The Pacific
Hell Was an Ocean Away
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Narrated by:
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Mike Chamberlain
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Written by:
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Hugh Ambrose
About this listen
In this companion to the HBO miniseries - executive produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzman - Hugh Ambrose reveals the intertwined odysseys of four US Marines and a US Navy carrier pilot during World War II.
Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. From the debacle in Bataan, to the miracle at Midway and the relentless vortex of Guadalcanal, their solemn oaths to their country later led one to the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot and the others to the coral strongholds of Peleliu, the black terraces of Iwo Jima, and the killing fields of Okinawa, until at last the survivors enjoyed a triumphant, yet uneasy, return home.
In The Pacific, Hugh Ambrose focuses on the real-life stories of the five men who put their lives on the line for our country. To deepen the story revealed in the miniseries and go beyond it, the book dares to chart a great ocean of enmity known as The Pacific and the brave men who fought. Some considered war a profession, others enlisted as citizen soldiers. Each man served in a different part of the war, but their respective duties required every ounce of their courage and their strength to defeat an enemy who preferred suicide to surrender. The medals for valor that were pinned on three of them came at a shocking price - a price paid in full by all.
©2010 Hugh Ambrose (P)2010 Penguin AudioYou may also enjoy...
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Performance
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Captivating Page Turner (Even for an audio book)
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Guy Sajer joins the infantry full of ideals in the summer of 1942, the German army is enjoying unparalleled success in Russia. However, he quickly finds that for the foot soldier the glory of military success hides a much harsher reality of hunger, fatigue, and constant deprivation. Posted to the elite Grosse Deutschland division, he enters a violent and remorseless world where all youthful hope is gradually ground down, and all that matters is the brute will to survive.
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I have PTSD after reading this
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Superb storytelling AND it's true!
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What the critics say
“Doing for the war against Japan what Band of Brothers did for the war against Germany, Ambrose’s history effectively immerses readers in the Good War’s second front.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Ambrose’s narrative is convincing...[he] shows the possibilities of readable and complex military history.” (Dr. Allan Millett, director, Eisenhower Center for American Studies, The National World War II Museum)
What listeners say about The Pacific
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Howard G.
- 2023-05-20
Veterans review
As a wounded vet I had to read this book in small, manageable chunks - just a bit at a time.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Phil Atkinson
- 2023-07-10
Easy Read
Very well written and easy to get lost in the stories, memories and history of events in the far east during WWII.
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