Craig L. Symonds' Definitive History of the Battle of Midway

PG: I have been somewhat fascinated with the Battle of Midway since watching the movie from 1976. I have read many accounts of the battle over the years. This is an excellent book that tells the story completely. and I learned a few things. Symonds tells the story of the US Torpedo squadrons more completely than I have seen previously. (or maybe in just a better way that "stuck") If you are interested in WW2 history, navel history, or the Battle of Midway specifically you will like this book. If you are just learning about Midway or have already read about it you will enjoy this book.

United States on Oct 29, 2023

Mr. Scooper: Very good book. We’ll written. Would definitely recommend.

United States on Oct 14, 2023

George: Liked the history of Midway. Excellent Reading. Great photos.

Canada on Oct 08, 2023

Ligature: A clear, well-structured and insightful history of the Battle of Midway - fascinating on many levels, whether you're interested in politics, economics, warfare, strategy, or the human condition. A gripping story about a pivotal period in WWII.

Germany on Jul 03, 2023

K E Smith: Professor Symonds "The Battle of Midway" is a meticulously researched account of the United States Navy's defeat of the Japanese Kido Butai Carrier Force at Midway, just six months after the disaster of Pearl Harbour.

The book covers the Naval War in the Pacific from Peal Harbour, when the Japanese Kido Butai inflicted horrendous damage to the American Naval base at Pearl Harbour, and then ran rampant in the Western Pacific for 6 months, seemingly invincible.
The first engagement between American Carrier Forces and Japanese Carriers was in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which saw the loss of the USS Lexington, this battle was a tactical victory for the Japanese but a strategic victory for the USN as Japan withdrew its invasion force heading for Port Moresby.

There is a school of thought that suggests the American victory at Midway was mainly by good luck, but the Americans had the advantage of excellent intelligence, thanks to code breakers who had advance knowledge of Japan's intentions at Midway, down to the timing and direction of attack that allowed Nimitz and his Admirals to prepare for the battle and avoid the trap that Yamamoto had planned for the American...

Australia on Jan 12, 2021

Xenophon12: L'auteur fait commencer son récit, pratiquement, à l'arrivée de Nimitz à Pearl Harbor, peu après l'attaque japonaise du 7 décembre 1941. C'est très éclairant par rapport au petit livre de vulgarisation réalisé en France, par exemple, par Michel Hérubel (Presses de la Cité, 1985), pourtant passionnant et même excellent en son genre. Les menaces sur l'Australie, les Indes, la bataille de la Mer de Corail, sont réellement traitées et non seulement évoquées. L'auteur sait aussi bien présenter les hommes, marins ou aviateurs que les matériels ou les forces en présence, les stratégies réfléchies comme les manoeuvres improvisées. Ces qualités s'observent tout au long du livre, bien écrit, donc clair, avec au passage explication des sigles usuels. Parmi les points particulièrement intéressants et fort importants sur le fond, je retiens tout d'abord les analyses du travail de l'équipe crypto de Joe Rochefort, des hommes sérieux et non des fantaisistes, obligés de travailler dans le froid des sous-sols (IBM oblige !), les rapports personnels de Rochefort et d'Edwin Layton, son collègue et ami connaissant bien le japonais, et par ce biais, rapidement, des...

France on Aug 17, 2020

Anselm: "Aha!" I thought, as I got to the end of the main text - "there IS something Symonds has forgotten". But after a few more clicks on my Kindle screen, there it was: a concise summary of post-war writing on the battle, from Fuchida in 1955 to Parshall and Isom in the last decade. So, much to my chagrin, I have been sadly deprived of the pleasure of finding stuff to snark about. If you want the most up-to-date and authoritative account of the battle, this is it. Judging from the endnotes and bibliography, it's scrupulously well-researched, and highly readable to boot. I entirely concur with the other reviewers' praises.

One of the many things that grabbed me in particular was the level of detail he provides, in a relatively modest space, on all kinds of matters relevant to the battle. This is what brings the battle scenes alive, and also what sometimes makes them work. What actually happens when you dive-bomb in a Dauntless from 20,000 feet? How were Japanese and American naval pilots trained? What were the relationships between American divebomber pilots and their rear gunners/radiomen? Why were the extra pair of 50-calibre machineguns on the newer version of the Wildcat a...

United Kingdom on Mar 21, 2013

James Barton Phelps: The Battle of Midway on June 4, 1942 was as decisive for Americans as was the Battle for Britain in 1940 for the British or the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943 for the Russian. In each case that battle marked the high water mark for the aggressor and turning point of the war for the victor.

Much has been written about each of them, but the literature on the Battle of Midway is not as voluminous as that with respect to the others- probably because it was a single event, essentially over in a matter of hours, but no less important. But. regardless of any other stories, there are two marvelous histories about Midway that every American should read. The first - and perhaps the more readable - is Incredible Victory by Walter Lord, published in 1967 (a book which I have read and reread at least three times over the years,), and now there is this new one by Craig L. Symonds who is a professional historian, a Professor of History and the retired Chairman of the Department of History at the Naval Academy, a book which is by far the more scholarly of the two but no less enthralling. The APPENDICES contain a lot of useful technical information and source material for those who want to...

United States on Dec 24, 2011

Samuel W. Coulbourn: You almost feel like you are there, standing on the flight deck as one Wildcat fighter after another takes off to fight the Japanese Zeros in the air over a Japanese carrier.
Craig Symonds takes you to the dark days of spring, 1942, just a half year since the Japanese naval force bombed Pearl Harbor, in his book The Battle of Midway (2011).
After December 7, 1941 the Japanese swept across the western Pacific, destroying American and allied forces, and capturing and occupying bases and islands from the Philippines to Burma. The Japanese were a terrible firestorm across Asia, just about to leap to Australia. Would they attack the American mainland next?
Right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt sent an old submariner, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, to Hawaii to command all the naval forces in the Pacific. Nimitz arrived on Christmas day, 1941 and surveyed the damage from the Japanese attack. His first response was surprisingly positive, because he noted that, despite the destruction of several of our battleships and other ships in port, the Japanese had failed to destroy American fuel supplies, or industrial facilities and all our aircraft carriers had been...

United States on Nov 28, 2011