Spies for Nimitz: Joint Military Intelligence in the Pacific War

Rating:
Summary: Important Unit History: JICPOA
Review: This book is essentially a history of the Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific Ocean Areas (JICPOA) and the support it provided to the Central Pacific Campaign. I found the front matter and first chapter quite invigorating in the analysis of how Joint Intel was conducted and how JICPOA was created and organized. The essentials of Intel remain unchanged since WW II and the lessons in this book are both profound and obvious. The bulk of this book (after chapter 1) are analyses of the major invasions of in the Central Pacific as well as the proposed invasion of Japan. While this information doesn't make for very captivating reading it provides a new and very valuble reference for anyone interested in these operations. The author tapped a great deal of new primary source material in the form of official records and reports providing a sound foundation for this important book. My only criticism is that he conducted only a handful of interviews with WW II veterans at a time when this irreplacable resource is quickly passing away.