I Will Run Wild

Starred review from June 15, 2020
A focused look at the first six months of World War II in the Pacific, drawing on government documents and interviews with veterans. Cleaver admits to a fascination with the Pacific war since his early school days, and it shows in the depth in which he examines the battlefield details. The author, who has written multiple books on the Pacific theater, puts special emphasis on naval aviation, which was the dominant mode of action at the time. The second chapter, describing U.S. and Japanese preparedness for the war, includes accounts of the development of the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, two of the iconic warplanes of the era. At times, the catalogs of how many planes of which types took part in a given attack may stretch the patience of general readers, though this type of data will thrill military history buffs. Cleaver amply makes up for any slow bits with comments from and anecdotes by many of those who took part--on both sides. The author includes quotes from Eisenhower's diaries and Roosevelt's speeches and battle accounts from American and Japanese servicemen along with contemporaneous news reports to show what the general public was being told about the campaign. Cleaver has strong opinions about many aspects of the Pacific war, including a negative judgment of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's performance in the defense of the Philippines, one evidently shared by many of those in the field at the time. The author's diligent research and careful citation of sources give his opinions considerable weight; as a result, the book deserves attention from anyone interested in the difficult months between the disaster of Pearl Harbor and the triumph of Midway. Authoritative and colorful--a must-read account of the initial phase of the war in the Pacific.

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