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Admiral Bill Halsey
- A Naval Life
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Military & War
Non-member price: $41.73
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Called a great book worthy of a great man, this definitive biography of the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet in World War II is considered the best book ever written about Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Highly respected by both the civilian and naval communities, Nimitz was sometimes overshadowed by more colorful warriors in the Pacific such as MacArthur and Halsey. Potter's lively and authoritative style fleshes out Admiral Nimitz's personality to help listeners appreciate the contributions he made as the principle architect of Japan's defeat.
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All Americans are familiar with the “day that will live in infamy”. At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor, the advanced base of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet, was ablaze. It had been smashed by aircraft launched by the carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. All eight battleships had been sunk or badly damaged, 350 aircraft had been knocked out, and over 2,000 Americans lay dead. Indelible images of the USS Arizona exploding and the USS Oklahoma capsizing and floating upside down have been ingrained in the American conscience ever since.
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The story of the man who won the battle of Midway and avenged Pearl Harbor for the United States. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now.
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Six months after Pearl Harbor, the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a decisive blow against the United States. After sweeping through Asia and the South Pacific, Japan's military targeted the tiny atoll of Midway, an ideal launching pad for the invasion of Hawaii and beyond. The United States Navy would be waiting for them. Thanks to cutting-edge code-breaking technology, tactical daring, and a huge stroke of luck, the Americans under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz dealt the Japanese navy its first major defeat of the war.
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Has done justice to one of history's great raids
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Not a great reading.
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Has done justice to one of history's great raids
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Following the disastrous Java Sea campaign, the Allies went on the offensive in the Pacific in a desperate attempt to halt the Japanese forces that were rampaging across the region. With the conquest of Australia a very real possibility, the stakes were high. Their target: the Japanese-held Soloman Islands, in particular the southern island of Guadalcanal. Hamstrung by arcane pre-war thinking and a bureaucratic mind-set, the US Navy had to adapt on the fly in order to compete with the mighty Imperial Japanese Navy, whose ingenuity had fostered the creation of its Pacific empire.
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Excellent work
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Publisher's Summary
William Halsey was the most famous naval officer of World War II. His fearlessness in carrier raids against Japan, his steely resolve at Guadalcanal, and his impulsive blunder at the Battle of Leyte Gulf made him the "Patton of the Pacific" and solidified his reputation as a decisive, aggressive fighter prone to impetuous errors of judgment in the heat of battle. In this definitive biography, Thomas Hughes punctures the popular caricature of the "fighting admiral" to reveal the truth of Halsey's personal and professional life as it was lived in times of war and peace.
Halsey, the son of a Navy officer whose alcoholism scuttled a promising career, committed himself wholeheartedly to naval life at an early age. An audacious and inspiring commander to his men, he met the operational challenges of the battle at sea against Japan with dramatically effective carrier strikes early in the war. Yet his greatest contribution to the Allied victory was as commander of the combined sea, air, and land forces in the South Pacific. Skillfully mediating the constant strategy disputes between the Army and the Navy, Halsey was the linchpin of America's Pacific war effort when its outcome was far from certain.
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- Kekistani Sailor
- 07-06-2017
A fascinating & thorough portrait
A fascinating and thoughtful look at one WWII's great Admirals. I've read many biographies of Halsey but this is the best written by far.
2 people found this helpful
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- Stephen Breen
- 28-06-2020
Finally a fair assessment
I appreciate a great recapitulation of an imperfect hero (aren't they all?) and his enormous contribution to the US Navy legacy.
My only critique of the book was the narrator's mispronunciations of Japanese surnames and places. I'm a former Navy linguist who lived in Japan for many years. My educational prissiness was jarred but it didn't interfere with being captivated by this book.
Still a grand slam.
1 person found this helpful
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- David Firebaugh
- 02-07-2017
great book narrator Uggla!
very interesting book but I just could not handle this narrator I don't know how other persons said this was an exciting book he made it a chore to listen to just not my style of a narrator
1 person found this helpful
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- Donna
- 18-06-2017
Greatness From An Ordinary Person
This tale of the life of Admiral Halsey shows us that ordinary people can rise to accomplish great tasks if given the chance and if they surround themselves with people who will strive with them.
1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-07-2019
Great read. This book is a true World War Classic!
I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! PLEASE CONSIDER IT. IT I LEARD A LOT ABOUT STRATEGY AND CONFIDENCE!
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- Roger Utz
- 05-12-2018
The cost of War
This book reflected the cost of capital and lifes that had to be expended in Pacific Theatre as reflected from Admiral Halsy perspective. It gave a very humbling experience to look back from my comfortable living room to what the very young men and women indure. I strongly recommend this book
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- Maui Diver
- 28-09-2018
Tough difficult here painful life
Honest full description of a complex driven WWII hero. His pain was evident, his brilliance in war commanded the Pacific war, at his end his devotion to his country will be his legacy.
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- ROBERT GOFF
- 02-05-2018
Good Book
Nice Follow up to :"The Admirals". Reader was a bit dull and took time to get used to.
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- az-joe
- 11-01-2018
very good and thoughtful biography
a good book about a very effective human being thrown into a war,that all of us should be very thankfull. the author did a good job of telling you about the admiral and the man. actually very thoughtful. He was a true war hero.
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- Amazon Customer nnn
- 10-01-2018
Admiral Bill Halsey
A writing that I will re-visit many more times. I applaud this as an even handed approach to a life of service.
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