Reviews
"A riveting tale of character and war by one of our most graceful writers. With impressive scholarship and a brilliant eye for detail, Evan Thomas tells the extraordinary story of Leyte Gulf without ever losing sight of the men in the maelstrom."-- Rick Atkinson, author ofAn Army at Dawn, "Whenever Evan Thomas turns on his smarts and energy, history makes more sense. Here he looks at the Pacific War from Guadalcanal to Tokyo Harbor and brings his vivid insights to the world's greatest naval campaign."-- Ben Bradlee, former editor, "The Washington Post," naval officer, the South Pacific, 1942-45, "This is a wonderful book; thoughtful and riveting all at the same time, and it's good history -- you're never quite sure things are going to turn out the way you know they did!" -- Ken Burns, filmmaker of The War, "Thomas's prose keeps pace with the fight and captures its eerie quality...The result is both a naval adventure story and a striking meditation on the nature of military courage."-- The New Yorker, "One of the most insightful analyses yet written of personalities and military cultures at war...An exciting read...Thomas draws the battle scenes with exquisite precision...Those who would direct military strategy and policy should be well warned -- and should have Thomas's book, well-worn, at their bedsides." -- Wesley K. Clark, "The Washington Post Book World", "A riveting tale of character and war by one of our most graceful writers. With impressive scholarship and a brilliant eye for detail, Evan Thomas tells the extraordinary story of Leyte Gulf without ever losing sight of the men in the maelstrom." -- Rick Atkinson, author of "An Army at Dawn", "Thomas's prose keeps pace with the fight and captures its eerie quality...The result is both a naval adventure story and a striking meditation on the nature of military courage." --The New Yorker, With this exemplary book, Evan Thomas has set a benchmark for historical writing -- and analysis -- against which subsequent work will be measured." -- Michael J. Bonafield,Star Tribune(Minneapolis), "One of the most insightful analyses yet written of personalities and military cultures at war...An exciting read...Thomas draws the battle scenes with exquisite precision...Those who would direct military strategy and policy should be well warned -- and should have Thomas's book, well-worn, at their bedsides."-- Wesley K. Clark,The Washington Post Book World, "Thomas's prose keeps pace with the fight and captures its eerie quality...The result is both a naval adventure story and a striking meditation on the nature of military courage." -- The New Yorker, "This is a wonderful book; thoughtful and riveting all at the same time, and it'sgoodhistory -- you're never quite sure things are going to turn out the way you know they did!" -- Ken Burns, filmmaker ofThe War, "Whenever Evan Thomas turns on his smarts and energy, history makes more sense. Here he looks at the Pacific War from Guadalcanal to Tokyo Harbor and brings his vivid insights to the world's greatest naval campaign." -- Ben Bradlee, former editor, The Washington Post , naval officer, the South Pacific, 1942-45, "Sensational, riveting history, plus a brilliant penetrating study of both the American and Japanese military minds. "Sea of Thunder" is full of psychological insight that will leave your jaw dropping."-- Bob Woodward, author of "Plan of Attack", With this exemplary book, Evan Thomas has set a benchmark for historical writing -- and analysis -- against which subsequent work will be measured."-- Michael J. Bonafield,Star Tribune(Minneapolis), "Thomas's prose keeps pace with the fight and captures its eerie quality...The result is both a naval adventure story and a striking meditation on the nature of military courage."--The New Yorker, "This is a wonderful book; thoughtful and riveting all at the same time, and it's good history -- you're never quite sure things are going to turn out the way you know they did!"-- Ken Burns, filmmaker of The War, " Sea of Thunder is an extraordinary book. Evan Thomas's dig into recent Japanese writing on the war, and his personal investigations among the survivors, turned up historian's gold. His Japanese leaders appear not unlike ourselves, behind the mask of an alien old culture. The portrait of Kurita, the controversial Japanese commander at Leyte Gulf, is novel, convincing, and surprisingly moving." -- Herman Wouk, author of The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, "A riveting tale of character and war by one of our most graceful writers. With impressive scholarship and a brilliant eye for detail, Evan Thomas tells the extraordinary story of Leyte Gulf without ever losing sight of the men in the maelstrom." -- Rick Atkinson, author of An Army at Dawn, "One of the most insightful analyses yet written of personalities and military cultures at war...An exciting read...Thomas draws the battle scenes with exquisite precision...Those who would direct military strategy and policy should be well warned -- and should have Thomas's book, well-worn, at their bedsides." -- Wesley K. Clark, The Washington Post Book World, "One of the most insightful analyses yet written of personalities and military cultures at war...An exciting read...Thomas draws the battle scenes with exquisite precision...Those who would direct military strategy and policy should be well warned -- and should have Thomas's book, well-worn, at their bedsides." -- Wesley K. Clark,The Washington Post Book World, With this exemplary book, Evan Thomas has set a benchmark for historical writing -- and analysis -- against which subsequent work will be measured." -- Michael J. Bonafield, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), With this exemplary book, Evan Thomas has set a benchmark for historical writing -- and analysis -- against which subsequent work will be measured." -- Michael J. Bonafield, "Star Tribune" (Minneapolis), "A riveting tale of character and war by one of our most graceful writers. With impressive scholarship and a brilliant eye for detail, Evan Thomas tells the extraordinary story of Leyte Gulf without ever losing sight of the men in the maelstrom." -- Rick Atkinson, author ofAn Army at Dawn, ""Sea of Thunder" is an extraordinary book. Evan Thomas's dig into recent Japanese writing on the war, and his personal investigations among the survivors, turned up historian's gold. His Japanese leaders appear not unlike ourselves, behind the mask of an alien old culture. The portrait of Kurita, the controversial Japanese commander at Leyte Gulf, is novel, convincing, and surprisingly moving."-- Herman Wouk, author of "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance", With this exemplary book, Evan Thomas has set a benchmark for historical writing -- and analysis -- against which subsequent work will be measured."-- Michael J. Bonafield, Star Tribune (Minneapolis), "Sensational, riveting history, plus a brilliant penetrating study of both the American and Japanese military minds. Sea of Thunder is full of psychological insight that will leave your jaw dropping." -- Bob Woodward, author of Plan of Attack, "One of the most insightful analyses yet written of personalities and military cultures at war...An exciting read...Thomas draws the battle scenes with exquisite precision...Those who would direct military strategy and policy should be well warned -- and should have Thomas's book, well-worn, at their bedsides."-- Wesley K. Clark, The Washington Post Book World, "This is a wonderful book; thoughtful and riveting all at the same time, and it's good history -- you're never quite sure things are going to turn out the way you know they did!" -- Ken Burns, Filmmaker, The War, "A riveting tale of character and war by one of our most graceful writers. With impressive scholarship and a brilliant eye for detail, Evan Thomas tells the extraordinary story of Leyte Gulf without ever losing sight of the men in the maelstrom."-- Rick Atkinson, author of An Army at Dawn, "This is a wonderful book; thoughtful and riveting all at the same time, and it'sgoodhistory -- you're never quite sure things are going to turn out the way you know they did!"-- Ken Burns, filmmaker ofThe War, "The incomparable Evan Thomas has done it again. World War II in the Pacific has never gotten the attention it deserves, and Sea of Thunder helps to restore the balance." -- Michael Beschloss, author of The Conquerors, "The incomparable Evan Thomas has done it again. World War II in the Pacific has never gotten the attention it deserves, and "Sea of Thunder" helps to restore the balance."-- Michael Beschloss, author of "The Conquerors", "Thomas's prose keeps pace with the fight and captures its eerie quality...The result is both a naval adventure story and a striking meditation on the nature of military courage." -- "The New Yorker"