Review: I Will Run Wild hits the big time

Just got this passed along this afternoon from the publicist handling "I Will Run Wild."

Not bragging (well, proud for sure) but this sort of thing almost never happens to books in this genre, and sure has never happened to me. Kirkus Reviews is the Serious Big Time for book reviews, and they sure don't hand out "starred reviews" like candy. And getting "a must-read account" in the review is really rare.

I WILL RUN WILD [STARRED REVIEW!]
The Pacific War From Pearl Harbor to Midway
Author: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Review Issue Date: June 15, 2020
Online Publish Date: June 2, 2020
Publisher:Osprey Publishing
Pages: 320
Price ( Hardcover ): $30.00
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-1-4728-4133-9
Section: NonFiction

A focused look at the first six months of World War II in the Pacific, drawing on government documents and interviews with veterans.

Cleaver admits to a fascination with the Pacific war since his early school days, and it shows in the depth in which he examines the battlefield details. The author, who has written multiple books on the Pacific theater, puts special emphasis on naval aviation, which was the dominant mode of action at the time. The second chapter, describing U.S. and Japanese preparedness for the war, includes accounts of the development of the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, two of the iconic warplanes of the era. At times, the catalogs of how many planes of which types took part in a given attack may stretch the patience of general readers, though this type of data will thrill military history buffs. Cleaver amply makes up for any slow bits with comments from and anecdotes by many of those who took part—on both sides. The author includes quotes from Eisenhower’s diaries and Roosevelt’s speeches and battle accounts from American and Japanese servicemen along with contemporaneous news reports to show what the general public was being told about the campaign. Cleaver has strong opinions about many aspects of the Pacific war, including a negative judgment of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s performance in the defense of the Philippines, one evidently shared by many of those in the field at the time. The author’s diligent research and careful citation of sources give his opinions considerable weight; as a result, the book deserves attention from anyone interested in the difficult months between the disaster of Pearl Harbor and the triumph of Midway.

Authoritative and colorful—a must-read account of the initial phase of the war in the Pacific.