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The Pacific: Hell Was an Ocean Away Audiobook
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(3.01) - 3,008 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The New York Times bestselling official companion book to the Emmy® Award-winning HBO® miniseries. Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. From the debacle in Bataan, to the miracle at Midway and the relentless vortex of Guadalcanal, their solemn oaths to their country later led one to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot and the others to the coral strongholds of Peleliu, the black terraces of Iwo Jima and the killing fields of Okinawa, until at last the survivors enjoyed a triumphant, yet uneasy, return home. In The Pacific, Hugh Ambrose focuses on the real-life stories of five men who put their lives on the line for our country. To deepen the story revealed in the HBO® miniseries and go beyond it, the book dares to chart a great ocean of enmity known as the Pacific and the brave men who fought.
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"sometimes a book is just a good read, showing the ability to weave together historical accounts. on some level, i guess with the old breed is now ruined for me, but whatever, dollar for money and plenty of pacific war action. 100000 americans died? and technically 67000 dead in vietnam? wow, talk about minimal us involvement in ww2"
— Michael (4 out of 5 stars)
The Pacific Listener Reviews
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" This book has really sparked an interest in me to read more about John Basilone's life. It took me a while to get through this one because at times I got distracted with a lot of military jargon details, but the last two acts seemed to pass in a flash. I haven't seen the miniseries; should I? "
— Melissa, 2/17/2014 -
" I didn't think this was very well-written, I found myself cringing at how I would have written certain passages differently. But I did like learning about the men and their experiences, despite the writing. "
— Alana, 2/13/2014 -
" This is not an easy read at all but worth the time to really understand the daily lives of the soldiers that fought the battles of the pacific theatre during WWII. as with any ambrose, hugh did impeccable research and used several acknowledged books as sources. terrific job. "
— Kevin, 2/12/2014 -
" It was a good book because I just love ww2 books. It is not the best of books that I have read. "
— Doug, 2/5/2014 -
" Very will written history of the pacific war. "
— Jerald, 1/29/2014 -
" Same recipe as Band of Brothers except the ingredients aren't as good. There are much better books on the Pacific theatre of war during WW II. "
— Jeff, 1/20/2014 -
" I watched the series as my digital book. "
— L13_brian_mihovilovich, 1/16/2014 -
" This has some different men in it than the HBO special. It is very interesting and a nice addition to the special. "
— Tedsandi2000, 1/3/2014 -
" This is a great book about the war in the pacific. there is alot of good details. the book puts you in the action of the intense battles of the war in the pacific. "
— Hunter, 12/24/2013 -
" I liked this book except that it took longer to read then I expected. I couldn't get into it as much as I thought I would have. I loved reading about WWII and each persons story.... Butbat parts it just dragged on. The mini series was awesome btw.... "
— Kim, 7/12/2013 -
" Yeah - good read, but I, too, could not wait for the war to end. "
— Racheal, 12/26/2012 -
" I am really enjoying this book. I decided to read it after reading Unbroken. I was worried that it would be a little dry or hard to follow but it has not been at all. So far so good. "
— Wendylamb, 10/30/2012 -
" Not as good at this stuff as his dad - an interesting book, but missing the elder Ambrose's touch .. "
— Levi, 6/20/2012 -
" Read this at the same time the movie was on TV. Book shared some excellent stories about the heroes of WW II. Fast reading, did not drag as some I've read do. "
— Robert, 5/14/2012 -
" This is a very interesting book that retells the stories of several soldiers during World War Two. Instead of telling battle story, this book covers the whole war, beginning to end. "
— Tyrone, 3/13/2012 -
" Fantastic book. Great stories from the letters/journals of the soldiers who fought in the pacific theater. A much better book than the HBO mini-series. Although I preferred Band of Brothers mini-series to the Stephen Ambrose book on which it was based. "
— Brendan, 5/9/2011 -
" Same recipe as Band of Brothers except the ingredients aren't as good. There are much better books on the Pacific theatre of war during WW II. "
— Jeff, 3/29/2011 -
" Intense and sobering. A read that makes me very appreciative of my grandfather’s generation. "
— Trey, 2/27/2011 -
" Great overview of the war in the Pacific. How lucky is my generation to have missed WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. My generation is a bunch of softies. "
— Bill, 2/17/2011 -
" It was a great book a bout the horrors of the pacific war but it also has some outside of the war experience. "
— Harris, 1/24/2011 -
" The imagination was not as lively as I hope it to would be. Though the history blend in nicely with each indiviual cast it is still worth to read.Band Of Brothers was a hugh success as this book was not able to capture the essence of the cast narrative. "
— Peter, 1/18/2011 -
" This is not an easy read at all but worth the time to really understand the daily lives of the soldiers that fought the battles of the pacific theatre during WWII. as with any ambrose, hugh did impeccable research and used several acknowledged books as sources. terrific job. "
— Kevin, 1/15/2011 -
" While not thrilled with the way the book was written reading about the war in the Pacific while living in Guam was fascinating. "
— Kendall, 1/7/2011
About Hugh Ambrose
Hugh Ambrose is a noted historian and was a consultant on the documentary Price for Peace, for which Steven Spielberg and Stephen Ambrose were the Executive Producers. He was a consultant to his father on his books, and served as the historical consultant on HBO(r)'s The Pacific miniseries. Ambrose is also the former vice president of the National WWII Museum and has led battlefield tours through Europe and along the Pacific Rim.
About Mike Chamberlain
Mike Chamberlain is an actor and voice-over performer in Los Angeles whose audiobook narration has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards. His voice credits range from radio commercials and television narration to animation and video game characters. Stage trained at Boston College, he has performed works from Shakespeare and the classics to contemporary drama and comedy.