| The Great Pacific War |  | Author: Hector C. Bywater
Publisher: St Martins Pr
Category: Book
Buy Used: $34.94
New (1) Used (10) Collectible (2) from $34.94
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 1768553
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 321
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0312063644
Dewey Decimal Number: 359.03091823
EAN: 9780312063641
ASIN: 0312063644
Publication Date: August 1991
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: No marks/highlights on any pages; some dust jacket wear & edge bends; hardcovr - RARE & OUT OF PRINT BOOK
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| Customer Reviews:
 Bywater forsaw what the dullards in Washington should have.. October 3, 1998
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
A great story, written in 1927, that forsaw the possibility of a Japanese sneak attack on the United States. Maybe the details aren't quite right, but they are damned good considering the flow of future history, including the major role aircraft and submarines would play in the next great war. An excellent story.
An interesting look at naval warfare from the 1920s. August 31, 1998
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is a remarkable work, which details the 1920s view of what a then "near future" Pacific War would be like. Readers should NOT look for a prognostication of the Pearl Harbor attack or of Kamikazes. Hector Bywater correctly guessed the Japanese would engage in a surprise base attack to start the war, but conservatively placed it in the Philippines just as U.S. strategists assumed during the critical days prior to Pearl Harbor. This is nothing more than historical extrapolation from the start of the Sino- and Russo-Japanese wars. The only semblance of "kamikazes" is in rammings between aircraft (not confined to the Japanese) particularly when one pilot is fatally wounded, and the dramatic "last charge" of the battleship Mutsu, but even the ficticious observer of this event acknowledges it could be caused by a rudder casualty. This book is neither fantasy, nor prognostication, but accurate strategic speculation. Do NOT read it from the viewpoint of the future and knowledge of what happened in 1941-1945. Read it first from the perspective of what was known in 1926, and available 1920s and 1930s materiel. The Japanese Navy of 1932 was not capable of mounting an air raid on Pearl Harbor. It had neither the carriers, the aircraft nor the oilers to pull it off. The ascendancy of naval aviation was probably impossible any sooner than 1940-1941 because the aircraft were insufficiently advanced. Thus in Bywater's work, written in 1926, aviation is a significant factor for reconnaissance, but falls short in the attack. Bywater also assumes the use of gas, and his amphibious techniques are understandably crude. Some of his best speculation regards the good and poor qualities of "Treaty Cruisers," and the Japanese propensity for building latent capabilities into hulls for later conversion. His reversion of the Akagi and Kaga to capital ships from carriers, foreshadowed the fitting of 8-inch guns to the Mogami and Tone Class cruisers prior to WWII. This work is a masterpiece of its time and iminently readable to boot.
 Interesting Yarn of U.S.-Japan War August 26, 1998
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a must-read for all World War II buffs. It details the war between U.S. and Japan from a surprise attack on an American base to the bombing of Japan to the Kamakaze air raids. This is different from all other World War II books in that this work was written in the 1920's. The author shows great insight in divining what was coming down the road. Of course, certain things in the book don't jibe with history (gas attacks and Pearl Harbor not being bombed) but it still is close in other areas such as the overall naval strategy used by the Japanese and the U.S. Definately read this yarn of "future history" that actually happened.
An account of naval warfare between US and Japan: 1931-33 July 11, 1998
Steve Barrett (San Diego)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Hector Bywater, a British naval correspondent/expert, wrote a most engaging book in The Great Pacific War. In this book, he creates a fictional history of a war between Japan and the United States. This account, written 16 years before Pearl Harbor, details tactical and stategic considerations of such a war given the existing and projected sizes and dispositions of each country's navies and bases. The book provides insight into the thoughts and opinions of naval stategists and tacticians in the mid-twenties, particularly with regards the trends of naval air power vs dreadnought firepower. The battles recounted reminded me, to some extent, of another book, Naval Battles of the First World War by Geoffrey Bennett, as well as actual WWII accounts of cruiser/destroyer actions fought in the Pacific. An interesting aspect of the book was the analysis of each opponent's fleet and how those fleets were shaped by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. In all, a fascinating book and a must read for anyone interested in studying the origins of naval thought on tactics and strategies during the actual Pacific war of WWII.
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