I had understood that this book was about Manchester's war time experiences while battling in the Pacific theater. Like all good books, it stays with you for a long time.Īs one who reads many WWII stories, I had heard about this book and decided to buy it when I saw it at a library sale. I have read more than 200 narrative histories and memoirs of the Pacific War, British, American, Japanese, Indian and Chinese, Australian, Canadian. This contrasts with the cerebral, fair-minded Manchester we all know from his biographies. Try as he might he cannot shake it and we are at least amazed with his honesty. Their inability to admit to former attrocities is something that Manchester admits, planted the seed of dislike deeply inside him. Manchester can then go on an describe his visceral uncomfortable feelings of being close to the Japanese today. That very same night they cut up a large Banzai charge on Guam - one can cut the atmosphere of the book with a knife. Their far off, empty stares as the philosopher marine finishes his exposition in sheer silence is something that one can almost feel. One is left with the images of hard worn veterans from small American towns, experiencing the wonder of ideas for the first time on the eve of battle. He waxes from the lyrical experiences of a fireside chat on the battle-line with a student of philosophy (himself?) regalling the troops with an exposition on the nature of time. Manchester writes with passion borne from desperation and experience of long times in the firing line. That is why when I stumbled upon Manchester's memoirs I was immediately sucked into the guts of wartime experience. There are a lot of very good narrative history books on all aspects of the Pacific War, but the poet-gone-to-war genre is something that really the British usually do much better than the Americans. If one could read two accounts of the Pacific War written from the perspective of Americans this book and Sledges "With the Old Breed at Peleliu and Okinawa" would be the best that one can get.
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