Having brought the sinking of the Titanic so vividly to life with his bestseller A Night to Remember, Walter Lord would spend the decades that followed bringing his eye for detail and narrative talents to bear on other historical events. One of them was the 1942 naval battle around the island of Midway, perhaps the decisive battle of the Second World War's Pacific theater. Nearly eight decades on from events and more than five after his book was published, Lord's Incredible Victory remains a hell of a read.
Like his Titanic book, much of the book's success comes from the people and research Lord could draw upon in his writing. Lord wisely chose not to focus specifically on the American or Japanese perspective solely by offering readers both the points of view from both sides with a wandering narrative. Readers get to meet the commanders at the top, including Admiral Yamamoto and Nimitz, of course, to those leading the opposing task forces at sea, such as Spruance and Nagumo. Yet the vast majority of Lord's account of the battle comes from the sailors, pilots, and marine who did much of the fighting and dying. It is with them, from the decks of ships to the pilots who dueled in the air or divebombed under heavy fire, that readers experience the events of Midway alongside. Doing so makes Incredible Victory, like A Night to Remember before it, as much a human drama as a recounting of a historical event.
But what a recounting it is, to be sure. Briskly paced, Lord captures the heat of battle, as well as any Hollywood filmmaker could ever hope to do, crafting an absorbing tale that brings home the thrills, terror, and uncertainties of combat. Lord also shows the human cost of the battle, from the anxiety of waiting for action (that, in some cases, never came) to the experiences of wounded men often lucky to still be alive. Above all else, perhaps, Lord shows how Midway's outcome was anything but predetermined, showcasing how much decisions made in the heat of battle and pure luck helped turn the tide of the Pacific War. From the offices of admirals to the cockpits of Dauntless dive-bombers and Zero fighters, Lord presents the sight and sounds of battle with a kaleidoscope narrative.
As a result, Incredible Victory is more than just another book on A famous battle. It is a true epic that wanders from person to person, place to place, as it recreates in prose the days that turned the tide of the Second World War. Indeed, it does for the Battle of Midway what Lord did for the sinking of the Titanic, making history come alive and bringing home how people, decisions, Lord and luck shape all help shape history.
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- Len BenkoReviewed in Canada on February 9, 2017
I enjoyed it for the history update
