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 enlarge | Author: Joseph Col Alexander
Publisher: Presidio Press
Category: Book
Buy New: $7.99
New (2) Used (8) from $4.79
Avg. Customer Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 286331
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 4.1 x 1
ISBN: 0804115591
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.5426
EAN: 9780804115599
ASIN: 0804115591
Publication Date: November 27, 1996
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 clincal November 1, 2007
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
this book is written by an army historian for other army historians and soldiers. it is written as an autopsy: sober, dry, plainly and painfully full of details, details, details. In short, I found it a great story told in a most boring way. zzzzzz it took me a looong time to plow through.
If you want to see how a battle analysis is done well, this is your book. If you want to read what it's like to go through combat - look else where.
 Utmost Bravery October 5, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Excellent military history of one of the bloodiest battles in the WW2 Pacific theater. Col. Alexander does a terrific job of setting the table for the battle by outlining the strengths and weaknesses of both sides. He points out why Tarawa was important to both the Japanese and American military forces. He highlights ALL the commanders with excellent biographical insights into not only their character but their training and backgrounds as well. He explains how Tarawa was fortified and why the new amphibious landing doctrine was a gamble that had to pay off. He makes the reader aware of ALL the military and political forces that were in play in November of 1943. In essence, it was high drama for both the Japanese and Americans. Japan was at its WW2 zenith but felt and knew that 1943 was the key to victory or slow defeat. America had passed its nadir and was quickly becoming the true power in the Pacific. Both sides were equal militarily in the Pacific when the battle of Tarawa was fought in November of 1943. After the bloody American victory the tide turned against the Japanese in favor of the Americans. Almost 2 more years of hard fighting would occur but the dye was caste. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was right, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Tarawa showed that the sleeping giant was fully awake and would not be denied.
Col Alexander's graphic narrative of the 3 day battle was clear, concise, and done in a novelistic style. It was very easy to read with the gritty feel of battle and terror of combat coming through loud and clear. Gripping at times as my heart broke for the men who endured this horrific ordeal. Courage was everywhere as men did what they had to do to be victorious. The enemy was equally courageous as they fought to a bloody conclusion, but, in the end the might and will of America's fighting man won out.
Highly recommended not only for the military historian or WW2 buff, but for the everyday lay person too. Understanding our past is prologue to our future. Very uplifting.
 Gripping reading January 19, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The narrative of the Battle for Betio island is an excellant account from a number of perspectives. It reads like good fiction, which good history (in my humble opinion) should do. It is well written and researched. It is grand in sweep, describing the evolution of combined amphibious warfare and its first official trial on the Tarawa atoll. Its descriptions of the men involved are very solid and fairly deep. It has numerous antecdotes of individual and small group encounters against the backdrop of the grand American pacific strategy.
The maps are good but I would have liked to see more on different paper for easy reference.
If you are a World War II buff in particular or a military history buff in general, you should have this as an addition to your library.
Utmost Bravery November 4, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Under the definition of "bravery" in the dictionary should be just one word: Tarawa. Imagine wading 500-700 yards ashore against a murderous enemy fire because your buddies on the beach were going to be wiped out otherwise. Without hesitation, that's what the Marines did at tiny Betio (land mass about one square mile, mostly taken up by the Japanese airfield) in the Tarawa atoll when the waves following the initial assault couldn't get past the coral reef protecting the island due to a tide that was much lower than expected. Col. Joseph Alexander (ret.), in his book "Utmost Savagery," has written an excellent account of this battle that lasted for only 76 hours yet will live for eternity because of the extraordinary sacrifices of ordinary men. The fight for Tarawa was so vicious that only 17 Japanese soldiers survived (out of a garrison of several thousand); they were captured only because they were badly wounded, otherwise, they too would probably have given their lives in defense of the island. This book did a great job of taking the reader right into the action as the Marines proved that an amphibious assault on a heavily defended enemy position was possible; from Tarawa on, the Marines would never lose a battle in the Pacific, thanks in large part to their tenacious beach assaults and the lessons learned on Tarawa. However, the outcome of this landing was in serious doubt after the first day; an attack by the Japanese on the men clinging to the beachhead that first night might have changed the course of the entire war in the Pacific. Yet that attack never materialized, and the Americans were able to push inland and take the battle to the island's defenders. This book will grab you from the beginning and won't let go; Col. Alexander does an excellent job putting the reader into the action, from start to finish, with this painstakingly researched account of a battle that will leave your jaw on the floor out of awe and respect for what those Marines were able to accomplish.
THE book on Tarawa May 22, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
One of the best researched books I have ever read. Reads as a novel and as history. Alexander tells both sides of the battle of Betio and even found a Jap survivor to interview( only 17 were alive after the battle)
Excellent photos and maps. Alexander points out the high and lows of the battle along with failied opportunities and leaders. The quintesential book on island/beach invasions
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