The Pacific The Day The Americans Declared Victory. Much Of The Succinct, Fast-paced Narrative Deals With How The Army And Marine Divisions Cooperated As They Applied The ``corkscrew And Blowtorch'' Methods Necessary To Dislodge The Tenacious Defenders Of An Island Only 375 Miles From Their Japanese Homeland. In A Thought-provoking Final Section, Leckie Discusses The Still Simmering Questions Of Whether The Dropping Of The Atomic Bombs On Hiroshima And Nagasaki Compelled The Japanese To Surrender, Whether They Would Soon Have Surrendered Anyway And Whether The Okinawa Campaign Was In Fact Unnecessary. Leckie, A Prolific Author Of Popular Military Books, Writes Stirring Prose; His Fans Will Not Be Disappointed By This One. Bomc Selection. (may)

SUMMARY: Marine and Pacific war veteran Robert Leckie retells the epic story of the battle of Okinawa from both sides. Strikingly intimate portraits of the Japanese generals, the American soldiers, and their commanding officers brilliantly illuminate those individuals who fought in this bloody confrontation. of photos. On September 29, 1944, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Ocean Area (POA), and Fleet Admiral Ernest King, chief of U.S. Naval Operations, conferred in San Francisco on the next steps to be taken to deliver the final crusher to a staggering Japan. "Leckie's smooth narrative deals with all aspects of the Okinawa battle...and his style adds some nice touches, including autobiographical flashes that go back as fas as Guadalcanal."—Washington Post Book World. A retelling of the April Fool's Day invasion of Japan in 1945 by a U.S. Marine veteran offers a perspective of the eighty-three-day battle from American and Japanese viewpoints