Customer Reviews: Read 83 more reviews...
 A Great Insight Into Naval Warfare Minds August 28, 2008
This book was thoroughly enjoyable, particularly for a WW2 Naval history buff like myself. Evan Thomas gives us four opposing leaders in the Pacific War. The daring American Admiral "Bull" Halsey who was a famed fighting icon. The other three were an American destroyer captain who won the Medal of Honor as well as two main Japanese admirals Matome Ugaki and Takeo Kurita. Thomas uses lots of varying resources - debriefings, eyewitnesses, , diaries and interviews and more to give us portraits of these men from an early age to their moment in Naval History. These are men playing chess against each other - blindfolded by the expanse of ocean and limited intel available at the time - to change history.
 Read 'Last of the Tin Can Sailors' instead August 9, 2008
This is a good read as an adjunct to the other book, but 'Last' is better. It is often referenced in this book, and for good reason. This book delves into the mind set of the Japanese sailor, but their 'fight to the death' mentality has already been explored many times before.
 more personal than detailed history June 14, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Evan Thomas examines more of the personalities of individuals and a general sweep of some of the Pacific war than providing a detailed military history of engagements and their root causes. He assumes the reader is somewhat familiar with World War II and the basics in the Pacific, from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Even so, he touches on key points and themes to refresh the reader's understanding, perhaps to fill in some gaps, and to give his own orientation and spin on events and some people involved.
The actual battle that is intended as a climax is only a modest portion of the book. Fortunately, I was not very familiar with Leyte Gulf or the "turkey shoot" leading up to it, so Mr. Thomas was informative. That also means I cannot debate whether the account is biased or lacking. After reading some other online summaries since then, the book seems reasonable. He did appear to be rather uncharitable toward Admiral Halsey about the battle and its aftermath, however, a sense that surfaced several times. Halsey was praised for his aggressive response when America needed it, and for his hands-on leadership and successes. Beyond that, the guy takes plenty of lumps.
Admiral Kurita is presented as an admiral who rose through the ranks via seniority, without major accomplishment, far from the skills and foresight of Yamamoto, who is one of few Japanese singled out as exceptional. Mr. Thomas's emphasis on the human side also focuses on Kurita's wisdom (?) in avoiding what he felt was undue sacrifice. The look into Japanese warrior culture through the contrasting eyes of Adm. Kurita and Ugaki was a strength.
The comparisons between Americans and Japanese and how they viewed each other were also illuminating. Sometimes the opinions about Yanks and Japs were racist and dangerously false, such as Americans being too lazy for a sustained fight and too dumb for code breaking. Sometimes the opinions were valid and could be the source of great insight and success. For example, if Japanese field leadership relied on detailed instructions from HQ and did not show creativity when circumstances went awry, then the Americans could exploit that weakness. Similarly, if Halsey and other Americans were aggressive and susceptible to deception, then why not try to trick them with a major feint?
The USS Johnston and Ernest Evans appear relatively briefly, with a little backstory on Evans and how he dealt with being part-Indian. Evans was brave and heroic and deserves recognition, as does his crew. That specific engagement was also a highlight.
A Different Perspective June 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sea of Thunder was an interesting history of the latter part of the naval war in the Pacific during WWII. The author looked at the lives of four leaders, 2 American and 2 Japanese and how their lives developed and how they affected the battles in whihch they were engaged. It added to the understanding of why theses sea battles went in the direction they did. It was an easy reading book and an enjoyable biography of 4 men doing their duty as they saw it.
An ocean of detail. June 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Sea of Thunder, as the title implies tell the story of the last great naval battle -- ever. In almost unbelievable detail the author spends the first two-thirds of the book "setting the stage". He captures the personalities of the American AND Japanese admimrals. As the names of all but the most important Japanese admirals would be unfamilar to most readers, it gets confusing with the stories of the Japanese seamen, but be patient. When the author recounts the actual battle, it becomes quite dramatic. Even sixty years later there is suspense. I kept seeing "war movies" I know in my minds' eye while I read, but there is, of course, no Hollywood ending in war.
The author's main thesis is that Halsey should have been more diligent in following orders and that a particular Japanese admiral was much less aggressive than was the norm for his kind.
My grandfather, in all liklihood was somewhere in that battle. He lived, others didn't. The author doesn't say so directly, but if his analysis of the battle is correct, a lot more "grandfathers" would have come home if Halsey has done what was expected of him and a lot fewer would have come had the Japanese admiral acted as was expected of him. If your grandfather (or father) served in the Pacific in WWII, read this book with him in mind.
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