The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944 (The Pacific War Trilogy, 2)

I sought a book about WW II in the Pacific islands. I had some media exposure to the Pearl Harbor and Midway events at the war’s start, and to Okinawa and the Tokyo bombings near its end, but a gap in knowledge existed about the intervening Allied “island-hopping” exploits. Then, I discovered “The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944.”

The Conquering Tide is the second in a trilogy about WW II in the Pacific. (This volume does not address the Southeast Asia or China theaters.). The first volume covered early war events, and the third volume will be published in 2019.

This sizeable book encompasses a great deal of activity. Rather than expounding on a few major battles, it reports the sequential Allied advancements from Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands (proximate to Australia) to Saipan in the Mariana Islands (proximate to Japan).

Author Ian W. Toll chose to number rather than name his chapters. This makes sense because the relationship between chapters and battle locations is not precise or evenly apportioned: more was written about the Solomon Islands and the Marianas. Allied progress was evident beginning from the Solomons, where aggressive schedules were imposed with inadequate resources, to the Marianas, where superior industrial output and manpower development began to prevail.

Toll tells battle stories in spellbinding detail with first-person accounts. And, as with other excellent military histories, The Conquering Tide goes further: Toll touches on logistics, resources, strategies, techniques, training, organization, and politics. He endeavors to explain why commanders took their actions.

The book describes how battles in the Pacific islands were fought. This theater required a new and complex approach that integrated land, sea, and both land-based and carrier-based air power. The interplay often went like this: Allied troops were dispatched for an amphibious landing. Transports, battleships, and carriers needed to situate nearby to soften a landing zone, convey the troops, and resupply them. This dependency invited Japanese air, surface ships, and submarines to attack, then leading to counterattacks. With the technology of the time, coordination was no small challenge.

Due to the extent of maneuvering, the inclusion of battle maps was very helpful. Besides Toll’s maps, at the suggestion of a previous reviewer, I concurrently studied “The West Point Atlas of War: World War II, The Pacific.” This added map set and its narrative enhanced my visualization, helping to round out my learning experience.

The Conquering Tide’s engaging story fulfilled my knowledge goals. Now, I look forward to the Philippines and Leyte Gulf, which I anticipate in Toll’s next volume.

I have read much military history, especially concerning the Pacific campaign of WWII. Mr. Toll’s history is right on, with enlightening details that were new to me. However, what I find most impressive of all is his exquisite prose. The flow and readability of it is quite exceptional. I can hardly wait to read his third volume.

Ian Toll’s second book on the history of the war in the Pacific during WW2 is simply amazing. Well balanced, he does not dismiss the Japanese as simply losers, but gives all the details why they lost while giving them respect as fighters.

He goes into great detail but the details are far from boring and only enhance the story he’s telling. When he talks about the problems submarines we’re having with torpedos it adds to the story rather then weighing it down. People, places, ships, battles are all described in ways that make you feel you either know them or are there. I’m looking forward to reading the third and last book.

The only criticism I have of this book is that it’s not longer. Five stars and I’d give it six if I could.

The 2nd of this trilogy starts out just as captivating as the 1st. I found myself once again spell bound by details of which I have never heard. About half way in the book I did for the first time, get a little bogged down with detail. It seems we went from one aircraft carrier to several in a matter of months. This made it harder for the reader to keep up. The Japanese made it easy by not changing anything which of course is another reason why they did so poorly. I have really enjoyed the 1st two books and I look forward to reading the 3rd.

Take a breath if you have read the 1st book and then be prepared to be entertained by reading about our brave young warriors as they turn the war around.

Great Book! If you are a history fan and are obsessed with World War II, This is a must read.

Toll's "Pacific Crucible", "The Conquering Tide" - I can't wait for his forthcoming 2020 book to complete his trilogy on the war with Japan. If you read these, you'll have a pretty good understanding of the War and the times.
Pearl Harbor - the Sunday morning surprise attack - focused America like few things can. It took a couple of years to get fully out of the starting blocks, but once out Japan's chances for victory were not good. Actually, Japan was doomed by 1944 with their debacle in the Marianas. But the war leaders were mostly descended from Samurai, and so surrender was hardly an option. They dragged the whole country along - death before dishonor, and all that.
I think American hatred grew with this refusal to surrender, because it was seen as pointless deaths to American boys when the outcome was all but assured. As Toll mentions in the last pages (by late 1944), it would take down another 1.5 million Japanese and thousands more American lives (and other allied countries) before Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought an end to it all.
Read it. It's riveting.

Toll’s narrative is not only comprehensive but not bogged down with unnecessary details; his writing skills are as good as a world class fiction writer. Not only a pleasure to read, but also historically accurate and with insights on the leading personalities. I eagerly await the third volume of the trilogy. This trilogy will be THE place to go for learning about the US Navy in the South Pacific during WW II.

Great Book, Easy Read, brought a lot of detail to these historical events!

Very pleased!