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The Battle Of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action (Twentieth-Century Battles) | 
 enlarge | Author: H. P. Willmott
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 288685
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 398
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0253345286
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5425995
EAN: 9780253345288
ASIN: 0253345286
Publication Date: August 2, 2005
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Condition: Virgin book. Perfect gift for WWII buff.
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Product Description
"The Battle of Leyte Gulf was an extremely unusual battle. It was unusual on five separate counts that are so obvious that they are usually missed. It was unusual in that it was a series of actions, not a single battle. It was unusual as a naval battle in that it was fought over five days; historically, naval battles have seldom spread themselves over more than one or two days. It was unusual in terms of its name. This battle involved a series of related actions subsequently grouped together under the name of just one of these engagements, but in fact none of the actions were fought inside Leyte Gulf. . . . More importantly, it was unusual in that it was a full-scale fleet action fought after the issue of victory and defeat at sea had been decided, and it was unusual in that it resulted in clear, overwhelming victory and defeat." --from Chapter One The Battle of Leyte Gulf--October 22-28, 1944--was the greatest naval engagement in history. In fact the battle was four separate actions, none of which were fought in the Gulf itself, and the result was the destruction of Japanese naval power in the Pacific. This book is a detailed and comprehensive account of the fighting from both sides. It provides the context of the battle, most obviously in terms of Japanese calculations and the search for "a fitting place to die" and "the chance to bloom as flowers of death." Using Japanese material never previously noted in western accounts, H.P. Willmott provides new perspectives on the unfolding of the battle and very deliberately seeks to give readers a proper understanding of the importance of this battle for American naval operations in the following month. This careful interrogation of the accounts of "the last fleet action" is a significant contribution to military history.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 By any careful consideration...not worth your time November 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
H.P Willmott is a prolific writer of history, and I've read some other things he's written before this, especially "Battleship." I thought they were tough reads, but this one, um, "beggars belief." (If you've read the book, you know what I mean.)
I think my own views come down to three points:
1) There's nothing new here. I read history to find out something new, something I didn't know before that sheds new light on the subject. I saw nothing here that I couldn't have gotten out of C. Vann Woodward's 1947 narrative. (A 2007 reprint has just become available.)
2) This is a tough read. Really, really tough. As a couple of other reviewers have commented, there's no narrative here. This lack can make it hard to figure out what's going on sometimes, particularly if you're not completely familiar with the flow of the battle. Prof. Willmott tosses in a lot of Latin and French phrases (in British style) that I think unnecessarily breaks up the text. Worse are the run-on sentences, turgid prose, and repetition of tedious and annoying phrases, especially "beggars belief" and "by any careful consideration." Style can be an acquired taste, and I don't like the taste of this one. Apparently, "concise" is not in the cards, and the whole book reads like an outline that got filled in a little bit at a time.
Related to style, I found parts of the book like reading Henry Fielding's Tom Jones: a lot of noise around not much story. It needs SERIOUS tightening up, and a good editor could do that. Example: At one point, Prof. Willmott comments that while Agincourt had a Shakespeare play and Balaclava got a poem, the U.S. Navy didn't bother to finish their official history of the battle (insert derisive sniff). Annoying as that was, it took him half a page to make the point! Where was his editor?
3) There are errors. I'll mention two here. First, Prof. Willmott states that "The Japanese accounts, drawn from survivors, are definite" about the FUSO/YAMASHIRO confusion (p. 150). This is definitely NOT the case--Japanese sources are why there's still confusion about whether FUSO or YAMASHIRO was torpedoed early in the battle and subsequently exploded. If you read SHIGURE's action report, they say YAMASHIRO was torpedoed early, while MOGAMI's report says it was FUSO. (Tony Tully has a good analysis of this at combinedfleet.com.) Second, in the ticky-tack category, Prof. Willmott states that after the battle, a vital shipment of 40mm anti-aircraft ammunition arrived at Brunei (p. 226). This one's a no-brainer--the Japanese didn't develop a light automatic cannon in the 40mm range, like the Swedish Bofors, so there's no way a shipment of 40 mm ammo would do them any good. He probably meant either 25mm or 5 inch 40 cal, but I don't know which.
To sum up, this book is tough to read, somewhat uneven, confusing for the first-timer, has some errors that people familiar with the battle will catch, and has nothing really new. Obviously, some folks appreciate this style, but I don't, and I can't recommend it.
Not an easy read...but rewarding June 1, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Willmott's fourth or fifth book on the Pacific War is perhaps not as groundbreaking as Empires in the Balance and The Barrier and the Javelin (both fantastic reviews of the early months of the war). And this is not one of those popular history seen and told through the eyes of the participants, like much of the junk popular trash at Borders and Barnes and Noble (Stephen Ambrose was the best known of this type). Instead, Willmott takes a long look at the strategic situation in the fall of 1944 with an especially welcome look from the Japanese side. Willmott does not follow the details of the battles but instead asks how the parties strategic and operational doctrines lead them to the battle, and how did the deal with the battle. Willmott thoroughly analzyes the options available to the decision makers and pulls no punches in criticizing many of the leaders. Willmott's style is not always easy to follow, but that is because many of his sentences are complex, as he tries to explain complex situations. I have over 1000 WWII books in my library and put this in the top 10%. I recommend it, as I do Empires in the Balance and The Barrier and the Javelin.
Rich in technical detail, yet woefully short on style December 13, 2006
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
Let me first caution any would be reader of this book that this is NOT a combat narrative. This book is an academic study of the political and strategic events leading up to, during, and after the battle of Leyte Gulf. The purpose of the book is for the author to give his critical analysis of the tactics and decisions of the various commanders and the American effort in the Pacific itself. To those ends, and for only the most serious of scholars, I believe the author is successful. However, as an entertaining read for the lay history buff, this book fails miserably.
It is unfortunate, as this is easily one of the most compelling of all the naval battles of the Pacific theater of World War II. Other authors present the action in vivid and personal detail, but not Willmott. Here the actual combat is rendered in dry - I would go as far to say boring - and technical fashion. The author writes from a vantage point that does not put you in the middle of the battle; he write as if he is above it, looking down from his ivory tower. But perhaps that is what academic studies are all about. All I know is I found this to make for very tedious reading.
That said, if you're looking for someone to armchair quarterback the entire battle in an analytical fashion, all the while feeding you endless dates, times, facts, figures, and of course harsh critiques of everyone from Halsey to MacArthur, then this book is for you. But if you're looking for something that's actually enjoyable to read then I would suggest the following: for an overall picture of the battle and its ramifications, yet still with tactical detail, check out Afternoon of the Rising Sun by Kenneth Friedman. For a gripping and moving account of the action that reaches down to the level of individual sailors and pilots, check out Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer.
 For the most part just annoying November 26, 2006
8 out of 14 found this review helpful
If you watch political pundints for the sheer pleasure of yelling back at the TV, this is the book for you. To call it annoyingly pedantic is overgenerous. The author offers little new research, but lots of new analyses. Unfortunately, he often dances around his analysis so long it becomes difficult to find his conclusion. Occassionally he takes the exact opposite approach by stating a concise conclusion without supporting analyses. Take for example the disembodied statement, that "...Kurita was the only person in the Pacific war able to make Halsey appear intellectually gifted."
The maps are too few and relatively elementrary. The photos you've seen a hundred times elsewhere.
The book does contain useful tables of formation compositions and overall strengths, and provides a solid basis for some points that are othewise vaugely obvious. An example here is the fact that a Japaneese victory at Leyte would not have changed the outcome of the war.
There are 3 good reasons to read this book. First, for the visceral pleasure of yelling back at the book in the middle of a crowded coffee shop. Second, for the intellectual excercise of discerning the author's actual point and then, as appropriate, building your case for why it is nonsense. Third for a few good analytical nuggets.
For these reasons, I found the book entertaining. However, Morison's volume XII, "Lete," is much more informative.
A tough read stylistically July 6, 2006
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
I spend a lot of time reading history, the majority (at least as of now) regarding the WWII era. Therefore, I was surprised when I found this book to be rather tough going. The book is a first class work of non-fiction, no doubt about that, but I must say that the writer's style is difficult. Certainly, the writing is not what I would call fluid or elegant, or enjoyable, or even just plain easy reading. Buy if you're interested in the Pacific War, but be warned that it will take a while to get through the book.
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