Pacific Crucible

Pacific Crucible tells the harrowing tale of the early years of the Pacific War, from Pearl Harbor to Midway. It grips the reader not just during the battle scenes but also during the tense political feuds that happen throughout the story.

While there have been hundreds (thousands?) of books written about WW2, this is the most engrossing one I've read (or watched) yet. Toll does well to focus on the key characters throughout the book: Roosevelt, Nimitz, King, Rochefort, Spruance, Halsey, Hirohito, Tojo, Yamamoto, Nagumo. At the end of the day war is a human endeavor and it's especially clear that individual humans played an outsized role in the outcome of the Pacific War.

One clear takeaway is the effect that the fog of war played on the Pacific War. It's miraculous that as recently as 80 years ago aircraft carriers were forced to fight in radio silence without any knowledge of enemy whereabouts. The fog of war shone through especially during the Battle of the Coral Sea when mistaken identities cost both sides a chance to deal a crushing blow.

On the flip side, it's also clear the importance that intelligence played in allowing the Americans to spring the trap at Midway. Without having completely accurate information on the locations of the Japanese cruisers on the morning of June 6, the Second World War very well may have taken a darker turn.

Despite the intelligence lapses that happened at the time of the events, Toll does an amazing job putting together the puzzle pieces after the fact and presenting a clear picture of the early years of the Pacific War.