Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway: Amazon.ca: Walter Lord: Books

Product Description

Book Description

A remarkable account of what has been called 'the most decisive naval battle since Trafalgar.'--Los Angeles Times

About the Author

Walter Lord

Tag this product

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Such a Battle, Such a Story!, April 4 2012

By

James Gallen (St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Incredible Victory (Paperback)

Have you ever wanted a 360 degree view of a major war battle? If so "Incredible Victory" is the book for you. Author Walter Lord, the skillful chronicler of America's wars from 1812 to World War II, draws on all sources, American and Japanese, official reports, interviews of veterans and the works of scholars. Lord weaves the big story of the battle with the views and experiences of the individuals who fought it. From Yamamoto and Spruance to the lowest sailor and GI, all have their say and all have their stories told.

The story is monumental. What started out as a planned Japanese invasion of Midway to block America's return to the Western Pacific and complete the destruction of the U.S. Fleet begun at Pearl Harbor turned into the destruction of the air wing of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the start of its long retreat.

In short form, Midway, a Navy outpost, was braced by its Marine defenders while the Navy's surface ships, inferior in number to the Japanese, and submarines provided scouts and a thin line of defense against the approaching IJN fleet. Ultimately it was the brave aviators from American carriers and island based aircraft who broke the advance waves of the Japanese by sinking four Japanese carriers at the price of, among others, the Yorktown, which had just returned to the fleet after repairs from the damage incurred weeks early in the Coral Sea. Without air cover, Yamamoto was forced to cancel the landings and return to Japan. In the Central Pacific, the tide had turned.

I admire the way in which Lord seamlessly transitions from American to Japanese stories and back. Sometimes such books are difficult to follow, but such is not the case here. I strongly recommend this to anyone with an interest in the American Navy and World War II in the Pacific.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars Very well written, May 31 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway (Paperback)

Incredible Victory is a great telling of the events on the Battle of Midway. As events are occurring, you will 1st get the Japanese side and next you'll get the American side or vise versa. The book is written well. It is hard to put down; very interesting. Walter Lord has a good writing style. I was enjoying his book so much that before I was half way through it, I ordered his "Day of Infamy". I would buy this book again.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

5.0 out of 5 stars Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, take a back seat, Aug 27 2002

By

Brad4d "bb" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Incredible Victory: The Battle of Midway (Paperback)

Wow! Although the outcome of this battle is a given, I cannot remember a more thrilling, edge-of-the-seat read than this one. Truth is indeed more exciting than fiction, or at least it can be when the right author relates the tale. Mr Lord has shown us just how contingent and unpredictable history can be -- although nearly everything we threw at the japanese was shrugged off by the emperor's men, when we finally succeeded, it was a magnificent triumph that no one would believe if it had happened in a story. Lord's book is well-documented and he tells us a few new things about this battle -- for instance, although we had supposedly cracked the japanese code, it was more like a few bits of information rather than the entire plan.
I'd recommend it highly, but only if you have a good heart and a tolerance for intensity.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 9 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 24 reviews 4.8 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Like the History Channel?
When I was in high school, one of my assignments as a junior was to write a term paper, no less than fifteen pages, for my english class. Read more

Published on Nov 7 2001 by somewiseguy2

5.0 out of 5 stars Great storytelling
Walter Lord presents the Battle of Midway as an epic adventure story in "Incredible Victory." His writes like a journalist rater than a history professor and this helps... Read more

Published on July 15 2000 by Brian D. Rubendall