Darkness before the Dawn, Sgt. J.N. Farrow. This is the wartime diary of Sgt. J.N. Farrow, a prisoner of war in Changi for four years from the fall of Singapore to the end of the war. The book in provides an invaluable insight into the life of a P.O.W. in the Far East. [see more] |
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 Chindit 1942-45, Tim Moreman. The Chindits were the most controversial of the many different elite units raised by the British during the Second World War, and ever since a debate has raged on whether their achievements justified the terrible toll in casualties or the effort that went into creating the force in the first place. Here Moreman looks at what went into making a Chindit, starting with their selection (or rather the lack of any initial selection process), then moving on to the rigorous training which at one point saw 70% of a British battalion on the sick list. This played a part raising the initial morale of the Chindits to a high enough level to allow them to survive the terrible conditions they had to endure on the two major Chindit operations – Operations Longcloth and Thursday – key elements of which are examined to see how the theory was put into practice [see more] |
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 World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics, Stephen Bull, Osprey Elite. The subject of jungle warfare tactics has fascinated many people and contains many myths. This book tries to cover a large subject in 64 pages, a mammoth task but one which it does remarkably well. The content is clear and very interesting de-bunking various myths such as Japanese superiority in jungle warfare but without throwing the baby out with the bath water and does highlight some of the Japanese strengths in this area. The book is an excellent introduction to the subject. |
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Eagle Against The Sun, Spector, Ronald, Cassell Military, London, 2001.
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Sledge, E B. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1996 (Reprint).
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Iwo Jima and Okinawa , Black, Wallace B. , Prentice Hall, London, 1993
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McMillan, George. The Old Breed: A History of the First Marine Division in World War II, Infantry Journal Press, Washington DC, 1949 (Battery Press Reprint available).
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The Pacific Campaign , Vat, Dan van der, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1991.
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Alexander, Joseph H. Storm Landings, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1997. A detailed account of the major amphibious assaults of the Pacific War.
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Wheeler, Richard. A Special Valor: The US Marines and the Pacific War, Harper & Row, 1983, New York.
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Biographies
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The Cabanatuan Prison Raid, The Philippines 1945, Gordon L. Rottman. An engaging account of one of the most successful raids of the Second World War - the rescue of over 500 POWs from the Japanese camp at Cabanatuan on the Philippines by a force made up of US Rangers, Alamo Scouts and local guerrillas. [read full review] 
World War Two: U.S. Military Plans for the Invasion of Japan, Thomas Fensch (Editor) This is a very useful collection of official American documents relating to Operation Downfall, the plan for the invasion of Japan. The invasion never needed to be carried out, but the plans had reached a very advanced stage by the time the two Atomic bombs ended the war. [see more] 
The Quiet Admiral, A Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Thomas B. Buell. This is widely considered to be the best biography of Spruance, currently available in this reissued edition. Buell nicely contrasts Spruance with Halsey, his co-commander of the combined third and fifth fleets from 1944, as well as looking at his handling of Midway, the battle that made his name. 
In Bitter Tempest: The Biography of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher, Stephen D. Regan. A much needed biography of one of the most important American admirals in the year after Pearl Harbor. Regan had rare access to Fletcher's papers, as well as to a wide range of interviews given before his death, and has produced a very valuable work on a neglected figure. 
