The War With Japan: The Period of Balance, May 1942-October 1943 (Total War Series, Number 1)

Rating:
Summary: Extremely good
Review: Many books describe the Pacific Ocean naval battles in great detail.

Willmott shows you why they were fought and why they're important. While not as in-depth as his studies of the preceding period (_Empires in the Balance_ and _The Barrier and the Javelin_), this is a very well-done study of the 1942-43 clashes in the Pacific, and of high-level strategic thinking on both sides. Anyone interested in how wars in general, or this war in particular, were fought, will find this very valuable.