Fire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941–1943

McManus (history, Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology; The Dead and Those About To Die) writes the first of two projected volumes on the role of the U.S. Army in the Pacific, a theater of World War II dominated by the Navy and Marine Corps in most histories. Many readers will be familiar with certain events, such as the fall of the Philippines and the Bataan Death March, but McManus also provides full treatments of lesser-known campaigns, including the fighting in the Aleutians and Papua New Guinea. The battles in these campaigns were just as bitter as those faced by the marines at Guadalcanal with Japanese soldiers committing suicide rather than face capture. Yet, these campaigns were not decisive in the outcome of the war and have subsequently been ignored. However, the lessons learned from them helped pave the way for ultimate Allied victory over Japan.