The first book of a trilogy. All three are exceptionally well written. The style is easy to read, well researched and makes excellent use of contemporary reports, personal letters and official material.

McManus gives a vivid account of the fighting but also provides descriptions of the logistics effort that only the American economy could sustain. His pen portraits of the main commanders and their various intra and inter-service machinations was something that is not usually covered.

These books provide an understanding of the US Army contribution in many unknown locations that hardly ever feature in the Pacific narrative. ( )

This is a fine book about a subject we don't hear much about, namely, the role of the US Army in the Pacific Theater in WWII. McManus really digs deep into the actions, the characters, and the reasons why America and the Army was even involved in the Pacific. I found the introduction to be especially compelling reading, with just the sort of analysis I want my WWII books to have. I would have liked more maps, especially maps that showed a larger area...where Hawaii was in relation to the Gilbert and Marshall Island groups, for instance. But I'm waiting eagerly for the next volume! ( )

Thoroughly researched and well written, McManus does an excellent job of portraying the arduous and difficult tasks the US Army encountered in the Pacific. They faced many serious foes: the terrain, the climate, the insects and diseases as well as fanatic Japanese soldiers emotionally committed to dying for their emperor. And, they did it all while carrying the oppressive weight of Macarthur, his ego, and his ambitions on their backs. The general maintained his status by living in a hotel, in Brisbane with his wife and son; showing up periodically for a photo op and to declare victory. None of these onerous tasks prevented him from surreptitiously managing and planning his campaign to run against President Roosevelt in 1944. Among his many egregious acts as a commanding general were his denial of Eichelberger's Medal of Honor application and his vicious campaign against a possible one for Wainwright. This bout of pettiness likely was to preserve his own stature as a Medal of Honor recipient although his own was based upon a politically expedient nomination by President Roosevelt. Smith versus Smith conflict starts on Makin. ( )

Fire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941 - 1943 by John C. McManus ( Dutton Caliber/Penguin Group; 2019) tells the often-forgotten history of the role of the Army in the Pacific Theater of World War II, because so much has been written (and filmed) about the exploits of the Marines in this part of the war. Noted historian and author John C. McManus, author of other best-sellers such as Deadly Sky and The Dead and Those About to Die, now turns his sights toward the under-reported exploits and contributions of the Army throughout the Pacific. In what McManus hopes to eventually be a two-volume work, this first installment covers the years 1941 through to the invasion of the atoll of Makin toward the end of 1943.
This volume leaves virtually no stone unturned in describing the history of Japan and the USA in their relationships with each other and with the nations in China, Southeast Asia and the thousands of Pacific island states/nations, as well as mini-biographies of the leading characters such as Douglas MacArthur, "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell, and Arthur Krueger.
McManus takes readers chronologically through the events such as the fight over the Philippines eventually taken by the Japanese, along with strategic engagements in Palau and Guadalcanal. McManus even describes the situation in Australia, as both the Australian citizenship and American soldiers learned to grow and appreciate each other --- even as they were working under difficult conditions to make this large continent defensible from the Japanese. A chapter is even given to the unsuccessful efforts of the Japanese to invade the Aleutian Islands.
The author has done a huge amount of research into all aspects of the combatants and the logistical and tactical aspects of the various campaigns in the Pacific, told from both the viewpoints of the Allies and the Japanese --- and in the words of full generals and admirals, all the way down to the lowliest privates. For the casual historian like myself, the book was quite an education, although the huge amount of details made it a little difficult to keep straight exactly where one was in the telling of the various battles and defensive maneuvers. I reviewed an ebook edition, so I hope the printed book will contain maps to give more context. Nevertheless, the frank and honest descriptions of the brutality and ungodly deadly conditions that both sides had to contend with in the Pacific were simply riveting. And for true history buffs, this book should satisfy anyone's desire for lots of behind-the-scenes expositions of what noncombatants, combatants and their officers all had to endure in a war like no other ever fought in all of world history. Highly recommended! ( )