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Return to Midway
BALLARD, Robert D., Return to Midway: The quest to find the Yorktown and the other lost ships from the pivotal battle of the Pacific War. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Press, 1999. 192 p. ISBN 0-7922-7500-4 (hc), $40. Bib. Illus (col).
This book is an excellent examination of the pivotal naval battle of World War 2 and the search for the remains of its ships. It follows the expedition led by Robert Ballard, famous for his discovery of the Titanic and Bismark on the ocean’s floor. Alternating with Ballard’s account of the hunt for the remnants of the war is a comprehensive account of the battle of June 4-7, 1942 and the events leading up to it. The historical importance of this battle to Hawaii, the United States and the entire Pacific Rim cannot be understated. Had the Japanese been victorious at Midway, they would have been poised to take Hawaii and control the entirety of the Pacific Ocean.
The accounts of the battle itself are very well done. The information is accurate, and manages to tie the overall strategic picture in with the personal accounts of the men who served on both sides of the battle. It is notable that this book manages to avoid falling into the all too common ‘good versus evil’ narrative of many American authored works on the subject. While nothing really new is added to the picture of the battle that many other books have created, this is an excellent and accessible version of events.
The search for the lost aircraft carriers becomes as compelling of the events of the battle itself, as a combined crew of US Navy personnel, University of Hawaii graduate students and Ballard’s own personnel work around the clock to find a tiny target in miles of open ocean. Accompanying the crew are two survivors from the American aircraft carrier Yorktown and two from the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga. Both ships were destroyed during the battle, along with three other Japanese carriers and several smaller escort ships. The real focus is on the hunt for the Yorktown, which had the most extensively documented sinking position of any of the lost ships.
The book itself is very well executed, as would be expected of any National Geographic publication. It is clearly aimed at people unfamiliar with the battle or the war in the Pacific, and as such will occasionally over-explain or over-simplify terminology and events. There are a huge number of photos, maps, paintings and illustrations throughout the book. The writing is quite good, and keeps readers engaged with the events and the hunt for the missing ships. As it is impossible to photograph a complete vessel from three miles beneath the surface, paintings are used in some cases to show the state of the Yorktown as it exists today. It should be noted that only about thirty of the two hundred pages are devoted to the discovery and exploration of the Yorktown, which may be a disappointment to some readers.
There are also a few flaws with the book. One of the pages about the battle is printed on black text against a black and white photograph of a burning ship. This renders entire passages on the page almost unreadable. There is also the issue with the use of paintings to represent scenes of battle. In many instances these paintings are heavily dramatized and compressed versions of events, presenting an unrealistic picture of what actually happened by placing every aircraft involved in an engagement in the same small airspace. There is even a case of a painting being rendered unnecessary by a photo showing the same event on the very next page. Finally, there is a blatantly inaccurate photo caption towards the end of the book. It identifies an F4U Corsair lying upside down in the waters off of Midway as originating from the battle, when that model of aircraft was not even deployed until October 1942.
Aside from these minor details, the book is very much worth having in a public library or middle to high school library with a collection on the Pacific theater of World War 2. It is both informative and entertaining, which is as much as can be asked of any history book. The hardcover binding is excellent, with quality printing throughout.
This book is an excellent examination of the pivotal naval battle of World War 2 and the search for the remains of its ships. It follows the expedition led by Robert Ballard, famous for his discovery of the Titanic and Bismark on the ocean’s floor. Alternating with Ballard’s account of the hunt for the remnants of the war is a comprehensive account of the battle of June 4-7, 1942 and the events leading up to it. The historical importance of this battle to Hawaii, the United States and the entire Pacific Rim cannot be understated. Had the Japanese been victorious at Midway, they would have been poised to take Hawaii and control the entirety of the Pacific Ocean.
The accounts of the battle itself are very well done. The information is accurate, and manages to tie the overall strategic picture in with the personal accounts of the men who served on both sides of the battle. It is notable that this book manages to avoid falling into the all too common ‘good versus evil’ narrative of many American authored works on the subject. While nothing really new is added to the picture of the battle that many other books have created, this is an excellent and accessible version of events.
The search for the lost aircraft carriers becomes as compelling of the events of the battle itself, as a combined crew of US Navy personnel, University of Hawaii graduate students and Ballard’s own personnel work around the clock to find a tiny target in miles of open ocean. Accompanying the crew are two survivors from the American aircraft carrier Yorktown and two from the Japanese aircraft carrier Kaga. Both ships were destroyed during the battle, along with three other Japanese carriers and several smaller escort ships. The real focus is on the hunt for the Yorktown, which had the most extensively documented sinking position of any of the lost ships.
The book itself is very well executed, as would be expected of any National Geographic publication. It is clearly aimed at people unfamiliar with the battle or the war in the Pacific, and as such will occasionally over-explain or over-simplify terminology and events. There are a huge number of photos, maps, paintings and illustrations throughout the book. The writing is quite good, and keeps readers engaged with the events and the hunt for the missing ships. As it is impossible to photograph a complete vessel from three miles beneath the surface, paintings are used in some cases to show the state of the Yorktown as it exists today. It should be noted that only about thirty of the two hundred pages are devoted to the discovery and exploration of the Yorktown, which may be a disappointment to some readers.
There are also a few flaws with the book. One of the pages about the battle is printed on black text against a black and white photograph of a burning ship. This renders entire passages on the page almost unreadable. There is also the issue with the use of paintings to represent scenes of battle. In many instances these paintings are heavily dramatized and compressed versions of events, presenting an unrealistic picture of what actually happened by placing every aircraft involved in an engagement in the same small airspace. There is even a case of a painting being rendered unnecessary by a photo showing the same event on the very next page. Finally, there is a blatantly inaccurate photo caption towards the end of the book. It identifies an F4U Corsair lying upside down in the waters off of Midway as originating from the battle, when that model of aircraft was not even deployed until October 1942.
Aside from these minor details, the book is very much worth having in a public library or middle to high school library with a collection on the Pacific theater of World War 2. It is both informative and entertaining, which is as much as can be asked of any history book. The hardcover binding is excellent, with quality printing throughout.
Submitted October 2009 by Evan Smith, LIS Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
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