The Pacific (The Official HBO/Sky TV Tie-In)

Some years ago Hugh Ambrose embarked on a research project into the war in the Pacific with his father Stephen Ambrose, the celebrated author of BAND OF BROTHERS. Weaving together hundreds of testimonies from WWII veterans they built a massive archive of primary source material - oral histories, diaries, letter collections, memoirs, photos and military reports - documenting the personal battles these young man fought, and the sweep of the larger conflict in the Pacific. The project coincided with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman expressing an interest in making a television drama about this region of the Second World War and the miniseries was born. When Stephen Ambrose died in 2002, Hugh undertook to finish the project and write this book.

Covering nearly four years of combat, this volume offers a unique historical perspective on the war against Japan. These are the true stories of the men who put their lives on the line for their country, who were dispatched to the other side of the world to fight an enemy who preferred suicide to surrender; men who suffered hardship and humiliation in POW camps; men who witnessed casualties among soldiers and civilians alike; and men whose medals came at a shocking price - a price paid in full by all.