Product Description

Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Pranges bestselling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement. Unlike previous accounts, Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchidas Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan, an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle. The authors examine the battle in detail and effortlessly place it within the context of the Imperial Navys doctrine and technology. With a foreword by leading WWII naval historian John Lundstrom, Shattered Sword will become an indispensable part of any military buffs library. Winner of the 2005 John Lyman Book Award for the """"Best Book in U.S. Naval History"""" and cited by Proceedings as one of its """"Notable Naval Books"""" for 2005.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63100 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 568 pages

Review
"The best naval history book of 2005." - The Naval Review "To really know about the Battle of Midway, you must read this book." - From the foreword by John B. Lundstrom, author of The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway "A remarkable book... The breadth and quality of the information about the Japanese air groups provided here is simply staggering." - John Jordan in Warship 2006 "One of the two or three most important books on the Pacific War published in the last decade." - Douglas V. Smith, professor of strategy and policy, U.S. Naval War College, in Air and Space "To really know about the Battle of Midway, you must read this book." - John B. Lundstrom, author of The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway "Jon Parshall and Anthony Tully explain, in an entirely new light and from a fresh perspective, how the Japanese navy fought the Battle of Midway. Extensively researched, soundly reasoned, and engagingly and colorfully written, Shattered Sword is the most original piece of scholarship on this decisive event since John B. Lundstrom's groundbreaking The First Team." - Robert J. Cressman, editor and principal author of A Glorious Page in Our History: The Battle of Midway "At last, the Japanese side of the Battle of Midway has been limned in English with accuracy, lucidity, authority, and objectivity. The authors' specialized knowledge of the tactics and technologies of Japanese naval air power, their careful reading of surviving Japanese air unit records, and their appreciation of the larger meaning of the battle combine to give us a combat narrative and analysis that superbly balance expert detail and grand historical import. I suspect it of being a classic." - Mark R. Peattie, author of Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941 and Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941 "A lot has been written about Midway since 1945. Yet everyone who thinks that they know the last word about this momentous event must examine Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully's book on the subject. Shattered Sword, packed with new information, will certainly become the definitive volume on the most important naval battle of World War II." - Eric Bergerud, professor of military and American history at Lincoln University and author of Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific "This incredible book shatters all previous notions on how the Battle of Midway was fought. It also shatters all the standards for military reference works. Shattered Sword will come to be regarded as a benchmark in modern history, for it brings to bear all the tools of modern communication technology in a way that has never been done before. [It] utterly refutes the conclusions of most of the previous accounts of the battle.... This book is a page turner, but its importance and its wealth of detail will demand an immediate re-reading." - Walter J. Boyne, former director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and author of Beyond the Wild Blue: A History of the United States Air Force, 1947-1997 "This book releases a large number of bombshells, blowing apart the account of Mitsuo Fuchida, the air commander who wrote a book on Midway. [The authors] also tell a gripping story that is backed up by evidence in a massive book that sets the new starting point for the discussion of Midway.... This book brings a well-presented case, one that places the 'Incredible Victory' in a whole new context.... Shattered Sword is a superb work that should become the definitive reference when the Battle of Midway is discussed. Gordon W. Prange and Walter Lord have been thoroughly eclipsed by this new work creating a full perspective of the pivotal battle of World War II in the Pacific theater." - www.strategypage.com "Forget what you think you know about Midway. Shattered Sword is a landmark study that redefines the crucial 1942 carrier battle, widely considered the most important naval engagement of the last century.... Parshall and Tully dissect the reasons for the Japanese defeat at every level - tactical, operational, and strategic.... It has taken sixty years to begin undoing the enduring myths of Midway, and Shattered Sword will likely become the ultimate reference.... Sixty-three years is not too long to wait for the authoritative word on the Battle of Midway." - Barrett Tillman in The Hook "Why would anyone who has read Walter Lord, Gordon Prange, and Mitsuo Fuchida on this subject think that anything more is to be said, especially by a couple of relatively unknown writers? The short answer is, simply, get this book. Parshall and Tully have pulled off what every author/historian aspires to do: take the body of literature on a chosen topic to a level of insight and understanding not formerly attained or perhaps even imagined.... Shattered Sword can justifiably be labeled a groundbreaker, a landmark work that belongs at eye-level center in any naval historian's bookcase." - Naval History "This meticulously researched and thoroughly documented study is an essential corrective. It is essential reading for anyone interested in carrier aviation, past, present, or future. Although imposing in scale, Shattered Sword is a bargain, and a highly engaging read. Every page seems to throw up a new perspective - from the pathetically low Japanese aircraft production figures, to the political infighting both within the Naval High Command and between the services. The best naval history book of 2005." - The Naval Review "While most of their predecessors have fallen into the same mold - looking at the battle from the American vantage only - Parshall and Tully break new ground in bringing the Japanese perspective into the picture.... The authors state that their book attempts to do three things - present the battle from the Japanese side, study it almost exclusively from an aircraft carrier viewpoint, and point out the errors and exaggerations in a group of myths that have surrounded the battle. The authors succeed in all three goals.... [They] have produced a superb volume." - The Journal of Military History "Will earn its place in the already impressive library that focuses on one of the great moments in naval history." - Naval Institute Proceedings "Provides a much-needed reassessment of the Battle of Midway.... The chapters devoted to the actual battle are a treat, starting with an in-depth description of Japanese flight deck procedures and activities, something rarely detailed in Western publications. This new treatment is basically the Battle of Midway as seen through Japanese eyes.... The authors are to be congratulated. Writing on a topic that might not first seem to have anything new to be divulged, they have created something that is as fresh and vital as if it were the first account written at war's end instead of more than sixty years later. I believe that Shattered Sword will become the preeminent narrative history of this crucial battle, and I consider it to be one of the most important books on WWII naval operations to be published in the last twenty years." - Peter B. Mersky in Naval Aviation News "Parshall and Tully have set a new standard for researching, evaluating, and synthesizing material from sources around the world to provide a complete account of the Battle of Midway and the underlying causes of Japan's defeat.... At least eleven 'urban myths' universally accepted by scholars and sailors have been shattered, providing a whole new level of understanding of the Battle of Midway. Parshall and Tully have provided one of the most readable accounts of the Battle of Midway available anywhere.... Experts will certainly agree that this is one of the two or three most important books on the Pacific War published in the last decade." - Douglas V. Smith, professor of strategy and policy, U.S. Naval War College, in Air & Space "Shattered Sword is a must for any student of World War II history interested in the naval conflict in the Pacific.... The book will be the standard work on the Battle of Midway for years to come. Parshall and Tully's original approach demonstrates how much can still be revealed about World War II even after sixty years of research and writing." - Air Power History "Magisterial in its coverage... revelatory... Parshall and Tully's work is deeply researched, all-encompassing in its perspective, painstakingly detailed in its exposition, and lucidly written. It makes an invaluable contribution to the literature of the Pacific War, especially for bringing the vast research of Japanese scholars to the fore, and is absolutely essential reading for every student of the history of World War II at sea." - Nautical Research Journal ".... this is arguably the most important book on Midway yet written. The authors have made extensive and extremely thoughtful use of Japanese records, particularly pilot log-books and the like, blended this with technical expertise of a high order and produced an account which challenges conventional understanding of this battle.... the definitive book on Midway." - Journal for Maritime Research, October 2006"

About the Author
Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully are widely published on military history in journals and magazines and on Parshall's award-winning website on the Imperial Navy, www.combinedfleet.com. Parshall lives in Minneapolis and Tully in Dallas.

Customer Reviews

Well-written Narrative, Fine Analysis
Much has been written about the Battle of Midway; gripping stuff with Hell-divers arcing out of the sun and tales of tardy scout-planes and missed messages upon which the battle turned. What there has been precious little of is decent analysis based on clear timelines and an analysis of the actual capabilities of the combatants, especially from the Japanese side. This book corrects that. Starting from an appreciation of Japanese carrier operations, and especially the mechanics of setting up an air mission, and using the historical record the authors describe the battle in detail and in the process demolish many myths that have grown up around it. The battle is placed not only in its tactical, but its strategic context and the reasons for its outcome are shown to lie less in chance and more in operational planning, Japanese doctrine and the command philosophy of the Imperial Japanese Navy. If you are interested in Midway then read this.

Outstanding research
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, particularly with its unusual approach of viewing the battle from the side of the Japanese. I was less enamoured by the authors' attempt to fix the book's viewpoint to the carriers themselves (thus, when the Japanese aircraft leave on a raid, we hear nothing further, apart from a few radio messages, until they return and can be debriefed). While clearly designed to emphasise the lack of information available to the Japanese commanders, I felt that this writing device unnecessarily impeded the reader's understanding of the battle.
I was also distracted by an occasionally lax writing style. As an example, at one point it is claimed that the commander had little time to "internalise" the problem.

Nevertheless, the above issues are minor. What comes shining through is the breadth and depth of the authors' research and their clear determination to produce an account that is factual and unbiased. By clearly explaining the mechanics of Japanese carrier operations of the time (without boring the reader), the authors are able to convincingly dispell many of the misconceptions and fallacies regarding this great battle.

This is an excellent account of the Battle of Midway, presented in an unbiased and logical fashion and which uncovers many previously disregarded aspects of the battle - thoroughly reccommended

If you're interested in the Pacific War you need this book.
The most interesting book on Midway I've ever read especially as it's written from the Japanese perspective. Covers every aspect of the forces, plans, lead up and the action itself and along the way explodes many myths about the battle. What myths? Buy it and find out, you won't regret it! The amount of research that's gone into this book is staggering, the bibliography is immense and includes tha Japanese Official History which many other books do not. The authors knowledge and dedication to the subject are obvious from the outset and by the end of the book you are left hoping they are working on other books on the Pacific War. If you need further persuasion, look at the price and look at the page count, it is excellent value for money in terms of weight alone.