Fire and Fortitude

“A very fine account of war in the Pacific founded on wide research and excellent judgement.”—Antony Beevor, New York Times bestselling author of D-Day: The Battle for Normandy and Ardennes 1944: The Battle of the Bulge

“This eloquent and powerful narrative is military history written the way it should be. John C. McManus has seamlessly blended the strategic and tactical story with deep analysis of the political context and social composition of armies that embodied the cultures of the nations from which they were formed. During the two years covered by this book, American forces in the Pacific theater transitioned from fighting on a shoestring defensive to the beginning of mighty offensives that would prove irreversible.”—James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom

“An expert, opinionated World War II history with some unsettling conclusions … Entirely engrossing.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Engaging.”—Library Journal

“Fire and Fortitude fills a gap in recent literature on the Pacific War… The author’s appealing prose style and extensive use of personal papers brings his text to life.”—Michigan War Studies

“In this compelling narrative, John McManus does for the US Army in the Pacific what Rick Atkinson did for the Army in Europe: chronicle its growth and transformation from a small, insular, pre-war constabulary into an enormous and efficient fighting machine. In the process he deftly profiles the leaders and captures all of the human drama of the Pacific War.”—Craig L. Symonds, Lincoln Prize-winning author of World War II at Sea

“From the burning waters of Pearl Harbor to the sweltering jungles of Guadalcanal and the icy shores of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Fire and Fortitude is a heart-pounding journey through the tragedies and the triumphs of the Pacific. Historian John C. McManus, armed with an incredible eye for detail and the deft touch of a novelist, has crafted one of the finest epics of World War II.”—James M. Scott, Pulitzer Prize-finalist and author of Target Tokyo and Rampage

“John McManus, one of America’s great historians, has written a masterpiece. From the red light district in Honolulu just hours before the attack on Pearl Harbor to the nearly forgotten assault on fiercely defended Makin Island, Fire and Fortitude is a long-overdue saga of the US Army’s punishing fight in the Pacific. McManus brilliantly transports the reader back in time, offering new information and dazzling analysis in this groundbreaking narrative.”—Patrick K. O’Donnell, author of The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America’s Unknown Soldier and WWI’s Most Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home

“Army ground troops constituted by far the largest element of American military forces arrayed against Japan in the Pacific War, yet their efforts have been overshadowed in the popular American memory by the achievements of the Marines and the Navy. John C. McManus’s exhaustively researched and highly readable book goes far to redress the balance. In many ways his treatment of the Army in the war against Japan may well be compared to Rick Atkinson’s work on the Army in the European Theater.”—Ronald Spector, author of Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan

John C. McManus is an award-winning professor, author, and military historian, and a leading expert on the history of the American combat experience. He is the Curators’ Distinguished Professor of U.S. Military History at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and recently completed a visiting professorship at the U.S. Naval Academy as the Leo A. Shifrin Chair of Naval and Military History. His critically acclaimed books on World War II include Deadly Sky, September Hope, and The Dead and Those About to Die.

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