One Square Mile of Hell: The Battle for Tarawa
Hardcover – Bargain Price, August 1, 2006
Description
From Booklist It may be impossible to write a really dull book about the 1943 battle of Tarawa. In the assault on the island, the Second Marine Division lost a thousand dead, the Japanese garrison was annihilated, and the marines learned valuable lessons about amphibious weaponry and tactics that aided them in future campaigns. Wukovits avoids a straight narrative in favor of seeing the development of the battle through the eyes of selected survivors, whom he has interviewed intelligently and thoroughly. They were impressed, as readers may be, by the strength of the Japanese fortifications and the tenacity of their garrisons, who kept the whole island under fire for two of the battle's three days. Wukovits adds emotional punch with accounts of marines who did not survive but whose memories families have kept alive for 60 years. A worthwhile battle monograph for any Pacific theater or marine collection. Roland Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved As fine a history of men at war as I have ever read.... A story...every American should read. -- Robert Barr Smith, Colonel, USA (ret) In this...highly readable account of the battle for Tarawa, John Wukovits captures the brutality, horror, and poignancy of warfare. -- Michael E. Haskew, Editor, WWII History Magazine John Wukovits has written a well-researched and detailed account of the battle for Tarawa... -- Congressman Ike Skelton (D-Mo), Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee John Wukovits takes you right up the beach with those brave, unlucky Marines who landed at Tarawa. -- Evan Thomas, Newsweek This stirring account of the battle of Tarawa is narrative history at its best. -- Col. Joseph H. Alexander, USMC (ret), author, Utmost Savagery: The Three Days of Tarawa We owe a debt to Wukovits for reminding us of the[se] American heroes... -- Homer Hickam, author of The Ambassador's Son and Rocket Boys With...Americans once again at war against a brutal adversary, this fast-paced chronicle of courage is a must read. -- Oliver L. North, Lt. Col. USMC, Ret., Host of " War Stories " on the FOX News Channel [ One Square Mile of Hell ]...is a worthy memorial to the Marines who fought there. -- Herman Wouk [Wukovits'] vivid account of this horrific amphibious campaign is must reading for all Marines and World War II history buffs. -- Gunnery Sergeant Jack Coughlin, USMC (Ret.), author of Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper John Wukovits is the author of Pacific Alamo: The Battle for Wake Island , several military biographies, and many articles for such publications as World WarII History , Naval History , World War II , The Journal of Military History , and Naval War College Review . Author website: onesquaremileofhell.com Read more
Features & Highlights
- In November 1943, the men of the 2nd Marine Division watched as bombardments destroyed the Japanese defenses on an islet in the Tarawa atoll. But when the Marines landed, the Japanese poured out of their protective bunkers and began one of the most brutal encounters of the war. During the ensuing three days of non-stop fighting, the entire island was transformed into an all-encompassing kill zone in which combatants found themselves mixed together in a chaotic hell of crossfires, where there was no possibility of retreat-because there was nowhere to retreat to. Drawn from sources such as participants' letters, diaries, and interviews with survivors, this is the riveting true account of a battle between two determined foes, neither of whom would ever look at each other the same way again.
