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The great questions that this book addresses are why Admiral Kurita turned away from a greatly inferior American fleet at the end of the battle and why the Admiral Halsey allowed the Japanese to gain this superiority by not guarding the San Bernardino Straight, the northwestern gateway to Leyte Gulf. His actions well warranted the posthumous Medal of Honor that he received. In hindsight, and with modern eyes, Kurita did the noble thing in not wishing to see ten's of thousands of his sailors lose their lives for no significant military reason. The maps are mostly general in nature and do not give a very detailed description of the fighting at Leyte Gulf but are, in my opinion, sufficient. The book is about these four men, their family backgrounds, naval training, prior service in WWII, and how all this influenced their actions during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
The book contains photographs interspersed in the text on regular stock (as opposed to glossy plates that give better resolution) and some maps. No such rational can be given for the final actions of Admiral Ugaki, who at the end of the war was the head of the Kamikaze effort. The four commanders are Admirals William Halsey, Takeo Kurita, and Matome Ugaki and Commander Ernest Evans, and the campaign is that of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. These questions have been hotly debated since the battle.
The origin, or lack there of, of a mysterious telegram that provided the excuse for breaking off the battle (in order to attack the American fleet carriers that were not actually where they were purported to be) is discussed at length.The book also discusses the actions of Commander Evans and Admiral Ugaki. He did this to continue the fight with his remaining guns (even though they were of too small a caliber to do much damage) and in order to at least draw fire away from the rest of the fleet. This is a well-written book that combines narrative history with an attempt to explain the critical actions taken by these men. At least one reviewer has painted this book as revisionist history that attempts to blacken Halsey's reputation. That he should wish to commit suicide was in Japanese eyes completely understandable (hundreds of other officers and government officials did the same), but that he would lead about 20 others in this futile gesture was not.
The subtitle, "Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945", accurately describes this book (although the addition of 1941-1945 is at first glance a bit strange coupled with the fact that it is supposed to be about the last naval battle). The actions of Commander Evans, captain of the destroyer Johnston, were in keeping with the best traditions of the US Navy. He sacrificed his ship, his life and that of many of his crew in order to save the fleet that he was charged with protecting. Yet, there are some survivors of his crew who questioned why, after his initial attacks in which he got off all of his torpedoes (severely damaging a Japanese cruiser and causing the Japanese fleet to take evasive action), laying down a smoke screen to protect the rest of the fleet, and suffering significant damage including the loss of one of his two engines and most of his offensive capabilities, he then went back into the fray, causing the ultimate sinking of his ship. The book discuses reasonable reasons for why these actions were not taken, but nonetheless Kinkaid has been criticized for them. This book provides a well-written narrative history of the actions at Leyte Gulf, and while not the definitive history of this engagement it does add significantly to its history by focusing on these four commanders, their actions and the motivations behind them. The addition of 1941-1945 in the subtitle refers to the fact that the book discusses their actions during this extended period, as a prelude to the discussion of their actions in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
I recommend this book to all those who like well written history, especially those interested to WWII. I disagree - while Halsey is criticized (and has been by most historians), blame is also placed on Admiral Kinkaid for not asking for a clarification of Halsey's somewhat vague messages regarding his intentions, for not bring up his battleship fleet to the strait and for not ordering the escort carriers, which became the object of the Japanese attack, to move out of the probable range of Japanese surface ships. Kurita's actions have also been criticized because he did not carry out his orders to destroy the ships in the gulf. After hearing the Emperor's wish to end the war, but before he could get an official order to surrender, he led the last Kamikaze flight.
It also gives a good idea of the "fog of war" and how easy it is for results to be innacurately reported and then misunderstood. Evan Thomas' naval history of the last surface fleet battle in WWII is well written and an exciting read, although I suspect serious military history buffs will find it a "history-lite" version. The book is strong when it focuses on the personalities of the four major characters: on the American side, Admiral William Halsey, and destroyer captain Ernest Evans and on the Japanese side Admiral Takeo Kurita and Admiral Matomi Ugaki. A good introduction to the topic, although I will say I much preferred Hampton Sides Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Missionas a single battle story of a similar time.
Now that these events are 50 years in the past, much more material is available and the readers benefit. The author is at his best making sense of action spread across the Pacific and the personalities that shaped the battle. Well done.
It would probably make a decent introduction to the naval side of the Pacific War. Ernest Evans, the commander of a destroyer at Leyte Gulf who was killed while fighting a superior Japanese force, is attacked, with 63 years of hindsight, for being "foolhardy." Vice Admirals Matome Ugaki and Takeo Kurita are portrayed in a sympathetic light, but Thomas seems intent on reducing the entire Japanese military establishment to brutish war criminals and noble zen warriors.
Mostly, I was reminded of older, better books that weren't quite as readable but at least gave me a whole lot more to chew on.To be fair, Evan Thomas does provide some interesting insights into the Fog of War and the problems of divided command. If you find serious naval history intimidating, you'll probably enjoy Thomas's easygoing writing style and general avoidance of complex technical and strategic factors.Unfortunately, I found "Sea of Thunder" to be largely uninspiring and milquetoast.
The back cover of "Sea of Thunder" is littered with glowing praise on the book's "jaw dropping psychological insights," "impressive scholarship," and "brilliant penetrating studies." Perhaps I'm just a cranky old amateur naval historians, but nowhere in the previous 415 pages did I find much approaching this level of hype. Halsey is largely idolized for the first third and harshly criticized for the remainder.
Just about everything it describes - the battle of Leyte Gulf, the Japanese warrior mentality, the racist attitudes of both sides, Halsey's command failures, and so on - has been done before and done better as well. Thomas's character depictions range from being insightful to large cliche.
How very simplistic.Sea Of Thunder isn't a bad book. Still, it's Military History Lite at it's most obvious, riddled with technical errors and written with too much modern-day politically correct hindsight for it's own good.
Evan Thomas delivers another excellent naval history in his work on the pacific battles of World War II. If anything this provides an interesting summary without going in-depth into too many battle details. While this is a massive topic to take on in a one volume work Thomas does it well addressing the men who fought and the tactical maneuvers that determined the outcomes of the battles. Focusing on the main commanders who fought it goes really beyond four to address the majority of the major players giving a fair look at each and their contributions to the pacific theater. While assessing many of the events that led to the US domination and the fall of the Japanese navy, the book spends most of its time recreating the battle of Letey Gulf. For those who have read widely on World War II this will probably not add much to their understanding as it is largely an overview but if you are new to the subject this is a great place to start to get the basics along with the perspectives of the soldiers.
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