Waldo Heinrichs (1925–2019)

Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific. 1944-1945 by Waldo Heinrich's and Marc Gallicchio was an outstanding book on the final years on the war in the Pacific.

Without the notes it comes in at under 600 pages and it covers the gambit of the war, including the different campaigns led by the Army and the Navy, the impact of wants and need of the home front ranging from politics, the economy and the transition from wartime to peace and the feelings of the civilian sector.

The book goes into detail in the impact of releasing high point men from service primarily in Europe but also in the Pacific and rotating them home while also gearing up for the final stages of the Pacific Campaign and the difficulties in doing both simultaneously. The book goes deeply in the position of unconditional surrender and the division on modifying it especially in relation to the Emperor and the impact of the Atomic bomb on the decision.

The personalities of Nimitz, MacArthur, Marshall, King, Leahy, Truman and others both in and out of the administration and congress are clarified and dwelled into.

A wonderful addition to the field and a must read.… (more)