Accidently started to read, and couldn't put down. Near contemporary narrative history. Started to collect the set through a book club in high school some 30+ years ago, reunited when mom cleaned out a storage unit.

Starts with an 80-page prelude to the war, covers the opening attacks, Coral Sea, and through the Doolittle raid.

Casual racism throughout. ( )

I am a fan of France's WWII navy, and this volume of the USN in WWII is therefore a very sad read. The TOEs are nicely detailed, and the tone is relatively objective. As this is a service history, not a political one there's not a great deal about the complex politics of the French Navy. Maps are good, and the book added to my library as an island of sanity, all be it limited, in the sea of controversy where the French have left us regarding this period. ( )

This third volume of the Morison USN history was originally published in 1947, and the style is very much of the period. This volume emphasizes the attitude that the USN's real WWII was against the Japanese, not the Germans. The analysis of the period prior to Pearl Harbour is very concerned with the steadily growing levels of Japanese aggression not with American policy in the Far east. The covering of the Dec. 7th attack is competent, but much has been revealed since due to the relaxation of the security surrounding the Japanese codes. For operational information and orders of battle Morison was given a lot of official cooperation so these books are essential for the American side of the picture. There's also information on Wake Island not easily found elsewhere. ( )