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Nimitz | 
 enlarge | Author: E. B. Potter
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
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Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 114479
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Naval Institute Press Pbk
Pages: 544
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 10 x 6.9 x 1.5
ISBN: 1591145805
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.545973092
EAN: 9781591145806
ASIN: 1591145805
Publication Date: March 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Called a great book worthy of a great man, this definitive biography of the commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet in World War II, first published in 1976 and now available in paperback for the first time, continues to be considered the best book ever written about Adm. Chester W. Nimitz. Highly respected by both the civilian and naval communities, Nimitz was sometimes overshadowed by more colorful warriors such as MacArthur and Halsey. Potter's lively and authoritative style fleshes out Admiral Nimitz's personality to help readers appreciate the contributions he made as the principal architect of Japan's defeat. The book covers his full life, from a poverty-stricken childhood to postwar appointments as Chief of Naval Operations and U.N. mediator. It candidly reveals Nimitz's opinions of Halsey, Kimmel, King, Spruance, MacArthur, Forrestal, Roosevelt, and Truman.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Outstanding documentary on Nimitz and WWII November 27, 2008
C. Johnson (San Diego, Ca)
This is, perhaps, the best work on Admiral Chester Nimitz available. Not only does the reader learn great details about the man, his life, his philosophy and family background, but receives a very good teaching on the history and development of the war in the Pacific theater during World War II. Each progressive step of the Allied "island hopping" strategy is explained in a condensed fashion, including potential problems, risks, calculated casualties, and the inevitable friction and infighting between ambitious flag officers. There is much included about Gen. Douglas McArthur and his ongoing campaign for complete control of the Pacific operations and his resentment of the Navy's command there. The author's method, although compressed in deliberate style, has succeeded in making the entire Pacific operation during the war fully understandable and come alive. You are left with an impressive realization that Nimitz, with his personality, ability to work with others, calmness under extreme pressure, and his sense of fairness, was the right man, at the right time, and the right place to lead his country during that critical Pacific war.
The ideal foil to MacArthur November 24, 2008
William S. Grass (Plano Texas, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Potter's Nimitz could not have presented a better foil for that other top commander in the Pacific, Douglas MacArthur. I read Potter shortly after Manchester's American Caesar and found Nimitz's humility and simplicity of character a refreshing change from MacArthur's pomp.
In 1905, we see the young Nimitz meeting Admiral Togo shortly after the Battle of Tsushima, and Togo accepts an invitation to join Nimitz and his companions at their table, an ideal foreshadowing scene for any historical novelist.
Nimitz's command decisions in WWII were almost always accurate and timely. He dealt expertly and dispassionately not only with overall strategy and logistical concerns, but with difficult personalities as well, like Holland Smith and William Halsey. However, I would have liked Potter to discuss more the decision by Nimitz to pursue the Palau operation against Halsey's advice. He says "Halsey was grumbling" because although Ulithi would be a valuable base, the Palau invasion would be "a waste of time and lives." Then one final sentence on the topic in the next chapter mentions that "It is questionable whether the advantages gained offset the terrible cost."
It is to Nimitz's credit that after the war he wrote the affidavit on unrestricted submarine warfare which was submitted to the attorney for the German Admiral Karl Doenitz at Doenitz's attorney's request.
Even if someone is already well acquainted with the events of Nimitz's command in WWII, the bio of Potter's is highly recommended in order to flesh out the life of this brilliant, hard working admiral who has received scant attention from biographers due to his lack of flamboyance or controversy.
Real Hero September 24, 2007
James T. Phoenix
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderfully done work! The best account of the war in the Pacific I have read. The overblown accounts of MacArthur and Halsey over shadowed the real brains, the true hero of the victory. It depicts Nimitz as a strong, but caring man whose tactical and strategic skills are not widely known. It should be required reading for high school/college literature courses.
 Great subject; less than stellar execution February 26, 2007
W. P. Bringham (Kailua, HI)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
E.B. Potter's Nimitz is an adequate depiction of the Navy's preeminent leader of WWII. Adequate, vice great, as Potter did not seem willing to criticize, although Nimitz was evidently a man who did provide few episodes worthy of criticism. He was loved by the troops, respected by his peers and immediate subordinates, and worked well with superiors (King, Knox, and Roosevelt) that demanded excellence in all of their subordinates. The reader may wonder why there are so few narratives dedicated to Nimitz during WWII, as compared to the plethora available depicting the wartime exploits of MacArthur, Marshall, Eisenhower, and Patton. It would appear that his quiet competence, as compared to the showmanship of some of the others, did not lend itself to a flashy best-seller, thus Potter is the only one who has attempted to tell his story.
Potter did a good job, but his personal friendship with Nimitz appears to have rendered him incapable of criticizing the man. While Nimitz did apparently have few faults, Potter did a disservice to the reader by failing to scrutinize some of Nimitz's faults, such as his apparent indecisive streak when it came to strategic decision-making (for instance deciding the correct avenue of approach to Japan, whether the Philippines, Taiwan, or the Bonins, especially in discussions with Roosevelt and MacArthur).
Also, as a practitioner, I felt that the lack of discussion of the specifics of operational planning and decision-making under Nimitz's command, missed an opportunity for comparison with the methods that the military uses, successfully or not, in today's formulation of strategy and operational construction.
Finally, I would have liked to have read a little bit more of the leadership philosophy that made Nimitz successful during his years at sea. The chapter on his command aboard AUGUSTA went a long ways toward scratching this itch, but what the Navy leader of today needs is a discussion, through framework or anecdote, of what made a successful career.
Despite my criticism, I have to say that Nimitz's life is one worth studying, and as discussed above, there are few choices of books dedicated to Nimitz's life, so I do recommend Potter's work. I would just like to see another biography written through a cynical twenty-first century eye, so that we can reap the benefit of a critical discussion of his mistakes, as well as his triumphs.
 Useful war biography December 17, 2006
Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL))
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
Potter's biography of Chester Nimitz, CinCPac, is a good war biography. It can usefully be read in conjunction with Potter's volume on William Halsey, "Bull Halsey," and Thomas Buell's biography of the less flamboyant Raymond Spruance, "The Quiet Warrior."
The book is functionally--but surely not elegantly--written. It traces the life of Chester Nimitz from his childhood to Annapolis to his rise in the ranks of the Navy to World War II and beyond. Much detail is provided, including information on his family life.
The maps of the various campaigns in the Pacific are extremely helpful to the reader. The book traces the kind of decisions that Nimitz had to make--from replacing Admiral Kimmell after the surprise attack on Pearly Harbor to assigning Raymond Spruance to carrier command at Midway to relieving Admiral Ghormley at Guadalcanal with Admiral Halsey, to working with the mercurial General Douglas MacArthur, to the climactic battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
This is the kind of functional biography that provides great detail on combat strategy and tactics as well as on the person being studied.
A good volume if one wants to understand the role and importance of Chester Nimitz in World War II. Not an elegantly written book, but a good functional work.
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