Pacific Crucible takes the reader through the course of events that led to the eclipse of the battleship with the age of the aircraft carrier. Toll traces the development of naval war strategy from the thinking of Alfred Thayer Mahan in the late 19th century, through the development of the war plans for the Pacific region in both the United States and Japan between the World Wars, up to the opening stages of World War II. Toll then describes how events led military leaders in the United States, Britain, and Japan to reassess the role of battleships, large fleet encounters, and most importantly the role of airpower in naval conflicts.
