Shattered Sword

I have been a fan of history through much of my life, and a student of the conflict of my father's generation through my teen years, but had largely moved away from such historical works years ago, the writing being a tad dry.

It was with surprise and delight than that I read through the preface of this work, convincing myself to purchase the book. Excellent choice. It is written from the perspective of a dispassionate observer perched amongst the Japanese officers and crewmen as they prepared for and undertook the attack on Midway. The book details the inner workings of Japanese aircraft carriers, their doctrines and guiding principles, and how such could all go wrong for them over the course of the fateful day of June 4th, 1942. Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tulley have given Japanese operational records close scrutiny, the reading of which only recently becoming readily available in English translations. Thus, we here in the Western Hemisphere are just now understanding things about the battle that have been common knowledge among Japanese military historians for the past forty years. Reading through you could see how decisions made based on false presumptions and expectations played out in a manner that eventually led to disastrous consequences. An excellent piece of scholarly work infused with a fine touch of writing all made for an interesting tale. It had broad applications to many of life's endeavors and was well worth the read. I highly recommend it to the student of history and military affairs.