I Can't Believe No One has Reviewed This Book Yet
355886
Anyone interested in World War II in the Pacific around the time of Pearl Harbor should enjoy this book and the prequel, Days of Infamy.  The two books speculate what might have happened had the Japanese lingered long enough to send a third wave attack against Pearl Harbor.

Some critics of Days of Infamy have postulated that the Japanese may have not had enough fuel to linger too long around Hawaii and do battle with the two American carriers.  But they certainly could have launched a third wave attack and still escape undetected.  However, this books deals with the former scenario; a three day battle around the waters of Hawaii where 2 American aircraft carriers take on the strike force of 6 Japanese carriers.

Other critics of the prequel (and no doubt this book when they get around to it) have given poor reviews because the equipment and tactics described did not exist at the time of the battles.  There is an explanation for this.  The authors describe this as "active history" and not "alternate history".  Gingrich announces at the beginning (I have the audiobooks) that they made considered judgments they thought the commanders were likely to make.  They obviously borrowed liberally from the later Battles of The Coral Sea, Midway and the Battle Off Samar (for the DD and DE attack) to construct their narrative.  As such, they tripped over weapons and tactics used in those later battles that were not available at the time of Pearl Harbor.  This does not excuse these errors but rather explains them.  I consider the tradeoff reasonable in order that the authors produce believable battle scenarios around the time of Pearl Harbor.

Other interesting aspects of this book are the relations between the native Hawaiian-Americans and those of Japanese ancestry.  One of the main characters is married to a half-Japanese woman and there relationship is used as a vehicle to describe what happened to the Japanese-Americans around Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the attack.  Interestingly, while Nisei (American born people of Japanese descent) were eventually interned on the mainland, no such action was ever taken in Hawaii.

Mix a bit of history and some imagination with a knowledge of the times, the major military players and a dose of speculation and you have the makings of a pretty good novel.  All very interesting and entertaining for the World War II buff.  Just don't take it too seriously!

John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump - A Novel of World War II
1810719
This is my new very favorite book. I can't get over how good it was! I just hate that I finished it because I already miss reading it. You know you have found a truly rare and amazing book when you finish it feeling like you have lost dear friends. I absolutely can't wait until the follow-up is released. If I was half as good a writer as Sawyer, I could come up with better words to describe this book but I am stuck with breath-taking and simply superb. Thank you so much for this gift of beauty!
2525021
Incredible!!!!!!
How is it I have not heard of it until now!
958317
This book has gotten so much attention. The author was on the cover of TIME Magazine with a caption that read, "Great American Novelist." The library had me waiting for a copy for months. Amy Poelher's character on Parks and Recreation tried to get her best friend to read it "because I'm almost done and I want to talk to you about Patty." What am I missing? I was all set to love this book. The whole world loves this book. The whole world can't be wrong, surely. I know, I know, there's a voice inside me saying, "If the whole world jumped off a bridge would you?" Of course I would! It's called bungee jumping and it's hugely popular. Not unlike this book. The difference is I did not like this book. At all. (Okay, that makes it sound like I do like bungee jumping, but in truth I've never done it. Maybe I'd find that underwhelming as well.) The characters were all so despicable, unlikeable human beings and not even that believable as multi-dimensional people. The author starts off describing Patty as so polite that she would never criticize anybody else's behaviour except to call it "weird" but then later describes her as so caustic and biting that no one can stand to be around her because she makes fun of everyone and everything. This drastic shift in her personality is not sufficiently demonstrated or explained. Actually, that's a problem throughout the novel. Nothing is demonstrated or showen, it's just said. "Patty was like this..." or "People described Walter as..." or "Joey was the sort of person who believed..." The author seems completely incapable of trusting his readers (or himself) to figure anything out about his characters simply by watching them interact, seeing them do things, hearing them speak. Instead everything is heavy-handedly explained in a way that makes the readers feel that, though the author may know these characters, we do not. Besides, the characters are boring, banal people with no real problems who complain constantly. Their only emotion is self-pity and their only tone is shrill. I kept waiting for there to be a big reveal, a mystery, a secret that the author knew but let the reader find out slowly. Something, anything, to explain the characters' pointless melodrama. But there was nothing mysterious about this book, no delights or horrors to uncover. The whole thing read like a 600-page outline for the novel the author intended to write.

For more reviews, please visit my blog, CozyLittleBookJournal.
671723
I haven't finished the book yet but I'm obsessed. I had been seeing the cover but wasn't convinced until I read a really descriptive teaser. I originally downloaded the sample but before I even finished it I knew I had to purchase. I can't read this fast enough.
4196888
This book was amazing.  I wish I could elaborate more but I'm still trying to find some resolve with the actual story.  As an average reader, I typically read 45 minutes before I go to sleep at night.  This book arrived yesterday afternoon from Amazon.com.  As I began to eat dinner, I peered into the book and just began reading the first chapter.  I read the book in-full until 5 am this morning.  I could not put the book down for nothing.  I have never read a book with so much interest and sincere concern for both the author and the subjects in this book.  I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone.
4878887
I cannot say enough about this book, and certainly not something that hasn't already been said. This is brilliant and I love it.
2838223
As an avid 16 year old reader (yes there are some), I must say that I love this book.  I tried to write a big review but nothing I can write now would do this book justice.  This book is just amazing, it's changed how I look  at things, how I appreciate them.  I hope that one day I can take a class  in college on this book.  I know that I can't fully comprehend and  appreciate everything in this book, but it still leaves me with a sense of  awe.  It's a profound kind of feeling on the scale of when I first say the  grand canyon, or the vietnam memorial, or the first sunset I saw out west;  this book is awesome.  If you are open-minded and patient, please do  yourself a favor and find a way to read this book.
4519831
Unfortunately with my hectic schedule I have not had time to read this book yet.  I will definitely write a proper review in the very near future.  Hence, the *** stars!
320686
I have not finished reviewing this book.  Please ask again in 2 weeks or so.  I am very impressed with the writing.
4101559
I really needed this book. I didn't realize that all of the books that I have been reading this year so far up until this point haven't been that awesome compared to this book. I seriously am kicking myself in the butt for waiting so long to read it. I should have read it when it came out in January. I really can not believe how Beth Revis could create and write a book so spectacular in Across the Universe and then go back and make a sequel that tops that. Beth Revis is such a spectacular author. She weaves a story with her writing that is so detailed, unexpected and thrilling. I can not explain to you how amazing this book was. It completely skyrocketed and went beyond all of my expectations for it. I mean right from the beginning I was thrust into an awesome adventure and journey of a roller coaster ride that I had no clue which direction it would take me in. I had to of audibly gasped at least a million times throughout this whole book, that is literally how many twists and turns A Million Suns has.

Godspeed has many more lies and cover ups then even I was expecting. I thought everything was settled in the first book but I was totally wrong and wasn't expecting anything that happens. A Million Suns blew my mind. I didn't think this book series could get any more better and it has. The mystery and intrigue of the first book grows even more. The story is built on top of one lie after another and you would never expect the direction that this book has ended up in. My mind was literally turned upside down on its head from how awesome this book was. I can't say it enough.

I really loved all of the new characters that were introduced and the things that happen to them are astounding. You also get to learn more about other background characters that were introduced earlier. The intrigue and mystery is what really made me dive head first into this sequel. It kept up the pace and didn't disappoint at all.

 If you haven't read this series it is seriously incredible and needs to be read. So far this is my favorite book of 2012. Every single time I wasn't reading this book I was thinking about it and was wishing that I was reading it. I read this book so fast I wanted to slow myself down so I could make the amazing experience last longer. The mystery is hyped up even more on Godspeed and it leads to chaos throughout the entire ship with Elder's leadership coming into question. Amy has a big choice to make and you will have to read the book to find out what that choice is. The whole ship is like a microcosm of Earth and gets thrown into disorder and has no clue what is in store for them.

A Million Suns ends in such an exciting adventurous way which impacts everyone on the ship. I can not wait to see how the journey continues and what happens to everyone on board the ship. I can't wait to see how Amy and Elder's relationship progresses some more and what is in store for the both of them. January 2013 can not come fast enough, I want to read Shades of Earth right now. Who else is with me?

Visit my blog for more reviews here:[...]
1626454
That hasn't already been said? I suck at writing reviews but I can say I finished reading the book a hour ago and I am still crying. If that doesn't say something I don't know what does. I think My 5 stars speak for themselves.
2282724
W.O.W This book utterly amazed me. I'm a fan of this Author and have read her other works. She has catapulted to level expert in this novel. Funny, sexy, exciting, unpredictable; everything I love in a story. I truly hope this book gets the attention it deserves. I'll be getting this in print as soon as it's available.
As I'm posting this, I see that this novel has already reached bestseller status. Not surprised. At all.
2029781
I have not once written a review on any of the books I have bought and read on Amazon.com. I have  purchased 763 books on my kindle accounts.
This book I loved it. Has some trip ups but promising I cannot wait.
1377576
I am utterly stunned. I haven't finished the book, but so far it is amazing. I can't wait for the sixth one to come out and when it does, I will be one of the first ones to buy it.
1517756
Haven't met anyone yet who doesn't absolutely LOVE this book.  I loved it soooo much I read it twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything.
2861113
I have not even been able to read this book yet, everyone keeps borrowing it and I have to hunt it down to get it back! A huge hit with everyone who has "picked it up" so far...!