About the Author:
Nathan N. Prefer is retired with graduate degrees in Military History. His life-long study of the Second World War has resulted in three prior military studies including MacArthur's New Guinea Campaign, March-August 1944; Patton’s Ghost Corps, Cracking the Siegfried Line and Vinegar Joe ‘s War, Stilwell ‘s Campaigns in Burma. He resides in Fort Myers, Florida.
Review:
“...Prefer delimits it well: evaluations of previous island assaults; improved beach and inner-island reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and assessment; combined planning; superb preparation and organizational logistics; staging; the actual bombardments and Marine attacks; perfect monitoring during the fighting; and the final evaluation by all for the next campaign. In short, there was absolute determination not to repeat the unnecessary casualties suffered on Tarawa, Guadalcanal, Guam, and Saipan. With the publication of "The Battle For Tinan -- Vital Stepping Stone in America's War Against Japan", author Nathan Prefer has established himself as a first-rate military historian. Few know how to blend sound knowledge, military temperament, and combat atmosphere in placing the reader in the actual engagements -- leaving this reviewer anxious to read his next effort due this Fall, an account of the U.S. Army's operations on Leyte.” (Don DeNevi)
“...Tinian has received relatively scant attention from historians. Deemed on of the most successful amphibious assault landings in US military history, the swiftness and perceived ease of the operation has caused it to be overshadowed by more storied battles in the Pacific Theater. It has been dismissed as a rout conducted by a superior American force against a small garrison of demoralized Japanese troops, who had already been bombed into submission. Prefer gives the battle its due, beginning with the planning stage and concluding with mass suicides carried out by enemy troops and civilians. The author rescues Tinian from being a mere footnote to WWII history.” (Toy Solder & Model Figure)
“Tinian was the last time the enemy would use defense at the water’s edge, as the bloody struggles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa would later illustrate. Nevertheless, however easy one might say Tinian was, it is sobering to walk among the graves of the 328 who paid the ultimate sacrifice.” (WWII History)
“...a concise, informative, well balanced narrative that will introduce readers to an often overlooked battle that paved the way for US victory over Japan...a clear, accessible and engaging story...most engrossing in its analysis of the options available to US Navy and Marine planners invading the island, the details of the plan they ultimately chose for the amphibious attack and the actual execution of the invasion...I recommend the BATTLE FOR TINIAN to all readers for the light it shines on an otherwise neglected campaign. (Michigan War Studies Review)
“...a competent account of the Tinian operation, placing it in its proper strategic context and giving appropriate emphasis to the planning and execution phases, with detailed descriptions of the decision making, the day by day tactical operations and the conditions under which the battle was fought...an instructive book, and easy read...liberally illustrated with extensive appendices. It is well worth the time...” (The Journal of America’s Military Past)
"an excellent examination of the battle and planning. Persons interested in World War Two in the Pacific will enjoy its direct and easily understood style. The author is a master communicator. I highly recommend the book. Not only is it the tale of how to plan and execute a battle, it is a model on how to write the history of a battle." (Kepler’s Military History)
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