The Pacific

Hell Was an Ocean Away

By: Hugh Ambrose

Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain

Length: 23 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

In this companion to the HBO miniseries - executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman - Hugh Ambrose reveals the intertwined odysseys of four US Marines and a US Navy carrier pilot during World War II.

Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. From the debacle in Bataan, to the miracle at Midway and the relentless vortex of Guadalcanal, their solemn oaths to their country later led one to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot and the others to the coral strongholds of Peleliu, the black terraces of Iwo Jima, and the killing fields of Okinawa, until at last the survivors enjoyed a triumphant, yet uneasy, return home.

In The Pacific, Hugh Ambrose focuses on the real-life stories of the five men who put their lives on the line for our country. To deepen the story revealed in the miniseries and go beyond it, the book dares to chart a great ocean of enmity known as The Pacific and the brave men who fought. Some considered war a profession, others enlisted as citizen soldiers. Each man served in a different part of the war, but their respective duties required every ounce of their courage and their strength to defeat an enemy who preferred suicide to surrender. The medals for valor that were pinned on three of them came at a shocking price - a price paid in full by all.

©2010 Hugh Ambrose (P)2010 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Doing for the war against Japan what Band of Brothers did for the war against Germany, Ambrose’s history effectively immerses readers in the Good War’s second front.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Ambrose’s narrative is convincing...[he] shows the possibilities of readable and complex military history.” (Dr. Allan Millett, director, Eisenhower Center for American Studies, The National World War II Museum)

What can i say except its worth the time.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story of five men during WWII, each with their own struggle as the same events unfold gives one a broad view of what was happening. The different perspectives that these folks have of events and how those perspectives developed makes the book worth reading. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to understand why different people see war differently.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the way the timeline of the war was followed and how these five men stories were tied to that timeline. If you really want to understand how different people see the war, this is a great place to start.

What about Mike Chamberlain’s performance did you like?

Solid performance. He kept it interesting.

Great companion to the HBO miniseries!

I'm about two-thirds through with this lengthy work, and am becoming impressed how well the individual stories integrate. I watched the first episode of the HBO series, and found that the book substantially enhanced my enjoyment of the installment, which would otherwise already been quite high!

great job this is a great book<br /><br />

a great book for everybody to listen to the story is great the performances quite well

This story is heart felt

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this book only to a fellow veteran , they would really understand and feel the pain those Marines had to endure

A story of heroism

This book vividly brought home the experiences and bravery of my father, a US Marine on Guadalcanal. How any of the survivors of this war were able to return to rewarding and successful lives is amazing to me. They make me so proud.

So hard to follow, moved from character to charact

So hard to follow, moved from character to charact with pause. If I had not just watched the movie I would have been lost.

Excellent

Ambrose has always been a favorite author of mine. This book is another excellent portrayal of military history. The reading was well done and the story is captivating. Another excellent book by a fantastic author.

A great read

I enjoyed the book very much, learning a great deal about WWII, the Marines involvement and basically the zeitgeist of the times. Narration is involving and emotional without being overbearing. I like the format of following 5 different people through the war and their personal experiences.

Without knowing the background of the book, other than its being adjunct to the HBO series, I did not know exactly what I was in for. This book does not give a complete history of the war, but personal accounts that tie stories of the war together. It also leans heavily on the writing of E.B. Sledge and his experiences as a Marine in some horrific battles. 360 degree view of the war is not delivered and some stories depended on what happened in previous battles, encouraging/forcing me to look them up in Wikipedia to understand how they affected the current story (which was enjoyable, mostly). What is gives the listener a very personal feel of the war, the times and what these people overcame (and some did not).

Overall I enjoyed this greatly.

The Real Story of War

Every American needs to understand the story told in this book. The sacrifices given by these men and women to overthrow barbarity with freedom must never be forgotten.

Amazing

This story tells us, on so many levels, of the efforts and daily struggles our fellow Americans faced in a unselfish commitment to a nation which was made great by their actions in WWII. We are the benefactors of their glory and sacrifice. This story should make us all proud to be called Americans due solely to the courage of our youth during one of our finest hours.