Shaara has a unique way that he writes these books. He tells the story from the perspective of individual fighting men on each side of the conflict. The most interesting part, however, is that the characters in the story are real. He puts words in the mouths and thoughts in the heads of real people like American Admiral Nimitz and Japanese General Ushijima. While the dialogue, both internal and external, is fiction, the people and events are very much real. It is an interesting and entertaining combination.
Now, for a war novel, there is not a hell of a lot of combat. Shaara's stories tend to focus more on the mental challenges for the characters as opposed to the physical ones. Because of this, his works tend to be deeper and more thought provoking and less gory and cringing (although there is that, too). This one was particularly good in that it deals with the end of the Pacific campaign and sheds light upon America's entry into the nuclear age.
This is a good piece and I highly recommend it. Enjoy....
Nats
