Crisis in the Pacific: The Battles for the Philippine Islands by the Men Who Fought Them

Description

On December 8, 1941, one day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Air Force struck the Philippines in the first blow of a devastating invasion. With an undersupplied patchwork army at his command, General Douglas MacArthur led a valiant defense of the Philippines. When defeat came, MacArthur swore he would return, while thousands of POWs fell into Japanese hands - and faced a living hell that many would not survive. In this gripping oral history, Gerald Astor brings to life the struggle to recapture the Philippines: the men who did the fighting, the battles that set the stage for an Allied invasion, and the acts of astounding courage and desperation that marked the campaign on both sides. From Corregidor to the Battle for Manila, from horrifying jungle warfare to cataclysmic clashes at sea, on beachheads and in the air, Crisis in the Pacific draws on the words of the men who were there - capturing this crucial heroic struggle for victory against Japan.

Gerald Astor is the critically acclaimed military historian and author of Wings of Gold, Terrible Terry Allen, The Mighty Eighth, A Blood-Dimmed Tide, The Right to Fight, The Greatest War, and The Bloody Forest, among other titles. He lives near New York City.

"No one does oral history better than Gerald Astor." - Stephen E. Ambrose "Astor has produced a fine work that will take its place in the long line of oral histories to be read by future generations." - Library Journal Also by Gerald Astor: Battling Buzzards The Odyssey of the 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team 1943-1945 The Mighty Eighth The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It A Blood-Dimmed Tide The Battle of the Bulge by the Men Who Fought It Operation Iceberg The Invasion and Conquest of Okinawa in World War II Available From Dell