Midnight in the Pacific

Guadalcanal -- The World War II Battle That Turned the Tide of War

By: Joseph Wheelan

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

A sweeping narrative history - the first in over 20 years - of America's first major offensive of World War II, the brutal, no-quarter-given campaign to take Japanese-occupied Guadalcanal

From early August until mid-November of 1942, US Marines, sailors, and pilots struggled for dominance against an implacable enemy: Japanese soldiers, inculcated with the bushido tradition of death before dishonor, avatars of bayonet combat - close-up, personal, and gruesome. The glittering prize was Henderson Airfield. Japanese planners knew that if they neutralized the airfield, the battle was won. So did the Marines who stubbornly defended it. 

The outcome of the long slugfest remained in doubt under the pressure of repeated Japanese air, land, and sea operations. And losses were heavy. At sea, in a half-dozen fiery combats, the US Navy fought the Imperial Japanese Navy to a draw, but at a cost of more than 4,500 sailors. More American sailors died in these battles off Guadalcanal than in all previous US wars, and each side lost 24 warships. 

On land, more than 1,500 soldiers and Marines died, and the air war claimed more than 500 US planes. Japan's losses on the island were equally devastating - starving Japanese soldiers called it "the island of death." But when the attritional struggle ended, American Marines, sailors, and airmen had halted the Japanese juggernaut that for five years had whirled through Asia and the Pacific. Guadalcanal was America's first major ground victory against Japan and, most importantly, the Pacific War's turning point. 

Published on the 75th anniversary of the battle and utilizing vivid accounts written by the combatants at Guadalcanal, along with Marine Corps and Army archives and oral histories, Midnight in the Pacific is both a sweeping narrative and a compelling drama of individual Marines, soldiers, and sailors caught in the crosshairs of history. 

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 Joseph Wheelan (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Don't start here or you'll be confused.

Would you try another book from Joseph Wheelan and/or Kevin Stillwell?

Maybe. Guadalcanal is a tough topic. This author tries to bring the personal part of the story home, and frequently does a good job of that, bringing humanity through the voices of the participants. On the other hand, he does a poor job providing the overall context of what's going on. This fight is a huge story of outstanding and poor leadership, of great individual bravery and some cowardice, often by the folks in charge.

The author misses some key things. He gives us a great account of Puller going aboard the destroyer and saving his men, he misses the human part of the exchange between Puller and the ship captain about who's got the better life (and potential death).

The USS San Francisco kills as many sailors aboard the USS Atlanta than the Japanese kill Marines on Bloody Ridge. Callahan dies on the San Francisco. The author makes assumptions about what Callahan thought during the battle and states them as fact when we can't possibly know. Callahan knew his mission was suicide, was brave, incompetent, and six other things all at once, yet that gets lost in the story here.

The book should have been better focused, but I did listen to the end, which I won't do if I think it's a waste of time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Really no characters in a non-fiction book, but in general, the Marines and sailors do the impossible, and I always wonder if the current generation would be capable of doing the same.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He mispronounces constantly. He pronounces Yamamoto three different ways. He pronounces Helena two different ways. He mispronounces Callahan. He mispronounces a bunch of Japanese names or gives us multiple pronunciations. He mispronounces or gives us multiple pronunciations of place names on the island. He once says that the Japanese commander is going to commit sui-Sepuku, suggesting he was anticipating "suicide", got the Japanese, and changed mid-word. Annoying.

Do you think Midnight in the Pacific needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. Needs a second edition to tighten it up.

Any additional comments?

Listen to Tolls' Pacific Crucible. Then listen to Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno. Listen to Tragaskis' Guadalcanal Diary (which is referenced by Wheelan). Hara's book for the Japanese version (also referenced by Wheelan). There are several books by Marines that are listenable as well, also referenced by Wheelan).

Well done, but...

It’s embarrassing and annoying having a narrator who thinks he knows Japanese, but is clearly clueless.

Lots of Repetition

The author repeats anecdotes and quotes so many times that it became very noticeable. At first, I wondered if I was repeating chapters, but then I realized that things were repeated three or four times.

Excellent research, interesting exposition

The subtitle tells you the main point of this book, “Guadalcanal, The World War II Battle that Turned the Tide of War.” The author argues that the turning point was not Midway, but Guadalcanal, much earlier. Midway was the climax, but Guadalcanal set the stage for the rest of the Pacific side of the war. Wheelan does an excellent and detailed analysis of the “battle,” which I will put in quotes because we often think of a battle as one skirmish that may last a day or even several, but this one was a brutal, ongoing conflict that lasted for 6 months, from August 7, 1942 through February 1943. At times there seemed to be too much detail that could have been condensed, but after reading, the effect was a greater understanding not just of what happened, but how and why, as well as the brutality of the conflict and the great suffering of the combatants on both sides. You feel for the sacrifice of the soldiers, not just of their lives or the risk of losing their lives, but the starvation, the feeling of having been forgotten and abandoned, the suffering of the ravages of the jungle, the disease, the jungle rot that destroyed everything, the daily fear of the night raids by the Japanese. And, for the Japanese, it was no better, and probably worse. The Allied war strategy was originally to first focus on defeating Hitler while holding Japan back as much as possible and later turning to Japan. However, when news came that the Japanese had started construction of an airport on the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon islands (a chain of islands just northeast of Australia and close to (east of) Indonesia. The fear was that this would cut off the supply lines between Hawaii and Australia / New Zealand. And, the rumor was that there were plans to then build one on Guam which would directly threaten Hawaii. A plan was hastily drawn up to invade Guadalcanal, which at that time mainly had construction workers on it. When the Marines landed, the construction workers and the few Japanese soldiers fled. The Japanese began landing more soldiers and started regular assaults, however they underestimated the number of Marines on the island, and did not appreciate their fighting ability or discipline. The Japanese held naval and air superiority at that time and their Zero fighters were far superior to what was then available in the US Pacific force. The US fighters were limited to 12,000 feet and were slower at climbing. Their pilots were less well-trained as well. At first the US Navy held back, unwilling to risk the loss of important ships, but eventually became more aggressive. The Japanese, responding by landing more troops and increasing bombardments. They especially liked to attack at night, giving the Marines no rest. Because they had underestimated the US forces and had not committed enough forces to retake the island early on, it became harder to do so as time went on and the US dug in more. In addition, though they held superiority in the beginning, the industrial might of the US meant that they were able to replace planes and ships faster than Japan could destroy them, but Japan could not do so. In addition, the Japanese tendency to choose to die than surrender (many pilots ejected but did not open their parachutes and even those whom the US tried to rescue would try to drown themselves or otherwise take their lives) meant that they were losing the best trained pilots and replacing them with newer recruits with less training. By the end of November, the Japanese superiority was gone and the battle began to sway toward the Americans. On both sides there was a tendency to take a conservative strategy and avoid risk at times. Both sides underestimated the other. Both misunderstood each other, but especially on the Japanese side. The Japanese doubted the courage of the Americans. One Japanese commander wrote that the Americans lacked discipline because they tried a strategy and if it didn’t work, they would give up and try something else, something that the Americans saw as just practical thinking. The book describes the naval, air, and land battles in great detail and made it interesting. When the Japanese finally evacuated in February 1943, they were forced to go on the defensive and were not able to have the tactical dominance they had once enjoyed. In that sense, Guadalcanal was truly the turning point. The book also talks about some things that are less well known, such as the “coast watchers,” many of them Australian, who hid near the coastline and radioed ship and plane sightings back to the Allies, as well as the native Melanesians who knew the island and the jungle and did a great deal to help the Americans. Some were honored by the Marines or by the British government (the Solomon Islands were a British colony at the time) and at least one was knighted and later attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The sacrifice of the soldiers on the ground, in the air, and on the sea is moving. The description of their suffering, the battles, the strategic decisions, and the quotations from many written sources from both sides makes this a book well worth reading. 

Powerful!

Probably the Very Best telljng if the Guadalcanal story that I have read / listen to ever and I've been reading about Guadalcanal for 40 years!

Ok, but myopic

The perspective of this book are very USMC focused. This in itself is not bad considering the outstanding performance the Marines had during this operation. But essentially, the author forgives the “old breed” Marines for any mistakes, even ones he holds other services accountable for later. The author also fails to provide a better understanding of the overall operations situation which drove the why decisions were made by different services. A lot of the decisions were drive more by available logistics than a lack of fight or drive, or a lack of intelligent thought.

There are better books on the Guadalcanal campaign which would give the uninformed reader a better understanding of how and why this operation was important to the overall operations within the Pacific Theater.

I would place this in the category of a fun read, rather than a more scholarly outing.

Learned a Great Deal

This book oozes a story of the first Marines on Guadalcanal. Many personal snippets presented with great energy and enthusiasm. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the book and learned a great deal from the read in an entertaining manner. I was able to picture the stories in my mind because it was so well done. The battle scenes at Bloody Ridge, Alligator Creek, and more.
The naval battles were brutal to read about...I found myself frustrated with the repeated mistakes of the U.S. Commanders. The introduction of General Halsey made me feel like cheering. Never boring.
Overall...I would call this a GREAT FIRST read about Guadalcanal. It will provide a terrific foundation. Great book...hope you will enjoy.

Cheers,

Exact in every detail

A thorough depiction of the beginning of the end of the Japanese Imperial government in WW2. The savagery and bravery of the the US forces is depicted in a critical yet accurate manner. The addition of the US Army and National Guard units completed this historic and epic battle. The US Navy eventually redeemed themselves with heroic battles as the campaign wore on. The combined arms of ground, air and naval units led to the ultimate victory.

Too touchable to forget

No matter which side were those soldiers, respect shall be paid respect for their dedication and sacrifice to their own country

Good overall research and presentation of subject

Overall,well done, deeper than average research, and little conjecture based on contemporary revisionism. I would have liked to see more running commentary on how naval battles and air battles affected day by day outlooks on the campaign, based on first person perspectives, but recognize time and distance have made that difficult. On other hand, the reader of the audible book, or narrator had some missteps, but overall, superior production to some audible accounts that are frustratingly awful pronunciations of places and names of participants and equipment

Superb

Really well presented and very interesting
Totally enjoyed listening
Recommended for anyone interested in the Pacific War

Excellent

Excellent, balanced and informed. I highly recommend this for WW2 readers interested in the Pacific Theatre. The narrator did a good job too.

Took my breath away

If you are interested in The War in the Pacific during WW2 this is the book for you. A superb account of the battle on land, sea and air. Highly Recommended.