Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945
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- Author：Ian W. Toll
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Summary
In June 1944， the United States launched a crushing assault on the Japanese navy in the Battle of the Philippine Sea。 The capture of the Mariana Islands and the accompanying ruin of Japanese carrier airpower marked a pivotal moment in the Pacific War。 No tactical masterstroke or blunder could reverse the increasingly lopsided balance of power between the two combatants。 The War in the Pacific had entered its endgame。
Beginning with the Honolulu Conference， when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met with his Pacific theater commanders to plan the last phase of the campaign against Japan， Twilight of the Gods brings to life the harrowing last year of World War II in the Pacific， when the U。S。 Navy won the largest naval battle in history; Douglas MacArthur made good his pledge to return to the Philippines; waves of kamikazes attacked the Allied fleets; the Japanese fought to the last man on one island after another; B-29 bombers burned down Japanese cities; and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were vaporized in atomic blasts。
Ian W。 Toll’s narratives of combat in the air， at sea， and on the beaches are as gripping as ever， but he also reconstructs the Japanese and American home fronts and takes the reader into the halls of power in Washington and Tokyo， where the great questions of strategy and diplomacy were decided。
Drawing from a wealth of rich archival sources and new material， Twilight of the Gods casts a penetrating light on the battles， grand strategic decisions and naval logistics that enabled the Allied victory in the Pacific。 An authoritative and riveting account of the final phase of the War in the Pacific， Twilight of the Gods brings Toll’s masterful trilogy to a thrilling conclusion。 This prize-winning and best-selling trilogy will stand as the first complete history of the Pacific War in more than twenty-five years， and the first multivolume history of the Pacific naval war since Samuel Eliot Morison’s series was published in the 1950s。
Beginning with the Honolulu Conference， when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt met with his Pacific theater commanders to plan the last phase of the campaign against Japan， Twilight of the Gods brings to life the harrowing last year of World War II in the Pacific， when the U。S。 Navy won the largest naval battle in history; Douglas MacArthur made good his pledge to return to the Philippines; waves of kamikazes attacked the Allied fleets; the Japanese fought to the last man on one island after another; B-29 bombers burned down Japanese cities; and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were vaporized in atomic blasts。
Ian W。 Toll’s narratives of combat in the air， at sea， and on the beaches are as gripping as ever， but he also reconstructs the Japanese and American home fronts and takes the reader into the halls of power in Washington and Tokyo， where the great questions of strategy and diplomacy were decided。
Drawing from a wealth of rich archival sources and new material， Twilight of the Gods casts a penetrating light on the battles， grand strategic decisions and naval logistics that enabled the Allied victory in the Pacific。 An authoritative and riveting account of the final phase of the War in the Pacific， Twilight of the Gods brings Toll’s masterful trilogy to a thrilling conclusion。 This prize-winning and best-selling trilogy will stand as the first complete history of the Pacific War in more than twenty-five years， and the first multivolume history of the Pacific naval war since Samuel Eliot Morison’s series was published in the 1950s。
Reviews
Mike
，
I wanted to know more about the war in the pacific。 I highly recommend this series to give you a great overview。
Phrodrick
，
Of the three books in the Ian Toll War in the Pacific Trilogy， Twilight of the Gods is a strong book。 In his opening remarks he makes it clear that this book will be much longer than intended because he will spend a lot more time analyzing and contextualizing who and why certain decisions would be made。 In the second book of the trilogy， The Conquering Tides， Toll achieved his finest in storytelling。 In this book he will spend a lot more pages on: the Japanese experience in losing a war they nev Of the three books in the Ian Toll War in the Pacific Trilogy， Twilight of the Gods is a strong book。 In his opening remarks he makes it clear that this book will be much longer than intended because he will spend a lot more time analyzing and contextualizing who and why certain decisions would be made。 In the second book of the trilogy， The Conquering Tides， Toll achieved his finest in storytelling。 In this book he will spend a lot more pages on: the Japanese experience in losing a war they never intended to win the problems of war fighting in a democracy。 This including the gamesmanship with the press in service of electioneering， the ruthless way the militarist of the Japanese’s government would abuse it civil population and he will remember that modern warfare is an unrelenting application of the art of logistics。 In short if you are looking for battle field and battle field analysis only， Toll will frequently be far from the front lines。 This is not to say he has forgotten the in the mud Marines 。 E。B。 Sledge， author of the definitive book about island， front lines fighting at the end of the war will have his many sufferings and misgivings honored by Toll。 Twilight will go beyond quoting the serving marines and raise， although to insufficient depth the question of the degree to which Marine lives were wasted in Palau， an invasion that in retrospect could have been skipped， but also in that the Marie command was more concerned about speed of advance than the cost of the advance。 Where the relieving Army troops received the benefit of more imaginative leadership who solved problems that， by implications the Marine never thought about。 More fundamentally， Japanese Island commanders had learned to avoid the wasted tactic of the Banzi Charge and replaced it with making best use of high grounds and extensive tunnels。 Some how no one thought about the Japanese battle field leadership learning battle field lessons。A few Words about MacArthur versus Nimitz。 This book is subtitled: War in the Western Pacific。 The Western Pacific is not just a general part of a vague map。 It was a particular theater of World War II。 Clearly Toll thinks this is where the real War was fought and where the American Navy， his central character achieved the mighty deeds that have been his focus for the decade plus it took to write the Trilogy。 General MacArthur， like most theater commands throughout history felt his was the center to World War II。 He also felt that he was the center of the center。 Between his theatrics， his open disdain for President Roosevelt and his infamous need for personal attention， Toll feels little need to play up the needs and notions of this competing personality。 Likewise， the importance of what was happening in the South Pacific， Burma， and China are outside of his focus and， face it this book is long enough without adding more detail about what the rest of the Pacific War was about。I have never read a book on this scale that was absent “obvious errors” in details， such as the names of ships in particular actions or ship designation。 Toll has them in this book。 Ostensibly these errors are “easy to correct”。 Maybe they can be。 Other books have them so does this one。 Toll was not an academic historian， nor is his intention primarily that of unit tracking。 He is writing on a grand scale and as such he may not have had the same sense of detail that is demanded by those who are reading to learn about the various smaller units。 Ian Toll has successfully combined high level strategic analysis with superior story telling。 This mix is enhanced by the fact that his research has drawn him to sources rarely if ever before included in this kind of book， as well as conclusions that many will find worthy of serious discussion。 。。。more
Darin Pepple
，
This non-vampire Twilight is such a well done history。 I'm only about 300 pages in but Toll's accounts of a hostile press to FDR （reversed compared to present day biases）， US strategy， Japanese strategy， Kamikaze development and execution， and the Battle of Leyte Gulf so far are superb。 I haven't read a WW2 history this good since Antony Beevor。 This non-vampire Twilight is such a well done history。 I'm only about 300 pages in but Toll's accounts of a hostile press to FDR （reversed compared to present day biases）， US strategy， Japanese strategy， Kamikaze development and execution， and the Battle of Leyte Gulf so far are superb。 I haven't read a WW2 history this good since Antony Beevor。 。。。more
Al Menaster
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Outstanding review of the last year of WWII in the Pacific。 3rd in a trilogy; perhaps the definitive history of the US involvement in WWII in the Pacific。
Brian
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Incredible， engrossing finish to the Pacific War trilogy。 This was as good or better than the first two volumes。 Toll falls into the same league with Steve Coll， Lawrence Wright， and David McCullough for me; I’ll read whatever it is he writes next。
Garry
，
Excellent concluding volume to this three volume history by Ian W。 Toll of the war in the Pacific during WWII。 It's difficult to read this detailed history of the war in the Pacific and believe that anything other than using the atomic bombs against Japan would have succeeded in forcing the surrender。 The military-dominated Japanese government was not acting rationally and could have insisted on a fight to the end。 Excellent concluding volume to this three volume history by Ian W。 Toll of the war in the Pacific during WWII。 It's difficult to read this detailed history of the war in the Pacific and believe that anything other than using the atomic bombs against Japan would have succeeded in forcing the surrender。 The military-dominated Japanese government was not acting rationally and could have insisted on a fight to the end。 。。。more
Harold
，
The third volume of Twilight of the Gods finishes the saga of WWII in the Pacific Theater o and the US victory。 It contains the horrors of war， the advent of Kamikaze warfare， the disciplined and suicidal nature of the war after it was clear to the Japanese Generals that they could not win， the firebombing of Tokyo and other Japanese Cities， the dropping of the atomic bombs， and disfunctional Japanese government in dealing with these issues。 The book is detailed， and presents the situation from The third volume of Twilight of the Gods finishes the saga of WWII in the Pacific Theater o and the US victory。 It contains the horrors of war， the advent of Kamikaze warfare， the disciplined and suicidal nature of the war after it was clear to the Japanese Generals that they could not win， the firebombing of Tokyo and other Japanese Cities， the dropping of the atomic bombs， and disfunctional Japanese government in dealing with these issues。 The book is detailed， and presents the situation from both sides， generally without editorial。 It says what happened in great detail。 It analyzes it only slightly for a book its size， and for me that made it less of a thought piece and more background （which to be clear I didn’t know in advance） than I would have wished。 A dry piece of meat， nutritious but more chewy and less tasty than I would have liked。 。。。more
David
，
The third volume in Ian Toll's Pacific War trilogy was as magnificent as the first two。 It was also longer， by a lot。 The author acknowledges in his foreword that what was originally supposed to be a single book became a trilogy that took him longer to write than the war lasted。Twilight of the Gods covers the end stages of the War in the Pacific - 1944 and 1945。 By this point， it was obvious to everyone， even the hardliners in Japan， that Japan could not hope to win the war。 They could only hope The third volume in Ian Toll's Pacific War trilogy was as magnificent as the first two。 It was also longer， by a lot。 The author acknowledges in his foreword that what was originally supposed to be a single book became a trilogy that took him longer to write than the war lasted。Twilight of the Gods covers the end stages of the War in the Pacific - 1944 and 1945。 By this point， it was obvious to everyone， even the hardliners in Japan， that Japan could not hope to win the war。 They could only hope to negotiate the terms of their surrender， and eventually even that hope was all but gone。Which did not prevent those final years from being the most horrific and bloody of the war， with more casualties on both sides than in all the years preceding。Toll describes many of the great battles of the Pacific War in great detail， but he looks at them primarily in strategic terms （how did the affect the course of the war？） and in political terms （how did they affect the calculus of leaders on both sides？）。 He also examines the leadership qualities of all the admirals and generals in charge， finding quite a few wanting in many respects。 And without being overly gruesome， he describes the human cost， the horror， the bloody carnage， the shattered and broken men， the hell they endured， on the shores and aboard ships being attacked by kamikazes， and beneath the waves， where submarines played deadly cat and mouse with Japanese destroyers。For the Japanese as well， because Japanese soldiers suffered as well， and possibly more so， because their leaders treated their lives far more expendably than the Allies treated their own forces。 It's easy to see the Japanese as the "villains，" and Toll points out repeatedly that they earned their bad reputation。 Other atrocities committed by the Japanese （notably in China） don't get as much coverage because these books are primarily about the Pacific theater， but in the Philippines， when MacArthur returned and American forces crushed the abandoned and unsupplied Japanese defenders， the Japanese brutally slaughtered civilians and their atrocities escalated as their final defeat became inevitable。 Yet we also learn that even in the beginning， Japanese soldiers， sailors， and airmen were not all obedient， fanatical Samurai willing to casually throw their lives away， and as the corruption and ineptitude of their leaders， and the disaster it had brought to their country， became obvious even to the most loyal， dissent and even disobedience grew in the ranks。 Some of the most tragic passages are towards the very end， where Toll collected some letters written by kamikaze pilots， including a sensitive university-educated poet， a Marxist， and a Japanese Christian， expressing how much they hated the war and what they were being asked to do。。。 before they went out and did it and died。 It's both inexplicable and not — they knew what they were doing was wrong and futile， and yet， how do you become a deserter and a coward， forsaking your country， knowing that all of your comrades will go and die in your place？Chapter three was basically a summary of Eugene Sledge's book With the Old Breed， about the horrific battles of Peleliu and Okinawa， which I highly recommend。 I won't do it justice by resummarizing Toll's summary。There is a chapter about submarine warfare。 Sub captains were competitive and rated by how much tonnage they sank。 It is astounding how many thousands of tons of ships and cargo， oil and materials， and men， were sent to the bottom。One of the best hunters in the sub fleet was Commander Dudley Morton， and the USS Wahoo sank 19 ships and 55，000 tons before it failed to report back from its final mission。 As submariners say， it is now on "Eternal Patrol。" （Its wreck was finally discovered in 2006。）Early in the war， American submarines suffered from faulty torpedoes， which would occasionally circle around and sunk the sub that had launched them。 There are a lot of rich technical details here， but even more about。。。。The B-29 SuperfortressThis monster allowed the U。S。 to bomb the shit out of anyone， anywhere， and bomb they did。 It was also an enormously expensive program （$2B dollars in 1944！）， and a huge windfall for Boeing。 Like the chapter on submarines， the chapter on American aviation， the rapid innovation of new planes and pilot training programs， and the fearsome power of the B-29s， and the terror of flying in them under fire， is worth a book in itself。（There are so many things that stand out about the wastefulness of war， like the fact that at the height of the fighting， as Japan was running out of planes and pilots， the U。S。 was churning out so many new planes every month that older planes that just needed minor repairs would simply be junked or tossed over the side to be replaced with a shiny new one。）Franklin Delano Roosevelt， who ran for an unprecedented 4 terms and would not live to see the end of the war， figures prominently only in the first part of this volume， though American politics were a bigger part of the first book in the trilogy。A point that will seem very familiar to modern readers is FDR's relationship with the press。 During WWII， the government imposed censorship that would never be accepted today。 Some was "voluntary" — American newspapers were unabashedly on America's side in the war， even if they were willing to criticize how it was being conducted， so of course they didn't want to publish anything that might help the Axis。 But gradually they stopped accepting this as an excuse， as censors took a very broad view of what might constitute "helping the enemy。" Journalists started pushing back on restrictions， and the chummy atmosphere FDR had cultivated with the press began to deteriorate。 Donald Trump blasted the media by calling it "Fake news，" while FDR would just flatly call reporters and columnists who published things he didn't like liars。Earnest King was the Commander in Chief of the US fleet and Chief of Navy Operations。 As COMINCH， he was second only to Admiral Leahy， and he was the one who primarily gave Nimitz and the other admirals their orders。King， like most high-ranking naval officers at the time， considered the press a scourge。 Their formative years as junior officers had seen a scandal in which rival admirals had washed the Navy's dirty linen in public; henceforth， most admirals considered journalists to be pests if not actively hostile， and not to be spoken to。 King took the job as COMINCH on condition that he would not have to do press conferences。Ironically， King would eventually cultivate personal relationships with some members of the press， setting up a little "boys club" where they'd drink and shoot the breeze， and by so doing， King began playing them like a fiddle， selectively leaking information he wanted to disseminate while manipulating how they covered the Navy。 He initially had no use for the press， but learned to have a lot of use for them。Admiral Spruance was， like most of his peers， a "black shoe" admiral。 The "brown shoes" were the aviators， and the new hotness， but black shoe admirals still mostly ran things。 But Spruance was a genius， so much so that Admiral Halsey named him as his stand-in。 The descriptions of Spruance's rather odd personality， his flat responses to military engagements， his habit of pacing decks， sometimes in bathrobe and slippers， his idiosyncratic brilliance， made me think that nowadays he might have been considered "on the spectrumAdmiral William "Bull" Halsey was put in charge of Task Force 58， which was the largest assembled naval force the world has ever seen。 TF 58 was a flotilla of carriers， cruisers， and their accompanying destroyers， and they could basically sail anywhere they wanted to and swat whatever they wanted to。Halsey's nickname of "Bull" was rarely used to his face。 He was blunt and belligerent and the press and the American public loved it。 One of his most popular dictums was "“Kill Japs， kill Japs and keep on killing Japs。”He had a temper to go with his brashness。 In one of the most notorious incidents of the war， during the Battle of Leyte Gulf， Halsey had taken TF 34 （part of TF 58） and gone in pursuit of what later turned out to be a decoy Japanese force。 The lightly armed escort carriers he left behind desperately radioed for support when the real Japanese force of battleships came after them。 Fleet Admiral Nimitz sent a radio query asking for TF 34's current location:TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF SEVENTY-SEVEN X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS[8] The details of this require some explanation of cryptography （which Toll explains in the book）， but basically， random "padding" was added to the actual message text to make it harder to decode。 "The World wonders" was just padding that wasn't meant to be part of the message， but by mistake， Halsey was delivered a message from Nimitz that read "Where is Where is Task Force Thirty Four the world wonders？"Halsey interpreted this as a sarcastic rebuke sent over the airwaves， and had a four-star meltdown。 His chief of staff had to calm him down and get him off the bridge， and Halsey sulked until finally turning TF 34 around。。。 far too late to join what would later be known as the Battle of Samar。Nimitz， in his memoirs， would later admit that he knew where TF 34 was and that he was pointedly chiding Halsey — though the addition of "The World wonders" really wasn't his doing。Halsey comes off in this book as quite an interesting character， maybe second only to MacArthur for being an irascible， temperamental glory-hound。 At the Battle of Leyte Gulf， he made what most considered to be a tactical blunder， but his counterpart， Admiral Kiroto， made a mistake that canceled it out。 Halsey would deny until the end of his life that he'd made a mistake， and would even rally his friends to dogpile any historian or journalist who said otherwise。Douglas MacArthur was enormously popular back home， and not nearly as popular with his own troops， though few folks back home knew this。 Hagiographic biographies full of fanciful embellishments were being published about him before the war was even over。 He was a glory hound。 He became a celebrity， and he knew how to pose for the cameras。 Quite a few photo ops depicted him as "riding with the troops on the front lines" when he was actually just riding a jeep in Australia。He meddled in politics， both American and Australian and Philippine， and he was sometimes borderline insubordinate。 At one point， he was seriously considering making a run for President， before he got slapped down。For all that， no one could say he lacked courage。 He stood on the decks of warships watching kamikaze pilots blazing in， and walked on beaches within range of potential Japanese snipers， much to the dismay of his subordinates。His military genius may have been overestimated， but as a symbol he was enormously popular。As the U。S。 began determining how it was going to launch the final siege against Japan， there is a big debate between the Luzon （Philippines） approach， or using Formosa （Taiwan） as the launching point。 MacArthur favored Luzon， of course， because he wanted to keep his promise to the Philippines that he would return。 Eventually he won this battle， and he did indeed return。From the Philippines， U。S。 forces ground inexorably closer and closer to the Japanese home islands， finally landing on Okinawa。Raising the flag on Iwo Jima was really just the beginning of the battle for Okinawa， which was in many ways even worse than Peleliu。 It was hellish， the Japanese continued to behave atrociously （native Okinawans were not really considered "Japanese" and were treated not much better than the Japanese had treated any of their other colonized peoples）， and the U。S。 prepared for Operation Downfall: the invasion of Japan itself。Unconditional Surrender"Unconditional Surrender，" the only terms the U。S。 would accept， seems pretty unambiguous， right？ But it turns out there was quite a lot of nuance to it。 While in the popular imagination， this meant the Japanese would bow before their conquerors and accept a boot on their necks or whatever else the Americans saw fit to subject them to， there were backchannel negotiations going on even as the Americans publicly said "Unconditional Surrender！" and the Japanese publicly said "We will never surrender！"The negotiations were complicated and delicate， especially within Japanese circles。 There was a "peace faction" that could never openly say they wanted to surrender， even though everyone knew they were going to have to。 The militant faction openly claimed they would fight to the death （and that the indomitable spirit of the Japanese people would propel them to victory despite American numerical superiority and， uh， Japan running out of oil， planes， money， and food）， even while they tried to reach a consensus about the terms of their surrender。The sticking point was the Emperor。 A majority of the American public wanted Hirohito tried as a war criminal， and removed from his throne at the very least。 But ensuring the safety of the Emperor and his family was the one thing the Japanese weren't prepared to yield on， and might have actually fought to the bitter end over。The most accurate thing to say about the unofficial "understanding" reached between American and Japanese negotiators would be that the Japanese "unconditionally surrendered，" while having been made to understand that Hirohito would be allowed to stay on the throne， even if this was never promised or written in so many words。 This was one of the most interesting chapters in the book， as the process of Japanese decision-making and the many miscommunications between Japanese and Americans， all with the backdrop of a Soviet advance in Manchuria complicating things， made this so much more complex than "The U。S。 dropped atomic bombs on Japan and Japan surrendered。"There are two big questions I always have about the end of World War II: how culpable was Emperor Hirohito， really？ And was nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki really the only alternative to an invasion？Toll does not answer either question definitively。 Like most authors， he relies on a lot of primary sources， but primary sources in the Japanese high council meetings were not particularly forthcoming about any decision-making power the Emperor had， and MacArthur himself found it useful to depict Hirohito as a puppet of the military junta。 What we can glean from discussions in which Hirohito took part is that he was not merely a figurehead。 He couldn't exactly command the Japanese military to do something and make it so; Japan's constitutional monarchy limited his role。 However， his blessing was needed to go forward， and even the militarists felt an almost religious reverence for the Emperor， so to act against his wishes would have been difficult。 Hirohito giving his blessing to an unconditional surrender， even accepting that he would be in the hands of the Americans， to do with as they pleased， made unconditional surrender possible。 But could Hirohito have ended the war even earlier， and did he want to？As for the atomic bombs， Toll covers the details of the flights over Hiroshima and Nagasaki， the events before and after the bombing， and the dreadful effects of it。 （He also spends a lot of time discussing the even more dreadful conventional firebombings of Japanese cities， which killed many more people even more horrifically。） But modern readers may be surprised just how little impact the bombs probably had at the time。 The Japanese actually had a nuclear program of their own， though it had never gotten very far， so while they were skeptical that Americans had actually developed a fission bomb， they were not unfamiliar with the concept。 But the loss of Hiroshima and Nagasaki really didn't impress them that much — they'd already suffered far more damage from B-29s。What really ended Japanese hopes for a conditional surrender was the declaration of war by the Soviet Union。 Japan had hoped the Soviets would help them negotiate a more acceptable peace with the Allies， but Stalin was stringing them along， and in an almost Pearl Harbor-like move， ended the Japanese-Soviet neutrality pact and invaded Manchuria the next morning。 That was when even the hardliners knew the jig was well and truly up。I've covered just a few of the highlights above。 This book is so big and comprehensive， full of so many interesting battles， strategic decisions， personalities， military blunders， politics， and diplomacy。。。 and it's just the last two years of the Pacific War。 Ian Toll's trilogy ranks up there as one of my favorite non-fiction series of all time， and is a must-read for any WWII aficionado。 。。。more
James Murphy
，
It took Ian W。 Toll a little longer than he anticipated， but he finally completed his Pacific War trilogy with “Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific， 1944-1945。” And it is one magnificent book。 Toll covers a lot of territory in the book， such as the Battles of Leyte Gulf; the landings on Peleliu， Iwo Jima， and Okinawa; the B-29 Superfortress bombing campaign against Japan; the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the Japanese surrender that brought World War II to a close。 T It took Ian W。 Toll a little longer than he anticipated， but he finally completed his Pacific War trilogy with “Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific， 1944-1945。” And it is one magnificent book。 Toll covers a lot of territory in the book， such as the Battles of Leyte Gulf; the landings on Peleliu， Iwo Jima， and Okinawa; the B-29 Superfortress bombing campaign against Japan; the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and the Japanese surrender that brought World War II to a close。 Toll also looks at several of the key players in this phase of the Pacific War: General Douglas MacArthur， Admiral Chester Nimitz， Admiral William Halsey， and General Curtis LeMay and the roles these men played in the conflict。 I have thoroughly enjoyed this powerful trilogy and recommend it to all who seek well-written history。 。。。more
Jeff
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An excellent read， and a very good trilogy overall
Daniel Dolan
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Detailed， and superbly written。 The macro level strategic analysis of the difficult decisions that shaped US and Imperial Japanese leadership in the final months of the war offers a great deal of insight to students of strategy and policy。
Howard Sundwall
，
A fabulously readable history。
Taylor
，
Overall a good end to a good trilogy。 It does drag a little bit compared to the earlier volumes。 Overall good insight to the end of the Pacific War。 I think I still prefer Costello's The Pacific War: 1941-1945 for a better overall view of the entirety of the war。 However， that book has aged quite a bit （I do wish we could get an updated edition）。 Toll's work has access to the latest documentation and historical work available and he does make good use of it。 Overall a good end to a good trilogy。 It does drag a little bit compared to the earlier volumes。 Overall good insight to the end of the Pacific War。 I think I still prefer Costello's The Pacific War: 1941-1945 for a better overall view of the entirety of the war。 However， that book has aged quite a bit （I do wish we could get an updated edition）。 Toll's work has access to the latest documentation and historical work available and he does make good use of it。 。。。more
James Thompson
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I really enjoyed Toll's account of war in the Pacific theater during WWII。 This is the third volume of three。 It very much reminds me of Atkinson's trilogy of war in the European theater。 Both trilogies are well written and engaging。 I learned a ton。 I really enjoyed Toll's account of war in the Pacific theater during WWII。 This is the third volume of three。 It very much reminds me of Atkinson's trilogy of war in the European theater。 Both trilogies are well written and engaging。 I learned a ton。 。。。more
Brian
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FantasticCouldn’t put it down at all。 So we’ll written and researched。 Particularly the operation to invade Japan。 I hadn’t seen much about that in other books
Gerry
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I found this to be quite a pleasurable read， grim facts and all。 The author covers the main events: MacArthur， Nimitz， and Roosevelt on the Baltimore; Peleliu; the Philippines （Leyte and Luzon）; Iwo Jima; Okinawa， and the bombings of Japan。 He covers ground in between， for instance， relations with the press， the conflict between “black shoes” and “brown shoes” （carrier aviation vs。 battleships）， the war as experienced in Japan， submarine adventures， demobilization， kamikazes， the beginning of th I found this to be quite a pleasurable read， grim facts and all。 The author covers the main events: MacArthur， Nimitz， and Roosevelt on the Baltimore; Peleliu; the Philippines （Leyte and Luzon）; Iwo Jima; Okinawa， and the bombings of Japan。 He covers ground in between， for instance， relations with the press， the conflict between “black shoes” and “brown shoes” （carrier aviation vs。 battleships）， the war as experienced in Japan， submarine adventures， demobilization， kamikazes， the beginning of the occupation of Japan， and I wish the chapters were titled！He by now deserves a rest， but I sure am curious about what he’s going to tackle next。 。。。more
G
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Complete， accurate， and well told history of the final year of WWII in the pacific。 Just as good as （or even better than） the first two volumes of this definitive history by Ian Toll。
William Troy
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This is the third and last in author Ian Toll's trilogy of the World War II in the Pacific。 It starts after the Marianas Campaign and follows through the Japanese surrender。 It begins with the famous strategy conference in Hawaii with the two major theater commanders， General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz， pitching their strategy to conclude the war to President Franklin Roosevelt。 It sets the table for the remainder of the book。 The results of the conference are that MacArthur fights up through This is the third and last in author Ian Toll's trilogy of the World War II in the Pacific。 It starts after the Marianas Campaign and follows through the Japanese surrender。 It begins with the famous strategy conference in Hawaii with the two major theater commanders， General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz， pitching their strategy to conclude the war to President Franklin Roosevelt。 It sets the table for the remainder of the book。 The results of the conference are that MacArthur fights up through the Philippines and Nimitz goes on to Iwo Jima and Okinawa。 The first chapter also discusses the relationship that the Navy had with the press。 Admiral King was adverse to giving any information to reporters until his personal friend， Cornelius （"Nelie"） Bull convinced him to hold dinner meetings with a selected number of journalists privately in Bull's residence。 King acquiesced and the result was a much better relationship between the media and the Navy。 It is an interesting vignette because MacArthur was such a publicity hound even to the point of making up statistics and incidents to highlight how vital his efforts were in the Pacific to the point of making the Navy look inactive in the Pacific as compared to the forces under MacArthur's command。 The Navy's lack of relations with the media could and sometimes did influence Congress and the allocation of funds， forces and materials including shipbuilding！ Kings meetings with journalists and some elected officials helped to balance to efforts。I won't dwell on the fighting。 Battles are very well detailed by the author。 Some things stood out though that I found very informative。 Toll highlights the medical care in theater for ground， sea and air forces。 In addition to the morale boost that rapid， efficient， effective medical care provides to the force， the rapid return of those not seriously wounded was vital in keeping the force combat ready。 Another aspect that I enjoyed was the author's explanation of the work by engineer units and especially the Seabees！ Their accomplishments under often harsh conditions and/or under fire was nothing short of spectacular！ Admiral Halsey is not portrayed well by the author。 I think deservedly so。 His rash abandonment of the Leyte invasion force to chase a depleted Japanese carrier force was costly and unnecessary。 His seamanship during two typhoons also cost the Navy assets and sailors。 The problems could and should have been avoided。 I was not aware of the significant damage that the suicide attacks by the Japanese air and naval air forces incurred during the Leyte invasion。 Though not as much as the Okinawa Campaign， Leyte was the precursor of what was to come。 The affect of the incendiary bombing of Japanese cities and the Atomic bombs drops on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the Japanese people is also covered well。 Lastly， some of the issues with the assimilation of the returning military members and the changes to American society as the draw down occurred in the economy are mentioned。 This is an outstanding read！ 。。。more
Dale
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I really enjoyed and learned a lot from all of Toll's books。 This book is remarkable。 A perfect combination of the tactical， operational and strategic。 Laying out perspective from all sides and grabbing the characters of the great men that fought the war。 You felt like you personally knew Nimitz， Halsey， MacArthur and even the Japanese throughout the book。 Masterfully researched and narrative that pulls you in as if it was a novel。 I will read again in the future。 I really enjoyed and learned a lot from all of Toll's books。 This book is remarkable。 A perfect combination of the tactical， operational and strategic。 Laying out perspective from all sides and grabbing the characters of the great men that fought the war。 You felt like you personally knew Nimitz， Halsey， MacArthur and even the Japanese throughout the book。 Masterfully researched and narrative that pulls you in as if it was a novel。 I will read again in the future。 。。。more
Peter Maurik
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Just one word: Magnificent
Wan Peter
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Thoroughly enjoy Toll's final volume of the Pacific War。 From the start to the finish it has been giving me the thrill reading all the fine details one could comprehend。 Thoroughly enjoy Toll's final volume of the Pacific War。 From the start to the finish it has been giving me the thrill reading all the fine details one could comprehend。 。。。more
Alstrong
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Another excellent book by Ian Toll to complete the trilogy。As a stickler for the truth， as I am sure Mr Toll is， I hope he will forgive me if I point out a few factual errors:1） In the prologue， he writes: “Hours after hitting Pearl Harbor， the Japanese had launched an aerial Blitzkrieg across a 3，000-mile front， striking American and British targets in Micronesia， the Philippines， Malaya， Burma， and Hong Kong。”In actual fact， the Japanese had bombed and invaded British Malaya about an hour befo Another excellent book by Ian Toll to complete the trilogy。As a stickler for the truth， as I am sure Mr Toll is， I hope he will forgive me if I point out a few factual errors:1） In the prologue， he writes: “Hours after hitting Pearl Harbor， the Japanese had launched an aerial Blitzkrieg across a 3，000-mile front， striking American and British targets in Micronesia， the Philippines， Malaya， Burma， and Hong Kong。”In actual fact， the Japanese had bombed and invaded British Malaya about an hour before even the first enemy planes were over Pearl harbor。https://www。thestar。com。my/lifestyle/。。。2） In the epilogue， he writes: “。。。the Japanese delegates were transferred into a motor launch to be taken to the Missouri。 As they approached the great battleship， they looked up and saw rows of American sailors lining the rails， gazing down at them in stony silence。 The Japanese came aboard at the starboard gangway， one by one， under the hard gaze of a row of armed marines。 General Umezu and the other Japanese officers saluted， but the Americans did not reciprocate。”In video of this that can be found on youtube， two rows of American sailors in white salute as the Japanese walk through。 Also you can see （partially hidden） an American officer who salutes General Umezu and another Japanese officer behind him。 Both Japanese officers return the salute。https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=7fq3W。。。Start at the 2 minute mark。3） Also in the epilogue: “On the veranda deck， the eleven Japanese arranged themselves in three rows and waited at stiff attention。 Shigemitsu， leaning on his cane at the head of the delegation， was dressed in traditional formal diplomatic attire—a black frock coat， striped trousers， white gloves， and a tall silk hat。 General Umezu， to his left， wore an olive uniform with gold braid and a row of ribbons on his chest。 Both kept their eyes down。”A careful viewing at the videos of the surrender signing show that the Japanese looked stoic but they did NOT look downcast or "kept their eyes down"。 。。。more
Thomas Ross
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Kudos to Ian Toll for this incredible trilogy on the Pacific theater of war during WW II。 The first 2 volumes were amazing in detail， research and a fine narrative writing style。 Toll clearly enjoys conducting research and he has done a yeoman's job in completing the trilogy here with Twilight of the Gods。 He admits in the forward that while writing the first book， intended to be a single volume on the Pacific， that he had more material than room。 His editor suggested the trilogy and here we are Kudos to Ian Toll for this incredible trilogy on the Pacific theater of war during WW II。 The first 2 volumes were amazing in detail， research and a fine narrative writing style。 Toll clearly enjoys conducting research and he has done a yeoman's job in completing the trilogy here with Twilight of the Gods。 He admits in the forward that while writing the first book， intended to be a single volume on the Pacific， that he had more material than room。 His editor suggested the trilogy and here we are。 I enjoyed reading this volume， although I believe it his editor did a disservice in not talking Toll out of including everything and the kitchen sink here。 There's repetition， and I put that totally on the shoulders of the editors。 There's odd allusions， such as one on Tolkein and Mordor。 That really threw me。 The maps are lacking。 There was so much going on in the final year of the war and I constantly found myself leafing through to find a map， which sometimes didn't include many of the names of towns and villages that Toll alludes to in the narrative。 So it was times hard to match things up。 These are minor complaints。 Overall， I appreciate Toll's ability to write in narrative form。 Sometimes he goes off on statistics， but you can tell that's the researcher in him。 I appreciate Toll's take on Halsey and Mac。 I always had the impression of Halsey as one of our best， probably because of the James Cagney movie， but Toll pulls away the PR and bluster to give a more well-rounded look at this man who made many mistakes out there， and somehow still managed to get a 5th star。 I knew about the fiasco of the first typhoon。 But then he blew it again with another typhoon？ That one I didn't know about。 Mac， well， I always thought he was over-rated and that his ego and PR machine were boorish， and I felt I had read enough about him all the way through Korea。 But even Toll manages to make me understand the man a bit more than I had before。 There are some anecdotes that show another side to him。 Throughout the trilogy， Toll gives the reader an inside view of Japanese decision-making， the Imperial House， and the Japanese press。 He continues this in the last volume and I learned much。 His description of the assembly of the atomic bomb and the actually bombing are of interest， especially that of the Nagasaki operation。 I had no idea that it nearly didn't happen because of questionable decisions by the pilot （Tibbets didn't fly that mission）。 He doesn't make his conclusion about whether the bomb was the right call。 Perhaps he felt that aspect has been thoroughly covered in other books and I can't argue with that。 。。。more
Wynn B Gordy
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Best Pacific War history documentation everFor those interested in the war in the Pacific， this series of books should be your best resource。 Well written and researched， the author covers this terrible saga of American history in a most profound and deeply researched way。 Nothing is left out。 It’s all there in it’s terrible entirety。
Adam Balshan
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3。5 stars [History]（W: 3。08， U: 4。17， T: 3。88）Exact rating: 3。71#17 of 99 in genre#13 of 65 on The World WarsThis is a collective review on the entire trilogy， constituted of Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific， 1941-1942 （Book 1， published 2012）， The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands， 1942-1944 （Book 2， published 2015）， and Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific， 1944-1945 （Book 3， published 2020）。Ian Toll contributes about 1，825 pages on the Pacific campaign of Worl 3。5 stars [History]（W: 3。08， U: 4。17， T: 3。88）Exact rating: 3。71#17 of 99 in genre#13 of 65 on The World WarsThis is a collective review on the entire trilogy， constituted of Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific， 1941-1942 （Book 1， published 2012）， The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands， 1942-1944 （Book 2， published 2015）， and Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific， 1944-1945 （Book 3， published 2020）。Ian Toll contributes about 1，825 pages on the Pacific campaign of World War II， impressive in its scope and thoroughness。 Writing: 3。08Lexical 3/3。25/3。5， Semantic 3。82/3。82/3。59， Dynamism 3/3/3， Pacing 4/3。5/3。21， Linearity & Organization 2。63/2。83/2。54， Repetitiveness -。125/-。250/-。125。Toll's lexical élan seemed to grow with each book。 His pacing suffered with each successive book。 The rest was a mixed bag。The prose was more basic in PC， but sat easily amidst an exciting pace of events。 Toll lost some of his flow in the Central Pacific campaigns of TCT。 He regained it in TotG， but only after throwing it out a starboard porthole for the first six chapters。PC had Endnotes which the reader could reference only by key phrase; superscriptions did not begin to aid us until TCT。 Maps were quite excellent when they existed; a few more wouldn't have gone amiss。 Organization was somewhat linear， but digressions in chronology occurred occasionally， and far less welcome digressions in content occurred in TotG。No chapters had titles。 "Chapter One，" "Chapter Two，" etc。 plagued the entire trilogy。The most glaring deficiency in a work of this magnitude was repetition of prose， sometimes extending to the content of entire paragraphs and biographical sketches。 This occurred even in the first book， before the reader had moved to a different publication！ It got worse in TCT， but thankfully tapered off by the second half of TotG。Toll proved at the end that he was capable of better prose than most of what he gave us in the main body: his Conclusion from pp。767-779 was masterful。Truth: 3。88（Much 3。5 and 4。33; some 3。25， 4， and 4。5; bits of 1。5-2）PC began with rare details: so many combat exercises had taken place for months in the environs of Pearl Harbor that most people outside the attack didn't believe it was taking place， even hours afterward。 The fires， the smoke， even the rising-Sun-painted wings of aircraft were thought to be an elaborate wargame！Toll provided such rare trivia at times， standard historical fare at other times， and some descriptions worthy to be remembered even into the 21st century。Some notable material: Hirohito's adoration of Darwin， the outright sadism of Japanese military training， the Emperor cult， the account of the sinking of the Lexington， the poor management of FDR， combat fatigue， unrestricted United States submarine warfare， the U。S。 torpedo debacle， Japanese media propaganda， the "two different navies" of '41-42 and '43-45， the prima donna MacArthur， the philosophy of suicide attack， Japanese atrocities in Manila， Japanese schoolchildren indoctrination， the hardening of wartime ways and means due to the heightening death toll， and the delivery of the atomic bombs。Some negative material: parts of TotG completely diverge from content of the book title and gives superficial accounts of U。S。 domestic strife; brief economic commentary was ill-informed。Use: 4。17Despite the abovementioned deficiencies， it remains true that Toll delivered a worthy contribution to historical literature。 His reference of other historical works was sufficient， especially the repeated ones to Samuel Eliot Morison。The lessons of World War II， especially those concerning the brutality and evil of war， are relevant to each age， and Toll's coverage of them in graphic detail increases the utility of this account above the mere historical data。RecommendationBroadly recommended。 The hardcovers are still very reasonably priced on Amazon （as of July 2021）， so snatch them up while their stock lasts。 。。。more
C。W。Talmadge
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This is the the best book I have ever read on the last two years of the war in the Pacific。 This is the last book of the three volumes on the war。 You need to view all three volumes。
Jeff Morse
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Fantastic， fun read！
Josh
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A fitting end to a masterful trilogy。 Thoroughly enjoyed these volumes。
Patrick Figorito
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A comprehensive history of tha last year of war with Japan。 Good but quite a few repeating passages。
Ronald Golden
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