Nice to have one of Gordon Prange’s book to listen to. The narrator does a great job of helping to understand the chronology of the events. However the is a lack of understanding military terminology that stands out. For example, Japanese submarines are “I” boats, not “1” boats, such as I-xx. Also Nimitz is referred to a “Cincy Fleet”, not CINC (pronounced sink) Fleet. Small details but a Navy veteran, those jumped out at me.

Kind of jumbled story telling, but the thing that continually annoyed me was that Prange repeatedly disputed and ‘corrected’ first hand reports by those who were present! Of course its easy for an airman to mistake a destroyer for a cruiser, but I cannot believe that almost every report filed on both sides during the battle was incorrect!? These were trained professionals, mostly young men, with good eyesight & memories. The haze of war historically causes distortions but not to point where everyone who was there was incorrect. However, Prange was part of the post War occupation of Japan and began questioning participants soon after war’s end, so maybe he’s correct in the huge number of reporting errors during the Battle. It is true that although the Midway based bombers missed almost every target, the Air Force initially claimed they had sunk many ships, including carriers. Interesting read

A comprehensive analysis of both sides in the conflict. I particularly enjoyed his wrap up of the battle and his conclusions as to the overarching effects of American success at Midway.

Provides an understanding of the people involved in a historic battle.

The book made me proud to be an American, in wonderment for my parent’s generation. Both Japanese and American stories are given without bias.