A well-done retelling of some of the serious naval battles of WW2. Gritty and realistic with its impact on some survivors of these not very pleasant times and events ( )

Fast moving fictional account about three 1932 Academy classmates during the War in the Pacific. Two died and one became a recognized hero. Shipboard routine is emphasized to a very high level. Real events are fictionalized but without great damage to the actual events. The action events are told crisply; the romantic events are less successful. ( )

Pacific Glory by P.T. Deutermann is a detailed and exciting story of the battles of the Pacific Theatre during World War II. The story goes back and forth between two main characters, one a naval pilot, the other an executive officer on a naval battle cruiser and it manages to place the reader at most of the major naval battles that took place in the Pacific over the course of the war. It opens with a vivid description of the sinking of 3 American and 1 Australian battle cruisers during the battle of Savo Island in August of 1942 and carries the reader through to the liberation of the Philippines.

The author pulls no punches in his descriptions of operations that took place in the Pacific Theatre over the course of the war. At times you feel as if you are in the plane watching the action along with the pilot and at others you are on the bridge of a ship while life alternating decisions must be made in seconds. Following the careers and the personal lives of these men and their friends make then come alive on the pages and it was difficult when there was a loss in this gripping and emotional story. I think the author did an excellent job of portraying these naval men who were doing their duty under tremendous emotional strain and the courage and determination they showed in the face of such danger is awe inspiring.

Where the story faltered somewhat was in his development of his female characters. They were very much window dressing and seemed to be there in order to show another side to his male characters. I would have rather skipped the parts of the book that took place in Pearl Harbour as I felt the romances were just not strong enough and the actions of one of the female characters in particular were quite unbelievable.

But if you have an interest in naval history or simply just enjoy a good, exciting story, I would recommend giving Pacific Glory a try. ( )

This book touches base with a number of significant moments during WWII in the pacific from a naval operations viewpoint. I learned a lot and had knowledge reinforced, but this isn't a true story so certain events were fictionalized as one might expect. The action scenes in here were remarkably vivid and the hell that was Guadalcanal couldn't have been clearer. The other engagements were equally vivid.

There is quite a bit of interpersonal relationship material within the story, a couple love stories, interactions between captains, XO's and crew. For the most part this is handled well, with the exception of one thing within the story that felt out of character/place. A number of scenes are set at Pearl Harbor but the Dec 7th event itself is not.

The author keeps the tension high throughout the story. The final battle sequence near Leyte Gulf is really intense. Thankfully we get some warm down pages before the story is done. I also really enjoyed the author's notes that followed. ( )

I don't know that I expected to find this book so interesting, but Deuternamm has used his skill to tell a gripping tale of the men who served in the South Pacific during the war.

We see major actions such as Savo, Midway, Guadalcanal, and more importantly Leyte Gulf. One thing that does not work is the portrayal of one of the females in such a way as she really is a plot device and trying to make her two dimensional seems to really fail for me.

This is strong adventure and action but really comes together when our main character is under fire and will learn should he have courage and what is needed to be a leader at sea, or will miss the mark as he fears. As all men fear when at the front of the line.

And that makes for an excellent read. The nature of this story did not lead to a series, but should it have, it does seem that the characters we met who fought throughout the war would have had even more to tell us. A worthy read. ( )