Military Review English Edition May-June 2014 | Page 95

BOOK REVIEWS

discussing the barbarian invasion, some academics
claim the barbarians inflicted little damage as they
moved through the Roman Empire. The authors say
that “only academics who have spent their entire
lives sequestered in school and with scant knowledge of the real world could gin up such nonsense.”
The book is enjoyable, well researched, and easy
to read. The authors achieve their objective, and their
conclusions are worthy of consideration. I highly
recommend it to those interested in military history.
Lt. Col. Robert J. Rielly, U.S. Army, Retired,
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

ADMIRAL NIMITZ:

The Commander of the Pacific Ocean Theater
Brayton Harris, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2012,
238 pages, $26.00

A

DMIRAL NIMITZ: THE Commander of the
Pacific Ocean Theater is a welcome addition
to the few studies that analyze the career of fleet
admiral Chester W. Nimitz. Brayton Harris uses U.S.
Naval Institute oral histories from the 1960s and
1970s and other secondary sources to compose his
biography of Nimitz. He examines Nimitz’s life and
naval career, particularly his service in World War II.
Harris sets the s tage by summarizing Nimitz’s
early years in Texas and as a student at the U.S.
Naval Academy. He recounts Nimitz’s naval service
from his naval academy graduation in 1905 through
his assignment as the chief, Bureau of Navigation,
which began in 1939. Harris tells of Nimitz’s numerous afloat commands, particularly those associated
with submarines.

MILITARY REVIEW May-June 2014

The author rightfully focuses much of the book
on Nimitz’s World War II record. President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally selected Nimitz to take
command of the battered Pacific Fleet at Pearl
Harbor and, subsequently, the Pacific Ocean areas.
As Commander in Chief, Pacific Command, and
Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Area, Nimitz
led extensive maritime efforts across the south
and central Pacific through the war’s end. Harris
devotes nearly half of the biography to Nimitz’s
involvement in the planning and execution of
operations in Guadalcanal, Tarawa, the Marianas,
Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.
In the final chapters, Harris looks at Nimitz’s
role as Chief of Naval Operations, when Nimitz
grappled with complex demobilization issues, unification of the services, and naval transformation
in the atomic era.
Harris is at his best exploring Nimitz’s oftencomplex professional relationships with Admiral
Ernest King, General Douglas MacArthur, Secretary James Forrestal, and President Harry S.
Truman. In addition to the Naval Institute oral
histories and other resources used, Harris taps E.B.
Potter’s definitive biography, Nimitz, to convey his
analysis. Harris ends his book with a bibliography
that identifies key sources used throughout the
study and an extensive list of the oral histories
consulted for the biography.
For those looking to become acquainted with the
life and career of this flag officer, Admiral Nimitz:
The Commander of the Pacific Ocean Theater is an
excellent place to start. The book is a quick, enjoyable read that carefully chronicles the leadership
of this U.S. senior commander.
Stephen D. Coats, Ph.D.,
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

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