The American war in the Pacific told using the words of some of the men involved. And their words help make this detailed account so vivid, showing how ordinary men were plunged into a terrible and protracted fight against the Japanese. The book is not exactly a tie-in to the Steven Spielberg HBO TV series but runs parallel, the author acted as historical consultant to the series.
THE PACIFIC, by Hugh Ambrose, is a gripping piece of historical writing following the intertwined odysseys of four U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy carrier pilot within the Pacific theatre during World War II. Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. In THE PACIFIC, Hugh Ambrose focuses on the real-life stories of those five men, who put their lives on the line for their country.
Hugh Ambrose is a noted historian and was a consultant on the documentary Price for Peace, for which Steven Spielberg and Stephen Ambrose were the Executive Producers. He was a consultant to his father on his books, and is also serving as the historical consultant on HBO’s The Pacific miniseries. Ambrose is also the former vice president of the National WWII Museum and has led battlefield tours through Europe and along the Pacific Rim. He lives in Helena, Montana.