Stepping Stones to Nowhere : The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and American Military Strategy, 1867-1945

The Aleutian Islands, a mostly forgotten portion of the United States on the southwest coast of Alaska, have often assumed a key role in American military strategy. But for most Americans, prior to the Second World War, the bleak and barren islands were of little interest. In Stepping Stones to Nowhere, Galen Perras shows how that changed with the Japanese occupation of the western Aleutians, which climaxed in the horrendous battle for Attu. Perras reveals how this clash in the North Pacific demonstrated serious problems with the way that American civilian and military decision makers sought to incite a global conflict. "The Aleutian Islands, a mostly forgotten portion of the United States off the southwest coast of Alaska, have often assumed a key role in American military strategy. W. H. Seward, the US secretary of state who brokered the purchase of Alaska in 1867, believed that the acquisition would permit the United States to dominate the Pacific. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton attempted to install an American ballistic missile defence system on the islands. But for most Americans, prior to the Second World War, the bleak and barren islands were of little interest." "In Stepping Stones to Nowhere, Galen Perras shows how that changed with the Japanese occupation of the western Aleutians, which climaxed in the horrendous battle for Attu. Efforts to make the area a major theatre of war rivalling Europe or the south Pacific foundered, but certainly not for lack of effort. The campaign was unique in its involvement of Britain, the Soviet Union, and Canada. Perras reveals how this clash in the north Pacific demonstrated serious problems with the way that American civilian and military decision makers sought to incite a global conflict." "Thoroughly researched and accessible, this book will be invaluable to military and naval historians as well as those with a general interest in the history of the Second World War."--Résumé de l'éditeur "The Aleutian Islands, a mostly forgotten portion of the United States off the southwest coast of Alaska, have often assumed a key role in American military strategy. W.H. Seward, the US secretary of state who brokered the purchase of Alaska in 1867, believed that the acquisition would permit the United States to dominate the Pacific. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton attempted to install an American ballistic missile defence system on the islands. But for most Americans, prior to the Second World War, the bleak and barren islands were of little interest." "In Stepping Stones to Nowhere, Galen Perras shows how that changed with the Japanese occupation of the western Aleutians, which climaxed in the horrendous battle for Attu. Efforts to make the area a major theatre of war rivalling Europe or the south Pacific foundered, but certainly not for lack of effort. The campaign was unique in its involvement of Britain, the Soviet Union, and Canada. Perras reveals how this clash in the north Pacific demonstrated serious problems with the way that American civilian and military decision makers sought to incite a global conflict." "Thoroughly researched and accessible, this book will be invaluable to military and naval historians as well as those with a general interest in the history of the Second World War."--Jacket Perras, with the National Archives of Canada, expands on his doctoral dissertation (U. of Waterloo, 1995) about the American side of the World War II Aleutian campaign. He argues, that while critics' assessment of US battles on Attu and Kiska Island (shown on maps) against the Japanese as fiascos have validity, they overlook the historical context of still-continuing debates over the this North Pacific archipelago's strategic value. Major foci are US military politics, postwar proposals for the area, and Canada's role in Aleutian military affairs from the 1920s to 1943. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)