The Final Storm: A Novel of the War in the Pacific (World War II)

Mr. Shaara admits that there are more stories to tell than he can fit into any one of his books. But, he manages to see each period he writes about from more angles than one might think possible. After his outstanding three volumes on the US Army in the African and European theaters of WWII, he covers the last months of US involvement in the Pacific war.In the introduction, he begins by telling the story of the first four-plus years of the Pacific war in less than ten pages. Few authors could do this successfully, but he carries it off smoothly. The first chapter covers an instance of submarine combat. Suspenseful and informative.The bulk of the book shifts to the battle of Okinawa. As Mr. Shaara says, he has a special respect for the "the men who carry the rifle", and it shows. He follows Pvt. Clay Adams through the entire campaign, giving you a glimpse into a seemingly endless series of bloody actions. How did these men hold up under the constant stress? You learn how the nature of the Pacific war differed from the combat in Europe. (I have too much respect for all the combatants to say any part of the war was "worse" than another part, but there certainly were differences.) As we continue to see in the wars of the 21st century, bombing or artillery alone almost never win a battle, or a way. People with rifles inevitably have to take, and hold, territory held by the enemy. It is never easy and always ugly, but America somehow finds exceptional men who will get the job done.As always with a Shaara novel, you get to hear a "voice from the other side". A high ranking Japanese officer survived the battle of Okinawa, unlike many of the other battles for Japanese held islands, and you hear the story of the Japanese defense. Telling the story from both sides of the conflict is something the author excels at. The reader's understanding is so much more complete when both sides are presented in the same volume.Finally, the story of the bombing of Hiroshima is told. Most accounts of the development of the A-bomb center on the scientists in New Mexico. This book tells a story that is often overlooked, that of the air crews who trained for a year to drop this new kind of weapon. Plus, you get a taste of some of the infighting at the upper levels of the Army Air Corps. By the end, you have an idea of the outstanding crew of the Enola Gay, along with the strong and stable character of the man who commanded them, Paul Tibbets.This work is "Historical Fiction", but it does not stray from the facts. The fictional part is in the thoughts and conversations of the characters. The events and dates do not diverge from recorded history. I read a fair amount of history, but I always come away from a Jeff Shaara novel with the feeling that I have learned something new. He brings out the characters so well, the journey is always interesting.As much as I admire those who triumphed in the Pacific War, this novel gave me even more respect for these men (and women), and what they accomplished.Above all else, this book is simply a "great read". I could not put it down.

I have found that Jeff's books follow the facts and convey the thought process of the characters involved. They are well wrtten books, and good reads

Powerful, informative, memorable, moving ...A historically accurate war novel that hits you like a gut punch.I knew hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield must be a horrible thing no human should have to endure, but this book made the reality of that nightmare graphically real. The blood and gore was not gratuitous. It was simply one of many miserable aspects of the battlefield experience. It needed to be described in order to see and understand the bigger picture. As disturbing as the carnage was, it was the emotional aspects of the story that stood out for me. The sheer brutally raw courage and fortitude of the soldiers on both sides of the conflict was just awesome beyond mere words. Most of the men caught in these battles would deny being heroes because in their minds they were simply trying to do their job and survive, but I came away from this book with a far greater respect for these soldiers than I already had, which was considerable to begin with.I was struck by the sheer overwhelming numbers of casualties on both sides during combat. It is doubtful that many Americans fully appreciate how many thousands of American men "gave" their lives during every single campaign to retake the strategic islands from the Japanese forces. It literally came down to which side lost the greatest numbers of soldiers in so many cases. It is difficult to imagine the American public today enduring such losses and finding the political will to continue the conflict. I do not envy the military leaders as they witnessed the mass carnage, and knew there was no other option than to keep sending all those men (and women in many cases) into the jaws of death until the damn thing was over with.The author states right up front in the Forward to this book, that he takes no stand on the dropping of the atomic bombs at the end of the war in his writing. His aim in writing of these events is to relay the facts and the real and probable impacts of these facts on people (military and civilian) who experienced these events. He leaves it up to the reader to form their own moral judgments.After reading this book, it seems clear that the dropping of the atomic bombs was the better of two terrible and unfortunate choices. Clearly, there would have been far greater suffering and loss of life on both sides if our forces had landed on main land Japan and fought a long, excruciatingly protracted ground war to reach the same end. Until reading this book, I never fully appreciated the unimaginable horror of the alternative choice (which is in no way meant to downplay the horror of the atomic destruction).

Excellent series. Read them one after another.

Another excellently written novel by Jeff Shaara. Difficult to put down once you start to read.

Very grippy

Bought this for a friend who collects this author's books. He said it was unput downable, and rated it very highly.

Terrific book .A must read!.