Okinawa Books

Continuing my look into the Pacific War, I picked up a few books on Okinawa, one of history's most interesting battles.

"The Ultimate Battle: Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II" by Bill Sloan - A gripping narrative told at the level of individual soldiers and units. Some of the names will be familiar to views of the HBO series "The Pacific." Suffers from lack of maps.

"The Battle of Okinawa" by Hiromichi Yahara - The battle as told by the senior most Japanese officer to survive the battle. Very insightful as to the Japanese mindset and their method of warfare.

"The Pacific War Companion: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima" edited by Daniel Marston - Not the picture and map book that the title suggests, but a wonderful collection of scholarly essays covering major aspects of the Pacific War. My favorites include the chapters on atomic bomb v. invasion decision (which makes the case for using the bombs) and the ANZAC involvement (which is often overlooked in Pacific War books).