Return to Midway

Washington, DC/Toronto, CAN: A National Geographic/Madison Press Book , 1999 A National Geographic/Madison Press Book, Washington, DC/Toronto, CAN, 1999. Hardcover. 2nd Printing by Line Number. Deluxe Edition. Book is tight, square, and unmarked. Book Condition: Fine. No DJ. Blue padded leatherette boards and spine with bright gilt lettering on the spine and front board. Pictorial endpapers; gilt textblock edges; blue satin ribbon pagemarker. 191 pp 4to. Dr Robert Ballard's challenge for this work was to discover and photograph the ships sunk in the Battle of Midway, one of the most dramatic engagements of the Pacific War. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour in 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy seemed almost unstoppable, and a final strike in Midway Island was planned by Admiral Yamamoto for June 1942. But the Americans, aware of the plan, were prepared for the attack and in a great victory sank three of the four Japanese carriers, losing only one of their own. The battle was a turning point in the Pacific War and never again would Japan take the offensive. The story of this battle is illustrated using Ballard's underwater photographs of the ships' remains, Ken Marschall's evocative paintings and remembrances from American and Japanese sailors who were in the battle. A clean pristine copy. No international sales.