Jeff Shaara may be the best contemporary writer of military history written as fiction. I recently finished The Final Storm. This is the fourth book in Shaara’s World War II series. The first three books take readers from North Africa to VE Day. The Final Storm moves to the Pacific Theater. The first chapter or two briefly cover the period from 1931 to 1945. The balance of the book covers the campaign on Okinawa and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.
The story is told through the eyes and words of the Japanese General in command of Okinawa; Admiral Nimitz, the Commander in Chief of the United States Navy in the Pacific (CINCPAC); and their staffs. Most importantly, the primary voices are members of the United States Marines’ 6th Division. We have all heard or seen the words “War is hell!” This book helps to define those words, and the book is not for the squeamish.
We follow Private Clay Adams of New Mexico as he and his comrades slog their way through the mud and tunnels on Okinawa over a period of a few months in 1945. The casualties on both sides were overwhelming which helped United States President Harry Truman make his decision to use The Bombs. When I finished the book, there were tears in my eyes.
The Final Storm is a must read. GO! BUY! READ!
–Jim Harris, retired book sales rep
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