Decent review of the battle but very thin and superficial | Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II |...

Big fish in a little pond | Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II | Robert Leckie

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	• Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II Robert Leckie Penguin (Non-Classics), 1996 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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Informational

I thought the book was good, but I was looking for Robert Leckie's accounts on Okinawa. This book was a more iformational book than one Marine's time on Okinawa.

Decent review of the battle but very thin and superficial

I do believe that Robert Leckie tried to write a comprehensive history of the Battle for Okinawa, but somehow gave way to writing a superficial, grab bag story that tries to tell everything but just bounces around. We can see the history of the area, of Japan's conquest of the island and of the development of the Samurai spirit in Japan. But then what is lacking is any real investigation and substance about what it all means and the larger context for the battle.

A case in point is that we hear a great deal about the attacks of the Kamikaze plans on the American fleet at Okinawa, but just as it seems he is about to go into more detail, Leckie pulls back and goes into some background story or piece about the land battle. Similarly, he focuses extensively on regimental names and assignments but rarely does he go into the suffering that soldiers, marines and sailors experienced during the battle. If he does, it is only on a very think level.

This is a good enough book if you're interested in a superficial history of the Battle, but for people with a genuine interest in it, you're better off elsewhere.

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Big fish in a little pond

This is the fourth book I've read on the battle fought on and around Okinawa. It is the thinnest in length and in content - packs a lot for a little book - but not quite enough for a student of military history. Unfortunately - many good books have come before - and the book just doesn't measure up in comparison.

The author sets a trap for himself if he intended a compact book with all necessary players and events that shaped this battle. He does a good job of tracing the conflicts within the US and Japanese command structures - insolence on the part of Japanese junior officers leading to poor advice/unnecessary slaughter - to outright disobediance of orders on the US side on the part of Douglas MacArthur who unnecessarily invaded inconsequential southern Philippine Islands - rather than divert his military resources to the Okinawa campaign as ordered.

All the pieces for a great read are here - except nothing was developed in enough depth to put the reader THERE. Other books, such as "The Old Breed" and even Samuel Morison's "Two Ocean War" do the battle events greater justice as although more limited in scope (USMC or US Navy centric) the reader of these books is given a more in depth understanding of the parts these entities played in the battle.

Okinawa was essentially 10 wars fought in tandem:

1. The Japanese 'Land War'
2. The Japanese 'Naval War'
3. The Japanese 'Air War'
4. The Okinawa civilians 'war refugees and victims'
5. The US Army 'Land War'
6. The US Army Logistics Effort'
7. The US 'Surface Navy War'
8. The US Navy 'Air War'
9. The US Marine Corps 'Land War'
10. The US Marine Corps 'Air War'

This is much too much data for a 200 some odd page book - no matter how compactly written and craftily edited. Uncomfortably - one admires how well one zips through the pages, until one realizes he/she just got a 'Cliffs Notes' version of some of the important and/or major events.

Major players and heros got premier treatment - valor recognized mainly for the land battle participants. Sailors were not so prominently featured - as the land battle took the lead in the book.

The amount of damage inflicted on the US Fleet turned ot to be a Japanese disappointment - as the US Navy landed and supported the ground campaign throughout the entire battle. More damage to US ships was expected, and the Japanese leaders deliberately inflated their combat statistics not as not to lose face in light of their commands efforts.

The author indeed does a good job of fighting his way out of his own trap of limited space. The editing is to be admired - but the content falls short of a historical standard that does this battle justice.

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I'VE READ BETTER - BUT THIS WAS A EASY READ

I was just a bit disappointed with this particular work. The only words I can use, off the top of my head are "thin" and "shallow." Fortunately, this was a fast and very easy read and was worth the small effort it took to read. As pointed out by other reviewers, there were no maps! It is difficult, if not impossible to glean helpful information in reference to battle with out them. There were many, many aspects of this particular battle which were briefly touched upon, but nothing in depth. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of this work is the fact that while I can complain about lack of information, etc. which is not really all that important, the true wonderful men who fought this battle, I feel, are quite short changed here. They, the men, deserve better. I suppose I can recommend this one if you want a brief overview, but other works should certainly be read and pondered.

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Marine and Pacific war veteran Robert Leckie retells the epic story of the battle of Okinawa from both sides. Strikingly intimate portraits of the Japanese generals, the American soldiers, and their commanding officers brilliantly illuminate those individuals who fought in this bloody confrontation. of photos.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3