The Ultimate Battle

Fifty-thousand American troops were killed or injured in the WWII invasion of Okinawa. Narrator Robertson Dean takes advantage of the chaos created by kamikaze attacks and bonsai charges to convey the desperation of the Japanese. His emotional level varies from almost shouting in battle to low whispers as men discuss the wounds of dying buddies while near them. Dean's deep, resonant voice maintains his aura as narrator and never makes him sound like the author. He doesn't create individual voices for speakers but uses volume and nuance to separate the writer's narrative from the dialogue of the servicemen. Dean doesn't speak Japanese like a native, but he does it with comfort and makes the Pacific war almost as real as being there. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine