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The Last Island Before the Bomb
‘A skilful narrative of combat history … exceedingly vivid.’ – The New York Times
As the siege of Stalingrad was the ultimate scene of carnage at the Eastern Front, the battle of Okinawa proved to be the bloodiest of the Pacific war. Almost the entire Japanese kamikaze effort of the Second World War was directed against the Americans at Okinawa. At the beginning of the battle on 1 April 1945, over 1 million Americans, Japanese and Okinawans were centred on the small Pacific island; by 23 June, when the Japanese commanders committed seppuku, 250,000 civilians and soldiers were dead. More people died during the battle of Okinawa than in the ensuing bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.
Okinawa 1945 offers a stunning account of the last major campaign of the Second World War and the largest land–sea–air engagement. Superbly researched and extraordinarily detailed, Okinawa 1945 is told at the level of the participants themselves, soldiers and civilians alike, with the dramatic stories of three individuals running through the entire account.
‘A skilful narrative of combat history … exceedingly vivid.’
The New York Times,
‘Brings the story to terrible life – with copious eyewitness testimonies from American, British and Japanese survivors of this “hell in the Pacific”.’
BBC History magazine,
‘In language that is clear, dramatic and exciting, Feifer captures all aspects of the Pacific War … his engaging narrative is equally suited to experts in the field and those just becoming acquainted with the Japanese–American struggles 1941–45.’
Matthew Stevenson, contributing editor, Harper’s Magazine and author of The View from Churchill,
‘The greatest air, land, and sea battle of the Pacific in WWII, rivetingly told through the experiences of American and Japanese combatants and Okinawan civilians.’
Craig R. Whitney, former foreign editor, The New York Times and author of Spy Trader,
