Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay

This is an outstanding book, one which I would recommend for WWII aficionados as well as general history buffs. While most histories cover the Pacific theater from the standpoint of the battles themselves, this work examines those battles from the standpoint of the admiral who led them from afar. Here you will learn about the myriad challenges Nimitz faced in conducting the war, including scarcity of resources (at least at the beginning of the war), logistics, politics, managing different personalities with outsized egos, and delegating authority to those who led the various carrier groups. All in all, this is a fascinating work that I recommend highly.

This book is a nice complement to the Admiral's biography by E. B. Potter. It fills Nimitz's wartime story in very nicely. I found it enlightening.

My father served under Nimitz and was in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Surigao Straits. From Pearl to Japan, Nimitz was the quintessential leader who managed to motivate and steer the likes of Halsey and Spruance and McCain and Turner. The classic work of Potter on Nimitz is a typical and exceptionally well done biography. This work deals with Nimitz during the War years, as it so states. As such, it shines a light on the political nightmare he faced day to day moving across the Pacific.As with so many wars, the Generals and Admirals there on day one get pushed aside for ones who know how to fight. King is the classic example. A rather mean and salty creature who gets his alter ego in Nimitz in charge of the Pacific. This book brilliantly and coherently goes through one step after another on how Nimitz dealt with all of them.In a sense, this is a Vol 2 to Potter. Reading Potter one sees Nimitz and his success. Reading this book one sees the day to day political battles he faced to get to that win.Overall if one wants to understand the complexity of the Pacific War this book is a sine qua non. It is brilliantly written and organized. I could nit pick here and there but that would be futile in light of how well done the author has made the presentation.The only concern would be that this may not be the first introduction for someone to the Pacific War, It would be useful to get an overview of the War and the principals before getting down to what is here. Notwithstanding this is an essential and superb addition to understanding this great Admiral.

Symonds is, IMHO, the finest naval historian writing. His command of detail is stunning--and there is of course a lot of detain about WW2--and the books, even the 500-page ones, are page-turners. The subtitle lays out his goal here: a revealing story of Nimitz as a commander. I think he is successful. There are plentiful photographs and maps. (Though I do wish the next edition will not tell us to "see Map 13"--wherever that may be--but "see Map page xxx.")All his books are worth reading, and owning.

He never seemed to have the demeanor to make the toughest life and death, even victory costing decisions required as the overall strategic planner and decider in the conduct of the Navy’s campaign in the Central Pacific. But he was, and above that he was able to deal with the egos and failings of MacArthur, “Howling Mad” Smith, Halsey and the incompetence or annoying personalities of Ghormly, Towers, Forrestal and others. Over time he gained Admiral Kings and FDR’s trust by not stepping on toes when it didn’t matter and forceful convincing when it did. But he won by making the tough decisions and the right decisions. I’ve read about every campaign in a Pacific in World War II, but never the depth of a top decision making, the conflicts and controversies, the mindsets of the leaders and the man who smoothed them all out and did what was needed. Nimitz.

Craig Symonds has an excellent account of Admiral Chester Nimitz's time leading Allied forces in the Pacific during WW II. The book is well written and moves at a lively pace. I'm hardly an expert, but judging from the source notes (and the author's reputation), the book appears to have been thoroughly researched.A couple of minor caveats: The book focuses on events as Nimitz experienced them. Therefore, full accounts of even key battles and campaigns, such as Midway and Guadalcanal, are not given. Particularly at the beginning of each battle, we are typically told only those things that Nimitz knew. Given that radio silence was often maintained by the ships involved in the battle, Nimitz often had only a partial understanding as events unfolded. Symonds backfills some of the details but anyone looking for a complete account of the war in the Pacific won't find it here.Finally, as with many books, a close copyediting would have improved this one. Too often, the dates events happen aren't clear. We're told "three days later, Nimitz ..." but we don't know the intial date the three days are later than. A few times someone is referred to as if he has been discussed previously but is actually only introduced a few pages later. These are the kinds of minor slips that publishers should save authors from during the editing process.But these are quibbles. If you are interested in the war in the Pacific, I think you will find this book interesting and rewarding.