Rating: 
Summary: excellent starter
Review: Although WWII began in Europe in 1939, American involvement in the war began with the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941. Costello, one of the premier historians of the American involvement, has written a comprehensive one-volume history of the War with Japan that belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the history of that war.Beginning with a summation of the the almost two-decades long anti-Japanese (both intentional and not) activities of the United States, he analyses Pearl Harbor and its aftermath in detail without becoming either overly judgmental or overly sentimental. He covers the battle for the Phillipines, discussing the bitter decision to abandon it and withdraw MacArthur to Australia. He covers not only the major battles but the strategies behind them, awarding both the rose and the thorn impartially. And he discusses, with both facts and insight, the "Europe First" decision, which prompted so much strife, not only with the High Command but with the public at large. It's often been theorized that WWII was, in fact, two separate wars in two separate regions. Costello's book serves as an excellent history of the Japanese War and could even be used, in conjunction with the works of Ambrose, to justify the 'two wars' theory successfully. It belongs on the shelf of any serious student of the war, US-Japan relations, or even the 20th Century!
Rating: 
Summary: Replete With Errors
Review: I am currently reading a 1st Edition of this book. After reading only the first 150 pages I have found numerous errors in the spelling of proper names as well as several utterly stupid historical errors. For example: the author has "Ashai Sinbun" instead of Asahi Shinbun; "Simonoseki" instead of Shimonoseki; "Matsungaga" instead of Matsunaga. More important are the historical mistakes. During his description of the Pearl Harbor attack he refers to information being sent back to Admiral Yamamoto who, according to Costello, was 5000 miles away ABOARD THE AKAGI!!!. He doesn't even know that the Akagi was one of the 6 Jap carriers involved in the strike on Pearl. Actually, Yamamoto was aboard his flagship the Yamato at the time. Later he discusses the Jap attack on Clark Field in the Philippines and says that our planes "retreated to Luzon"! Well duh. Clark Field is on Luzon. At one point he erroneously substitutes the name Nagumo (the admiral commanding the Pearl Harbor strike force) for Admiral Nagano, the Navy Minister. Later, when describing the Jap occupation of the Isle of Batan north of Luzon in early December 1941 he mistakenly calls it "Bataan", which of course was the peninsula to which the Americans retreated after the Japs landed on Luzon. And all these errors are in the first 150 pages! I could go on, but why bother. Perhaps later editions of the book have corrected these ridiculous mistakes. If not, I can only wonder at Amazon's claiming that this book is considered the best single volume history of the Pacific War available.
Read with extreme caution.
Rating:
Summary: Churchill the Jap appeaser exposed
Review: I appreciate the fact that this bbok does not mince words when it comes to Churchill's many kowtowing to the Japs just so he can get at the Germans. And the fact that the Royal Navy was nothing but a sidekick to the USN in the war, and the constant intriguing by Churchill to get the USA to fight for its lost colonies, and the incessant shirking by the RN in fighting the Japs.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough coverage of the war
Review: I just re-read this book and found it hard to put down. Costello writes well, and he obviously has some fascinating history to work with. The slow movement of the allies from sheer desperation in 1942 to overwhelming superiority in 1945 is well described. The fighting in Malaya, Burma, China, and New Guinea, often overlooked in favor of the "glamor battles" such as Midway and Coral Sea, is covered pretty thoroughly. As others have pointed out, there are errors here. Some are apparently typographical, such as "Sidney" for "Sydney." Others are more baffling, such as the alleged appearance of Lexington during the Tarawa campaign (Lexington sank at the battle of the Coral Sea). So you may wish to check some details with other sources. Nevertheless, an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Thorough coverage of the war
Review: I just re-read this book and found it hard to put down. Costello writes well, and he obviously has some fascinating history to work with. The slow movement of the allies from sheer desperation in 1942 to overwhelming superiority in 1945 is well described. The fighting in Malaya, Burma, China, and New Guinea, often overlooked in favor of the "glamor battles" such as Midway and Coral Sea, is covered pretty thoroughly. As others have pointed out, there are errors here. Some are apparently typographical, such as "Sidney" for "Sydney." Others are more baffling, such as the alleged appearance of Lexington during the Tarawa campaign (Lexington sank at the battle of the Coral Sea). So you may wish to check some details with other sources. Nevertheless, an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Good Overview
Review: I read this book for the first time two years ago. Recently I read Volume XII of the HISTORY OF UNITED STATES NAVAL OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR II and found it helpful to get an overview by rereading the brief section on the Battle for Leyte Gulf in Costello's book before tackling the four hundred pages on the same subject written by Samuel Eliot Morison in Volume XII. This suggests to me another use for THE PACIFIC WAR 1941-1945 and I intend to continue to use it in this manner in the future. As an attempt to write a one-volume account of World War II in the Pacific I also believe that Costello's book is largely successful.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to digest
Review: I remember reading this book for the first time in 7th grade, and not finding it too difficult to understand. When I reread it recently (years! later) I came away with the same impression, but I was also surprised at the wealth of information in this book. The author was very thorough in his research, and gives an excellent overview of WWII in the Pacific.
Rating:
Summary: very good
Review: In only one-volume, this is the best you could get. Sometimes it's boring reading, but overall it's great history.
Rating: 
Summary: complete and readable history of the pacific campaign
Review: John Costello covers all aspects of the pacific war in a very readable style. It provides good perspective on the causes and strategies as well. It is not a "I was there" book like "the Bloody Battle for Suribachi" by Wheeler, nor is it written in the heavy scholary style of "Barbarossa" by Alan Clark. There are more complete presentations on various battles published elsewhere such as Guadalcanal by Frank or Okinawa by Leckie. However no book puts it all together as well as this one. I recommend this book highly. David Bouras
Rating:
Summary: complete and readable history of the pacific campaign
Review: John Costello covers all aspects of the pacific war in a very readable style. It provides good perspective on the causes and strategies as well. It is not a "I was there" book like "the Bloody Battle for Suribachi" by Wheeler, nor is it written in the heavy scholary style of "Barbarossa" by Alan Clark. There are more complete presentations on various battles published elsewhere such as Guadalcanal by Frank or Okinawa by Leckie. However no book puts it all together as well as this one. I recommend this book highly. David Bouras
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