Clash of the Carriers

The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II

By: Barrett Tillman, Stephen Coonts

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

The incredible true story of the most spectacular aircraft-carrier battle in history - World War II's Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.

In June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets made their way toward one another in the Philippine Sea. Their common objective: the strategically vital Marianas Islands.

During two days of brutal combat, the American and Japanese carriers dueled, launching wave after wave of fighters and bombers against one another. By day and night, hundreds of planes filled the skies. When it was over, the men of the American Fifth Fleet had claimed more than 400 aerial-combat victories, and three Japanese carriers lay on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Here is the true account of those great and terrible days - by those who were there, in the thick of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Drawing upon numerous interviews with American and Japanese veterans as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers is an unforgettable testimonial to the bravery of those who fought and those who died in a battle that will never be forgotten.

©2005 Barrett Tillman (P)2018 Tantor

Very good read

Well written, Great story, excellent narrative. Looking forward to listening to it again very entertaining & educational

Rasping voice.

Great information on America's current status, great piece of history. The rasping voice of Joe Barrett makes it difficult to listen to.

full of exciting information!

A book that tells all the historical details of the great Marianas Turkey Shoot in June 1944 and all the brave Navy airmen that took part in the battle along with the carriers themselves, they're crew & commanders. I very much enjoyed this listen!

inlighting

very clearley told and easy to nderstand felt like was ondeck very informing and clear

For the lover of naval warfare

An excellent book that covers the details of operations. Great detail as to the individual pilots, Commanders and the overall battlefield.

The narrator is not as dynamic as you might wish but still if you are into the history you can see pass that.

good but fragmented story of important battle of w

Enjoyable story, with some good research and first person accounts, but seems hurried and a little fragmented, with what seem like gaps in recounting of this episode in history. I respect Mr Tillman's writings, and have read nearly all, but this fragmentation is not uncommon amongst remembered histories he has written. This wouldn't be a problem if his books were first person narratives, instead of large sweeping subjects, but one wonders if he is reluctant to quote previous accounts by other authors, or if he has read them. I must admit that I am not a writer, but I am a reader, for over 50 yrs, of military aviation, and ww2 Pacific aviation history I particular. So, it is a minor criticism, given my lack of publishing stature, but an important one, meant in a constructive vein. I would like to salute Mr Tillman's on the effort he has made, in this book, and in the past works, but the book left me feeling as if there wasn't enough meat to satisfy, and felt like the book was remarkably short.

Narraration too fast

The war in the Pacific holds a particular fascination for me and I have a rather large library on the subject.
Mr. Tillman has written a book full of insightful information and ties it together well. My only problem with the writing was how he used too many nicknames in his descriptions of the opposing forces, leading to confusion in relation to “who was who”.
I had to back up continuously to be sure of the facts.
I usually enjoy Joe Barrett’s narratives but found his reading to be too fast paced. It was as though he was rushing to finish. I actually slowed my device down to .75 speed to be better able to catch every word.
Other than that, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes detailed information.

Excellent book, troubling narration

I very much enjoyed this account of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. It provided much fascinating detail that would have been difficult to include in books about the Marianas campaign as a whole.

I have listened to about a dozen books about the Pacific War and was dismayed, though not surprised, to find that the narrator did a terrible job of pronouncing Japanese names and terms.

I have encountered this to a greater or lesser extent (mostly greater) in nearly every Pacific War narrative to which I have listened. It applies as well to most of the WWII in Europe that I have listened to.

It causes me to wonder why the producers of these audiobooks do not make sure the pronunciations are correct. It also makes me wonder how professional narrators can have so little respect for the material that they don’t take the trouble to make sure they are pronouncing things correctly. As noted by another reviewer, I also found the natrator’s voice rather irritating to listen to.

That being said, this book is a great listen for those who want to learn more about WWII in the Pacific.

great book

excellent detailed historical account of this battle. Well documented and written. highly recommend this book

Detailed history

I enjoyed this detailed recount of this part of the World War II Pacific Navel Battles