Goodbye, Darkness

A Memoir of the Pacific War

By: William Manchester

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

In this intensely powerful memoir, America's pre-eminent biographer-historian, who has written so brilliantly about World War II in his acclaimed lives of General Douglas MacArthur ( American Caesar) and Winston Churchill ( The Last Lion), looks back at his own early life.

This memoir offers an unrivaled firsthand account of World War II in the Pacific - what it looked like, sounded like, smelled like, and most of all, what it felt like to one who underwent all but the ultimate of its experiences.

©1979, 1980 William Manchester (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"It belongs with the best war memoirs ever written." (Los Angeles Times)
"A strong and honest account." (The New York Times Book Review)
"When Manchester speaks of the awesome heroism and hideous suffering of the Marines he lived with and fought with, he is reverent before the mystery of individual courage and gallantry." (Baltimore Sun)

A great listen

Manchester just doesn’t tell his experiences, he tells them with with amazing stories nsight and a keen poetic ear.

Best book

I Haven’t read a book in this good for a long time a b c

Extrodinary

This story touches one's
heart. Just when you think it is over, you
are picked up and sent to
even another unforgettable adventures
that will thrill and shake.
Manchester has a deep and remarkable vocabulary as his splendid ability for the English language has no limits. it is amazing he survived those island Pacific battles. I am going to get the book for further study. I will have to get the large print as I am a senior citizen who still jogs in the park and wish my eyes were as good as mu running.
Looking forward to reading (listening) to William Manchester books.

The best account of WW2 I’ve ever read.

The reading of the book by Whitener was phenomenal. The book itself was as frank and detailed as any WW2 account I’ve ever read. I’d recommend this book to anyone with even a passing curiosity of the war, anyone with advanced knowledge of it and especially to anyone that had family members in the service during that time. 10/10 RIP William Manchester.

excellent

an excellent memoir of the Pacific theater right up there with with the old breed and helmet for my pillow . I am sure I have heard others say this but I have many books about WWII Russian German British and American but I can't seem to find any from Japan maybe I'm not looking hard enough I don't know... Its just a little sad to not have any kind of first hand account from a Japanese soldierany way this definitely worth listening to

At least one in a hundred

Of the more than 100 books I have listened to at Audible, months later, this one sticks out in my mind. I have read all of Manchester's books. He is a fine historian but this autobiographical telling of one Marine's experience in the Pacific war is exciting, insightful and above all honest. It is not a romanticized view of war. This is an extraordinary piece of writing with a lot to be learned from it about the experience of courage, fear, and friendship.

A Stunner

William Manchester is a brilliant writer who just happened to have been there in the thick of it, the war in the Pacific. I usually have a hard time understanding descriptions of battles, but this is clear, devastating writing which puts you right there.

Excellent

An excellent personal and overall account of the USMC in the Pacific during WWII. Especially good account of Tarawa and Okinawa campaigns.

Moving and haunting

I'm a relative novice to the history of the pacific war in WWII and I purchased this book for 2 reasons: I wanted a basic overview from a soldier's point of view and I've read one of Mr. Manchester's other books and liked it. It's excellent on many fronts and several scenes and images will stick with me forever. From a historical perspective, it's probably a bit light. The overview of the war is in broad strokes but it works for this book. He frequently and fluidly moves from broad historical overview to his specific experiences although I did occasionally lose track of his specific experiences and those he was recounting from his fellow marines. The audiobook reader is overall good.

Why they were called the greatest generation

I’m the son of a father who fought in the pacific. Like the author he fought in 3 major battles. I am also a veteran of 30 years military service. I never completely knew my father. He was a proud man who spent so much of his life trying to hide his demons. He never really got over his PTSD but learned to manage it. This book brought back memories of my father. Those men were truly the best of the BEST. I hope there heroics will continue to live on. Unfortunately as with all things time has a way forgetting. This was such a good book. Definitely not sugarcoated and yes we had to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As general MacArthur said we would lose a million men if we had to attack main land Japan. Because we did, quite frankly, many of us are alive today along with our children and grandchildren.