War in the Western Pacific: The U.S. Marines in the Marianas, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, 1944-1945 - Softcover

North County Times

“Eric Hammel has written nearly 40 narrative and pictorial histories of World War II. In his most recent book, "Islands of Hell: The U.S. Marines in the Western Pacific, 1944-1945," he presents a masterful and extensively researched pictorial history of the final year of the Pacific island-hopping campaign...Hammel's research is deep, and his knowledge of the war is vast. He provides insights and context that make the book much more than a collection of photos, enhancing the reader's immersive experience...

 

“Hammel has created in Islands of Hell a beautiful, high-quality coffee-table book, well-suited for the historian, the novice and the warrior. During the battle for Iwo Jima, Fleet Adm. Chester Nimitz remarked of the American forces that "uncommon valor was a common virtue." The author allows each reader a glimpse into the valor and virtues of the Greatest Generation.”

 

*** 1/2 (out of four)

By the summer of 1944 the tide had turned in the Pacific War against the Japanese. The war was not nearly over, however, and the U.S. Marines had their heaviest combat in front of them. Here for the first time is a detailed photographic history for the Fighting Leathernecks' fierce combat for the Marianas, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Illustrated with hundreds of never-before-published photographs and supplemented with full-color maps, Islands of Hell is a historical and visual treat.