MIRACLE AT MIDWAY

by Charles Mercer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 1978

Beginning with the notorious American unpreparedness at Pearl Harbor and detailing other ""comedies of errors"" in the course of the Pacific War, Mercer praises the work of the American codebreakers (Midway being, in Nimitz' words, ""a victory of intelligence""), then settles into a running account of the Battle of Midway--as commanded by cool, solitary Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, whom Mercer clearly prefers to the more colorful, impulsive Halsey. Mercer quotes extensively from Buell's The Quiet Warrior (1974) and conforms closely to Buell's admiring view of Spruance; that (adult) book and Mercer's other major sources are discussed and recommended in his bibliographic acknowledgments. For military history buffs only, with a tinge of Forties' patriotism and no pretense to impartiality with regard to the American command.

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1978

Categories: NONFICTION