"This ... history encompasses the heart of the Pacific War--the period between mid-1942 and mid-1944--when parallel Allied counteroffensives north and south of the equator washed over Japan's far-flung island empire like a 'conquering tide, ' concluding with Japan's irreversible strategic defeat in the Marianas. It was the largest, bloodiest, most costly, most technically innovative and logistically complicated amphibious war in history, and it fostered bitter interservice rivalries, leaving wounds that even victory could not heal" -- From the dust jacket flap.

The U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List 2017 Includes maps of:South Pacific: July 1942; Watchtower Landings: August 7, 1942; Battle of Savo Island: August 8, 1942; Battle of the Eastern Solomons: August 24, 1942; Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands: October 25-26, 1942; Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Phase One: November 13, 1942; Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Phase Twos: November 14-15, 1942; Yamamotoa Slain: April 18, 1943; South Pacific Counteroffensive, Advance of MacArthur , Halsey: 1943 to 1944; First Three Patrols of the Wahoo(SS-238): 1942-1943; Central Pacific Theater; Operation Galvanic: November 20-23, 1943; Operation Flintlock: February 1, 1944; Raid on Truk: February 17, 1944; Invasion on Saipan: June 15, 1944; Turkey Shoot, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Phase I: June 19, 1944; Mitscher in Pursuit, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Phase II:June 20, 1944.