The Final Storm - A Novel of the War in the Pacific

Zusatztext “A moving and riveting read—one of Shaara’s best.”— Seattle Post-Intelligencer   “Whether you’re a military veteran or currently serving in the armed forces! or you’re a history buff or just enjoy a well-told tale! check out Jeff Shaara. Nobody tells war stories any better.” —The Sacramento Bee   “Extraordinarily evocative . . . Told from the perspectives of combatants and military leaders! both American and Japanese! the resulting balanced overview lends historical authenticity to the gripping fictional narrative.”— Booklist   “Fast-paced! engaging and absorbing.”—Galveston County Daily News   “Highly recommended.”— Library Journal Informationen zum Autor Jeff Shaara Klappentext NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER With the war in Europe winding down in the spring of 1945, the United States turns its vast military resources toward a furious assault on the last great stepping-stone to Japan-the heavily fortified island of Okinawa. The three-month battle in the Pacific theater will feature some of the most vicious combat of the entire Second World War, as American troops confront an enemy that would rather be slaughtered than experience the shame of surrender. Meanwhile, stateside, a different kind of campaign is being waged in secret: the development of a weapon so powerful, not even the scientists who build it know just what they are about to unleash. Colonel Paul Tibbets, one of the finest bomber pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps, is selected to lead the mission to drop the horrific new weapon on a Japanese city. As President Harry S Truman mulls his options and Japanese physician Okiro Hamishita cares for patients at a clinic near Hiroshima, citizens on the home front await the day of reckoning that everyone knows is coming. 1. THE SUBMARINER East China Sea, North of Formosa February 21, 1945 The boredom was overwhelming. Even in the darkness, with a low warm breeze, he felt the restlessness, held the sharp stare at what should be the horizon. It was hidden, of course, black water meeting black sky, no hint of the dawn still several hours away. They had patrolled these waters for more than two weeks, some calling it an adventure, the eagerness the crew felt to be back on the search for the scattered Japanese supply ships. Two months before, they had been assigned to rescue patrol, close to mainland Japan, a vigilant search for downed American pilots, or even the Japanese. But enemy pilots were very few now, the Japanese air force so depleted, or more likely, so wary of the superiority of their enemy that they seemed to avoid dogfights with the American fighters completely. He hadn’t paid much attention to that kind of talk, the newsy communications that filtered down through the chain of command. He was much happier thinking about the American pilots they had rescued, his crew cheerfully hauling aboard coughing breathless men, soaked and shivering, desperately happy to be alive. It was a genuine thrill to rescue a pilot, every sailor feeling that special pride, more so if the man happened to be from a carrier, a naval pilot, and so, one of their own. The pilots were more than just grateful, and in their momentary euphoria they made loud promises of lavish gifts, nights on the town for everyone aboard the sub. The promises usually included a rendezvous in Honolulu or even San Francisco, talk that every crewman enjoyed. The job had been made worthwhile by the beaming gratitude of the men they had saved. It didn’t hurt either that as the rescued pilots were returned to their aircraft carriers, they were often exchanged for tubs of ice cream, a luxury few submarines carried on their own. The pilots of the newer American fighters had found that their planes were considerably more agile, and significantly more armored than the legendary Zero, and so the fights grew increasingly one-sided. After lo...

Product details

• Authors: Jeff Shaara
• Publisher: Ballantine
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 10.01.2012
• EAN: 9780345497956
• ISBN: 978-0-345-49795-6
• No. of pages: 480
• Dimensions: 132 mm x 201 mm x 27 mm
• Series: World War II; World War II
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature