If you are not familiar with the war against Japan, you can hardly go wrong starting with this one. A very thorough account of the lead up to and conduct of the war. The only major flaw is the lack of maps to guide you through the various theaters and engagements. 4 Stars due to this oversight but it is a compelling, exciting read nontheless. This book covers all the major players, not just the US forces. A good deal of time is spent on lesser known actions, such as the New Guinea campaigns; the China-Burma-India theater; and other topics, such as blacks and women in the military; intelligence both in code-breaking and behind-the-lines agents and networks, etc. Keep a notepad handy as this book will give you plenty of ideas and vectors to explore in future reading. The best part of the book is his effort to show each significant engagement (and many lesser known ones) and how it affected a subsequent action or caused a reaction that led to other outcomes. The battles are not just described in isolation. Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan deserves a permanent place on the war shelf, a superb reference for one half of WWII.