Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy

John Prados

Penguin, Jul 5, 2016 - History - 400 pages

The story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II—the greatest naval battle in history.  
 
As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey’s unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf—the greatest naval battle in history.
 
In Storm Over Leyte, acclaimed historian John Prados gives readers an unprecedented look at both sides of this titanic naval clash, demonstrating that, despite the Americans’ overwhelming superiority in firepower and supplies, the Japanese achieved their goal, inflicting grave damage on U.S. forces. And for the first time, readers will have access to the naval intelligence reports that influenced key strategic decisions on both sides.
 
Drawing upon a wealth of untapped sources—U.S. and Japanese military records, diaries, declassified intelligence reports and postwar interrogation transcripts—Prados offers up a masterful narrative of naval conflict on an epic scale.

Contents

• NTRODUCTION: 3
• PROLOGUE: 9
• ALL IN: 21
• THE LOWDOWN: 44
• BREAKTHROUGH AND EXPLOITATION: 70
• BESTLAD PLANS: 94
• DESTROY THE INVADING ENEMY: 118
• MacARTHUR RETURNS SHO UNLEASHED: 152
• WITH CONFIDENCE IN HEAVENLY GUIDANCE THE ENTIRE FORCE WILL ATTACK: 181
• THE FIRST TEAM VERSUS THE RISING SUN: 217
• TALLYHO CARRIERS: 253
• CLOSE AND ATTACK ENEMY CARRIERS: 285
• SEA FIGHTS AND SHIPWRECKS: 330
• Abbreviations: 355
• Endnotes: 357
• Bibliography: 367
• Index: 377

About the author

Dr. John Prados was a Senior Research Fellow on national security, including foreign affairs, intelligence, and military subjects, at the National Security Archive. He directed the Archive's Iraq Documentation Project, as well as its Vietnam Project. He held a Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. His books Unwinnable War, Keepers of the Keys (on the National Security Council) and Combined Fleet Decoded (on intelligence in the Pacific in World War II) were each nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He published articles with Vanity Fair, The Journal of American History, Scientific American, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post,  and The Boston Globe.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Storm Over Leyte: The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy
• Author: John Prados
• Publisher: Penguin, 2016
• ISBN: 0698185765, 9780698185760
• Length: 400 pages
• Subjects: History / Asia / Japan; History / Military / Naval; History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General