PDF The Battle for Leyte Gulf The Incredible Story of World War II Largest Naval Battle C Vann Woodward Evan Thomas Ian W Toll 9781510721340 Books

Product details Paperback 242 pages Publisher Skyhorse; New edition (May 2, 2017) Language English ISBN-10 1510721347

The Battle for Leyte Gulf The Incredible Story of World War II Largest Naval Battle C Vann Woodward Evan Thomas Ian W Toll 9781510721340 Books Reviews

• Lots of detail and well researched as far as I can tell. I was in the navy so the authors account probably is more easily understood by me on a couple of levels. Even so, the scale of this series of engagements is huge and the average reader will have a hard time keeping things straight in their minds as it unfolds. There are some diagrams of the battle and they help a bit but it would have been better for me if they were divided into smaller pieces so I could print them out and arrange them for a clearer understanding.
  The author undoubtedly knows the story as the back of his hand, but for the rest of us trying to keep the scores of names, unit designators and locations straight is a challenge, and after a while I gave up caring about taking away a solid understanding and settled for getting the gist of the thing. So I may not be able to fault his facts I sure fault the story telling. Reminded me of a dense college text.
• The Battle for Leyte Gulf is an excellent descriptive account of the actions of both the Japanese and the US Navy in late October 1944. It begins by setting the stage—information about the two fleets, their leadership and their strategies. Some will say there's too much detail but in a seminal book like this that detail is the point. Don't expect much character development as the main players are portrayed through their commands, actions and reactions. This is the most comprehensive account of the Battle for Leyte Gulf I've read. Required reading for WWII Pacific theater buffs.
• A detailed history of the largest naval battle of WW2, covered from the very beginning (sub attacks on the main Japanese column) to hunting down stragglers and cripples long after the main battle was over. Reads like an after action report, which was one of Woodward's main sources of information. Every shell hit and torpedo is recorded. Originally written in 1947, the currency provides unparalleled detail - but maybe also some myopia. Japanese failings are drilled repeatedly for rationale, but scrutinizing Halsey's reckless acts is"left for another time".
  
  The maps are terrible, looking like bad reprints of the 1947 originals. All black and white with movement arrows fifty miles wide and obscuring everything. The original book itself may have been larger, allowing map details that this version compression obliterates. A shame, as maps are critical particularly sea battles'.
• The level of detail in this book is excellent. It is well written, but required me to read some parts for a second time, just to make sure I understood it. That is not the fault of the author, for this was the largest battle of the war. It stretched out over three days and hundreds of miles of complicated territory.
  The information gathered from the Japanese commanders really helped in understanding why they acted in ways which seemed puzzling at the time.
  All in all, a good detailed description of a very complex and strategic battle.
• I probably would not have read this book had I know it was basically a timeline description of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. It was impossible for someone like me to keep all the ships with their skippers and groups of ships on both sides clear in my mind and where they were and were headed. I was a bit shocked that Admiral Halsey's decision to follow Japanese ships north instead completing the task he was assigned, was not explored more. I thought there would be stories of individual acts on both sides but there was not. I much prefer the wonderful book 'The last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors' which really kept my interest. I finished this book and did enjoy it but it was more of a 'first they did this and then they went there and then', kind of book. No real stories. I'm sure for people studying this battle it was excellent but not for me.
• An early and rather technical account of the naval engagements in the last big sea battle between the Japanese and American navies in World War II. It was written just after the war, when surviving Japanese officers had been interrogated and most of the facts were in, but may not include data that have come to light since that time. It's rather dry reading, but certainly important to those interested in the Pacific Theater.
• My dad was a WW II combat vet, I later served and then taught US History for 32 years. I enjoyed the book, but a few caveats. To begin with, you really need a big map of the Leyte Gulf area., and then a map of the entire battle as you read. This was actually 4 separate battles that took place in4 separate areas. Also, the military nomenclature for commands, ships and planes can prove difficult. CVW is an Old School "get it right" author with lots of derail and reserved analysis. It should also be pointed out that this was published in 1947, which means that newer books will have information not available at the time. As I said, I enjoyed the book, but it would have helped readers if the editors had provided maps for each chapter. If they can find it, reading James Jone's WW II would be a good beginning to understand the entire Pacific war. Finally, Leyte Gulf was the first use of kamikaze attacks, and I would suggest the THE TWILIGHT WARRIORS , which details our response to the kamikaze threat.as a follow-up read. Also, THE LAST STAND OF THE TIN CAN SAILORS will explain why we were able to win after making serious errors at the beginning of the battles.
• Book was very good at chronicaling the complex battles in this historic event. It pointed to the leaders that failed in their responsibilities without being accusatory. In other words let the narrative of the events speak for itself. Gave a much better understanding of Japan and USA at this stage of the war in their approach to this battle. The book could have added much more to the story with more detailed accounts of individual ship actions in the various engagement between the ships, aircraft, submarines etc. but then the book would have more than doubled in size. It would have been worth it and would have gotten 5 stars