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Best Books on the Pacific War

For reasons big and small, understandable and unjustified, the war in the Pacific during World War II has largely been overshadowed by the Allies war against Hitler. Not anymore. Here's your opportunity to let others know your favorite books on the war that led us from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay.
1

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4.48 avg rating — 45,019 ratings
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2

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4.35 avg rating — 11,247 ratings
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3

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4.30 avg rating — 7,138 ratings
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4

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4.23 avg rating — 1,257 ratings
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5

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4.25 avg rating — 38,366 ratings
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6

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4.39 avg rating — 980,884 ratings
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7

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4.60 avg rating — 9,521 ratings
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8

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4.48 avg rating — 3,529 ratings
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9

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4.22 avg rating — 24,000 ratings
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10

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4.34 avg rating — 1,202 ratings
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11

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4.19 avg rating — 6,269 ratings
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12

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4.27 avg rating — 5,035 ratings
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13

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4.22 avg rating — 62,595 ratings
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14

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4.29 avg rating — 1,019 ratings
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15

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4.12 avg rating — 4,729 ratings
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16

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4.14 avg rating — 3,982 ratings
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17

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4.20 avg rating — 2,853 ratings
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18

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4.21 avg rating — 3,675 ratings
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19

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4.62 avg rating — 6,524 ratings
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20

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4.35 avg rating — 2,700 ratings
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21

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4.39 avg rating — 3,519 ratings
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22

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4.32 avg rating — 23,014 ratings
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23

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4.08 avg rating — 2,565 ratings
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24

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4.38 avg rating — 1,168 ratings
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25

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4.15 avg rating — 2,880 ratings
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26

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4.09 avg rating — 13,838 ratings
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27

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4.23 avg rating — 4,979 ratings
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28

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4.16 avg rating — 70 ratings
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29

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4.19 avg rating — 2,209 ratings
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29

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4.31 avg rating — 755 ratings
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31

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4.28 avg rating — 279 ratings
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32

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4.28 avg rating — 282 ratings
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33

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4.30 avg rating — 5,823 ratings
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34

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4.18 avg rating — 304 ratings
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35

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4.30 avg rating — 764 ratings
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36

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4.55 avg rating — 94 ratings
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37

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4.39 avg rating — 1,030 ratings
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38

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4.41 avg rating — 743 ratings
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39

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4.02 avg rating — 1,279 ratings
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40

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4.76 avg rating — 4,517 ratings
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41

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4.24 avg rating — 606 ratings
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42

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4.57 avg rating — 190 ratings
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43

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4.33 avg rating — 409 ratings
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44

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4.15 avg rating — 121 ratings
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45

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4.40 avg rating — 23,641 ratings
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46

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4.16 avg rating — 197 ratings
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47

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4.42 avg rating — 312 ratings
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48

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4.28 avg rating — 4,660 ratings
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49

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4.48 avg rating — 2,719 ratings
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50

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4.32 avg rating — 403 ratings
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51

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4.33 avg rating — 697 ratings
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52

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4.20 avg rating — 3,178 ratings
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53

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4.19 avg rating — 42,900 ratings
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54

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3.88 avg rating — 42 ratings
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55

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4.48 avg rating — 1,517 ratings
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56

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4.43 avg rating — 732 ratings
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57

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4.33 avg rating — 4,364 ratings
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58

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4.30 avg rating — 200 ratings
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59

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4.22 avg rating — 58 ratings
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59

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4.45 avg rating — 775 ratings
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61

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4.16 avg rating — 357 ratings
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62

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4.06 avg rating — 254 ratings
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63

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4.19 avg rating — 22,640 ratings
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64

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4.15 avg rating — 1,134 ratings
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65

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4.37 avg rating — 587 ratings
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66

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4.39 avg rating — 89 ratings
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67

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4.06 avg rating — 1,848 ratings
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68

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4.14 avg rating — 162 ratings
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69

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4.04 avg rating — 85,308 ratings
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70

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4.58 avg rating — 97 ratings
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71

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4.16 avg rating — 135 ratings
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72

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4.05 avg rating — 98 ratings
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72

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4.29 avg rating — 814 ratings
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72

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4.48 avg rating — 2,308 ratings
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75

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4.46 avg rating — 291 ratings
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76

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4.22 avg rating — 630 ratings
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77

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4.24 avg rating — 191 ratings
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78

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4.29 avg rating — 2,769 ratings
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79

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4.30 avg rating — 717 ratings
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80

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4.23 avg rating — 82 ratings
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80

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4.13 avg rating — 102 ratings
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82

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4.16 avg rating — 3,646 ratings
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83

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4.36 avg rating — 953 ratings
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84

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4.34 avg rating — 511 ratings
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85

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4.11 avg rating — 601 ratings
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86

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4.28 avg rating — 5,225 ratings
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87

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4.24 avg rating — 482 ratings
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88

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4.21 avg rating — 6,901 ratings
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88

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4.28 avg rating — 159 ratings
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90

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4.16 avg rating — 112 ratings
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91

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4.22 avg rating — 511 ratings
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91

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4.41 avg rating — 275 ratings
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93

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4.35 avg rating — 21,038 ratings
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94

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3.98 avg rating — 182 ratings
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94

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4.22 avg rating — 1,363 ratings
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94

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4.18 avg rating — 66 ratings
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97

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4.15 avg rating — 4,953 ratings
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98

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4.39 avg rating — 56 ratings
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98

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4.50 avg rating — 48 ratings
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98

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4.02 avg rating — 216 ratings
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233 books · 256 voters · list created September 27th, 2011 by Wurmo (votes) .
83 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Wurmo 73 books
28 friends
Geevee 4252 books
186 friends
íá 610 books
128 friends
'Aussie Rick' 5402 books
1069 friends
George 646 books
126 friends
Mike 7997 books
608 friends
Steve 532 books
14 friends
Dachokie 1915 books
55 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-10 of 10 (10 new)

dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Geevee (new)

Geevee Hi Wurmo, Great idea for a list to share on the Pacific campaign - I hope you don't mind but I have added some books about the Burma campaign. I added a couple of your suggestions to my TBR too :)


message 2: by Wurmo (new)

Wurmo Hey, Geevee. Add whichever books you've enjoyed. I'd love for people to populate the list with as many great titles as possible. I'm a shameless addict of anything Pacific War, and this will help me to construct a good "to read" list.


message 3: by Geevee (new)

Geevee I've only read the first volume of this series, which was very good but check out

History of US Naval Operations in WWII 3 Rising Sun in the Pacific 31-4/42 by Samuel Eliot Morison History of US Naval Operations in WWII 12 Leyte 6/44-1/45 by Samuel Eliot Morison History of US Naval Operations in WWII 13 The Liberation of the Philippines by Samuel Eliot Morison History of US Naval Operations in WWII 5 Struggle for Guadalcanal 8/42-2/43 by Samuel Eliot Morison History of US Naval Operations in WWII 4 Coral Sea, Midway & Submarine Actions 5-8/42 by Samuel Eliot Morison History of US Naval Operations in WWII by Samuel Eliot Morison History of US Naval Operations in WWII 6 Breaking the Bismarcks Barrier by Samuel Eliot Morison
by Samuel Eliot Morison Samuel Eliot Morison


message 4: by íá (new)

íá  Ó Gealbháin I've added 15 more books I felt should be on this list.


message 5: by Wurmo (new)

Wurmo Thanks, Dr. Michael. Looks like some definite additions to my ever-increasing "to read" list.


message 6: by íá (new)

íá  Ó Gealbháin Wurmo, I highly recommend Richard E. Overton's book God Isn't Here. It is the best personal account I have read since Sledge's With The Old Breed.


message 7: by Wurmo (new)

Wurmo That one does sound great (and what a great cover, for whatever that's worth). I'll definitely check it out. I've been reading more and more of the personal accounts/memoirs recently. Just finished "Phantom Warrior" last month. The last third of the book is some of the most exciting reading I've tackled in years.


message 8: by Lawrence Myers (last edited Aug 29, 2019 05:14AM) (new)

Lawrence Myers Wurmo, great list and I have one more recommendation: "The Fleet At Flood Tide" by James Hornfischer.


message 9: by Peter (new)

Peter Rochin This is a great list with an important omission, "The Rape of Nanking," a controversial book by I. Cheng.


message 10: by Nick (new)

Nick Keighley Is there a single book that gives an overview of the campaign? A lot of books seem to be very narrowly focused


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