But it didn't happen that way. Through an amazing combination of skill, courage, and especially luck, U.S. not only prevailed at Midway but delivered to the enemy a crushing defeat that instantly changed the course of the war.
No Right to Win is a fresh look at the great battle, focusing entirely on first-hand accounts by Midway veterans and the understandings that can be derived from them. Included are many of their anecdotes and revelations that compel a rethinking of some of the battle's most entrenched understandings. Could the defenders on the atoll have repulsed a Japanese invasion? Did an aircraft carrier captain falsify his after-action report? Were the Japanese about to invade Hawaii? Did the battle impact the D-Day landings in Normandy? No Right to Win explores those intriguing questions and much more in a wide-ranging examination of the twentieth century's most important naval battle.
Anonymous
Posted October 16, 2006
This is not a sweeping chronological narrative of the vital Battle of Midway such as Prange's 'Miracle at Midway,' nor is it a granular but engaging scholarly debunking of historical myths like Parshall's 'Shattered Sword.' It is however something equally unique: a preservation of the thoughts, insights and personal experiences as reflected in the electronic remembrances of a rapidly diminishing number of veterans who were actually in the trenches (defending Midway Island), in the cockpits (sending the Japan's carriers and fighters to the bottom) and on the decks (sending the enemy's bombers to the same place and trying to keep our pilots and sailors from following them when their own means of transportation were shot or blown out from under them). It is also a sharing of the scholarly observations of renowned experts on these veterans' thoughts, insights and experiences. I believe it was said in the 19th century that gentlemen do not read other gentlemen¿s' mail -- but just as Commander Rochefort learned when he read the mail of the Imperial Japanese Navy and figured out Admiral Yamamoto's plan to attack Midway, we learn from the author and editor Ronald Russell that reading the mail of these gentlemen can be very satisfying indeed. Good work and well done Mr. Russell -- and please, by all means, carry on.
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Posted October 24, 2006
Proliferation of the internet has permitted us to acquire and disseminate an enormous amount of material that previously was limited to 'the inner circle.' Russell's innovative volume preserves invaluable first person accounts and perceptive analysis of a crucial historical event, and to put in context, just imagine if a similar forum had existed in 1866 or even 1920! 'No Right to Win' not only spotlights important perspectives on Midway, but shows the path to potentially greater documentation far into the future.
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Posted October 26, 2006
Ronald W Russell runs a wonderful on line website devoted to The Battle of Midway and many of the members are veterans of that memorable fight. He has put together a book length compilation of their stories that is a must for anyone with an interest in the Pacific War. This a compelling account that, along with such recent books as Shattered Sword and Black Shoe Carrier Admiral, put this much written about battle in a new light. It's a first rate piece of work.
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Posted October 23, 2006
What I enjoyed the most about this book was the emphasis upon getting the history from the veterans' perspectives. Many histories are antiseptic distillations of thought from the eyes of an outsider looking in. This work is very different in that regard. Another thoughtful addition is a fact versus myth area. Much of the Battle of Midway involves 'conventional wisdom,' which recent works such as 'Shattered Sword' and now 'No Right to Win' have addressed as fallacious using simple logic and eyewitness accounts, in some cases. Where they cannot be determined with 100% certainty, like the mystery of Air Group 8's course on the morning of the battle, the author takes a position but is careful not to completely dismiss the eyewitness memories of those who were there. Regardless, this is a wonderful work which anyone with even a passing interest in the Battle of Midway will enjoy. Highly recommended.
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Overview
But it didn't happen that way. Through an amazing combination of skill, courage, and especially luck, U.S. not only prevailed at Midway but ...