A chronicle of the Pacific Air War in World War II draws on interviews with surviving veterans of all duties to paint a detailed look at the war in the sky.

The Three-Dimensional Battlefield --Defining the Battlefield: Air-Base Networks -- War in an Unlikely Place: Japanese Air-Base Networks in the South Pacific -- Sites for Victory: Allied Base Networks -- The Land and Air -- Modern War in a Primitive Place -- A Malignant Land -- A Dangerous Sky -- Machines and Men in the South Pacific -- Japanese Warplanes -- Japanese Navy Aircraft -- Japanese Army Aircraft -- Allied Aircraft -- Allied Fighters -- Allied Bombers -- Airmen in the South Pacific -- Preparation for War -- Morale -- Fire in the Sky: Air Battle in the South Pacific -- Deadly Geometry: Fighter Warfare in the South Pacific -- Fighter Formations and Missions -- Maneuver and Melee -- Making History: Bombers in the South Pacific -- A Confused Start -- Allied Bombers Take Control -- Helping the Ground-Pounders -- The Destruction of Japanese Airpower -- Author's Note on Technical Information Including Table of Major Warplanes in the South Pacific Theater.