Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

The Life and Legacy of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Commander in Chief During World War II

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Gregory T Luzitano

Length: 2 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

“It is the function of the navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it is not fought on US soil.” (Admiral Nimitz)

All Americans are familiar with the “day that will live in infamy”. At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, the advanced base of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, was ablaze. It had been smashed by aircraft launched by the carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. All eight battleships had been sunk or badly damaged, 350 aircraft had been knocked out, and over 2,000 Americans lay dead. Indelible images of the USS Arizona exploding and the USS Oklahoma capsizing and floating upside down have been ingrained in the American conscience ever since. In less than an hour and a half the Japanese had almost wiped out America’s entire naval presence in the Pacific. 

Despite fighting in North Africa and the Atlantic, the United States still had the resources and manpower to fight the Japanese in the Pacific. Though the Japanese had crippled the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, its distance from Japan made an invasion of Pearl Harbor impossible, and Japan had not severely damaged important infrastructure. Thus, the United States was able to quickly rebuild a fleet, still stationed at Pearl Harbor, right in the heart of the Pacific. This forward location allowed the United States to immediately push deeply into the Pacific Theater.

The Americans would eventually push the Japanese back across the Pacific, and one of the most instrumental leaders in the effort was Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who commanded the US Pacific Fleet and helped coordinate joint operations with the legendary General Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander, Southwest Pacific Area. The ensuing strategies would lead to decisive operations at places like Midway, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and others before the use of the atomic bombs compelled Japan’s surrender in August 1945.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz: The Life and Legacy of the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s Commander in Chief During World War II chronicles Nimitz’s life and examines the decisions he made during history’s deadliest war. You will learn about Admiral Nimitz like never before.

©2019 Charles River Editors (P)2019 Charles River Editors

Needs a little help.

The first few sections read well; the editors do an excellent job of establishing what starts as a good, basic biopic. Once they begin to reach the period just before the outbreak of war, however, the narrative begins to move away from its focus in Nimitz and becomes a general review of the Pacific war, albeit not a very detailed one. The narrative wanders about, beginning to make controversial statements about issues of doctrine and tactics but doesn’t deeply cite sources or follow up, but merely fades and wanders elsewhere. For most of Nimitz’s wartime life we are left wanting until the last chapter.
In terms of execution, it needs proofing. Several times the text lapses into the first person, and the pronunciation of many basic words- namely, ensign, interdict, Decatur, Kate, etc- is off. This could have been solved with a simple proof in g session prior to the reading.

In sum, it could be a good, short intro to the Pacific war if titled so, and subjected to just a bit of polish.