Starting with the battles of Leyte Gulf these two inform us of the dying days of a very impressive navy. The details are sad, but when you are facing the two largest navies of WWII, and have a weak strategic position, there is little to be done but die gallantly. No WWII Pacific War library should be without this basic text. I read it twice. ( )

First...the description is messed up. The FULL title of this book is 'The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy'. IMHO, it is one of the best books available in English on the Japanese navy in World War 2. ( )