The Fleet at Flood Tide

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ΓÇó The extraordinary story of the World War II air,landand sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower WinnerCommodore John Barry Book AwardNavy League of the United States ΓÇó WinnerJohn Lehman Distinguished Naval Historian AwardNaval Order of the United States With its thunderous assault on the Mariana Islands in June 1944the United States crossed the threshold of total war. In this tour de force of dramatic storytellingdistilled from extensive research in newly discovered primary sourcesJames D. Hornfischer brings to life the campaign that was the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrenderΓÇöand that forever changed the art of modern war. With a close focus on high commandersfront-line combatantsand ordinary peopleAmerican and Japanese alikeHornfischer tells the story of the climactic end of the Pacific War as has never been done before. Here are the epic seaborne invasions of SaipanTinianand Guamthe stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shootthe first large-scale use of Navy underwater demolition teamsthe largest banzai attack of the warand the daring combat operations large and small that made possible the strategic bombing offensive culminating in the atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the seas of the Central Pacific to the shores of Japan itselfThe Fleet at Flood Tide is a stirringauthoritativeand cinematic portrayal of World War IIΓÇÖs world-changing finale. Illustrated with original maps and more than 120 dramatic photographs ΓÇ£Quite simplypopular and scholarly military history at its best.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöVictor Davis Hansonauthor of Carnage and Culture ΓÇ£The dean of World War II naval history . . . In his capable handsthe story races along like an intense thriller. . . . Narrative nonfiction at its finestΓÇöa book simply not to be missed.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöJames M. ScottCharleston Post and Courier ΓÇ£An impressively lucid account . . . admirablefascinating.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe Wall Street Journal ΓÇ£An extraordinary memorial to the courageousΓÇöand a cautionary note to a world that remains unstable and turbulent today.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöAdmiral James Stavridisformer Supreme Allied CommanderNATOauthor of Sea Power ΓÇ£A masterfulfresh account . . . ably expands on the prior offerings of such classic naval historians as Samuel Eliot Morison.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe Dallas Morning News