The Battle of Midway

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. In this riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds, paints an unforgettable portrait of ingenuity, courage, and sacrifice. Symonds begins with the arrival of Admiral Chester A. Nimitz at Pearl Harbor after the devastating Japanese attack, and describes the key events leading to the climactic battle, including both Coral Sea-the first battle in history against opposing carrier forces-and Jimmy Doolittle's daring raid of Tokyo. He focuses throughout on the people involved, offering telling portraits of Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, Spruance and numerous other Americans, as well as the leading Japanese figures, including the poker-loving Admiral Yamamoto. Indeed, Symonds sheds much light on the aspects of Japanese culture-such as their single-minded devotion to combat, which led to poorly armored planes and inadequate fire-safety measures on their ships-that contributed to their defeat. Symond's account of the battle itself is masterful, weaving together the many disparate threads of attack-attacks which failed in the early going-that ultimately created a five-minute window in which three of the four Japanese carriers were mortally wounded, changing the course of the Pacific war in an eye-blink. Symonds is the first historian to argue that the victory at Midway was not simply a matter of luck, pointing out that Nimitz had equal forces, superior intelligence, and the element of surprise. Nimitz had a strong hand, Symonds concludes, and he rightly expected to win. "The Battle of Midway was the hinge on which the war in the Pacific turned. Its story deserves retelling, and Symonds' book does a wonderful job of it." --The American Spectator"Mr. Symonds has marshaled the data of seven decades to produce an account that is clear and readable, benefiting from his easy expertise in naval matters." --The Wall Street Journal"Important...documenting a role too often overlooked and too little understood: the essential role played by the U.S. Navy in winning the war in the Pacific." - The Dallas Morning News"[W]holly satisfying . . . a lucid, intensely researched, mildly revisionist account of a significant moment in American military history." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review"Craig Symonds has delivered yet another outstanding work, a work that will set the standard for studies of the Battle of Midway for years to come. Even if one thinks one knows all there is to know about Midway, Mr. Symonds' plethora of new facts, rationales for what and why each side performed the way it did, human interest stories and more make The Battle of Midway indispensable . . . The story of the battle unfolding and being fought is absolutely outstanding, but the events before and after it are equally well told. In addition, the supporting charts, photographs, references and bibliography are awesome. For anyone at all interested in the Battle of Midway, the Pacific War or the Navy, this is a must read." --The Washington TimesSelected as a Best Book of 2011 by Military History Quarterly"Deeply researched, shrewdly argued, and powerfully narrated, The Battle of Midway is a superb work of the historian's craft. It easily takes its place as the best and most comprehensive account of the pivotal battle from the American perspective." -Richard B. Frank, author of Guadalcanal: TheDefinitive Account of the Landmark Battle and Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire"In The Battle of Midway SyINTRODUCTION ; 1. CINCPAC ; 2. THE KIDO BUTAI ; 3. THE BROWNSHOE NAVY ; 4. AMERICAN COUNTERSTRIKE ; 5. SEEKING THE DECISIVE BATTLE ; 6. PETE AND JIMMY ; 7. THE CODEBREAKERS ; 8. THE CORAL SEA ; 9. THE EVE OF BATTLE ; 10. OPENING ACT ; 11. NAGUMO'S DILEMMA (4:00 A.M. TO 8:30 A.M.) ; 12. THE FLIGHT TO NOWHERE (7:00 A.M. TO 11:20 A.M.) ; 13. ATTACK OF THE TORPEDO SQUADRONS (8:30 A.M. TO 10:20 A.M.) ; 14. THE TIPPING POINT (7:00 A.M. TO 10:30 A.M.) ; 15. THE JAPANESE COUNTERSTRIKE (11:00 A.M. TO 6:00 P.M.) ; 16. DENOUEMENT ; EPILOGUE