War in the Pacific Capa dura - 2010

"The book is a good piece of history and it's graphic." -Dale Dye, Senior Military Advisor on the set of HBO's "The Pacific"

"Richard Overy's companion to the HBO series The Pacific isn't just a book, it's a collection of facsimile documents, such as the order to General MacArthur to abandon the Philippines, the "Pocket Guide to Australia" issued to US soldiers, and a battle report from Iwo Jima." -Entertainment Weekly (March 2010)

"War in the Pacific: 1941–1945 by noted British historian Richard Overy, [is] an unusual visual compilation that uses text, photographs, and facsimile documents to produce a historical account of the war." -Publisher's Weekly (March 2010)

"It is fascinating visual and archival material presented in an innovative way... War in the Pacific 1941-1945 has the feel of a museum exhibit and serves primarily to whet the appetite of the viewer to study the events portrayed in greater detail... It is historical eye candy." -Stephen Frater, Herald Tribune (February 2010)

"... a new slipcased assemblage of facsimile documents, maps, and memorabilia, by Richard Overy, with a foreword by the senior military advisor to the HBO series. Osprey refers to it as a coffee-table book, but it really is far more a product for hands-on learning and manipulation of removable ephemera." -Library Journal  (March 2010)

"Filled with dramatic photographs, detailed maps, and reproductions of contemporary documents, Richard Overy’s handsome, coffee-table-style volume provides an attention-grabbing introduction to War in the Pacific... Well-written, two-page chapters offer overviews of Imperial Japan, Pearl Harbor, and each of the major operations from the Battle of Coral Sea to Okinawa, ending with the deployment of atomic bombs and the Japanese surrender... An array of facsimile documents, many of which are removable, include official military dispatches and casualty reports, a draft of President Roosevelt’s post-Pearl Harbor address to Congress (with hand-written changes), a “Pocket Guide to Australia” issued to U.S. Army and Navy forces, a letter from General MacArthur to his wife, and more. These realistic-looking records—with their yellowed-with age pages and “Declassified” stamps—will create a powerful sense of propinquity for students." -School Library Journal (April 2010)

"With a foreword by Dale Dye, this stunningly designed coffee-table piece boasts 20 facsimile documents (from Roosevelt's draft of his post-Pearl Harbor speech to Maine messages and battle reports) with precis by a leading historian." -World War II Magazine (May/June 2010)

"I am especially impressed by the inclusion of facsimiles of period documents and publications. Having read the military records of my grandfather's WWII Army battalion, I can say there is something uniquely immediate and enlightening about reading such primary source material." -Andrew Brozyna, 519th Port Bn in WWII / 519thportbn.com (March 2010)

"...the reproductions of the various historical records makes flipping through book an uniquely fun experience, and makes the book a fine conversation piece for the living room coffee table." -C. Peter Chen, World War 2 Database / ww2db.com (April 2010)

Included in the Shelf Awareness round-up of Pacific War titles. -Shelf Awareness (March 8, 2010)