"The World Wonder'd - What Really Happened Off Samar" - New Book

NEW BOOK-"The World Wonder'd"- IJN vs Taffy 3 at Leyte Gulf

Robert Lundgren's work on the Battle off Samar Island on 10/25/1944 is now out IN HARDCOVER and Kindle. It is called "The World Wonder'd - What Really Happened Off Samar".

This was a 10-year project and will, I believe, re-write the American understanding of what happened on that morning when Center Force ran into Taffy 3.

Rob was kind enough to allow me to read his drafts over the past 5 years, and as a former military criminal prosecutor I was immediately struck by how he used the same tools for logical analysis to reconcile, uncover, and explain the various parts making up the story of that morning, in much the same way that I used to assemble a case for trial. To the extent I made any meaningful contribution it would have been in terms of encouraging his analysis in this regard. As I told him, he would have made a first-rate prosecutor. He has reconciled time lines, ship positions, the IJN and USN after-action reports, down to each salvo, so as the information is presented you are following the battle, minute by minute.

A few new nuggets of information to whet your appetites:

The prevailing American view of this battle long held that Yamato played little role in the events of that morning (Although Japanese studies, ignored or unavailable in the US came to a different conclusion).

Among other new revelations, Robert's book shows that nothing could have been further from the truth. The accuracy of Yamato's fire control direction on that morning was nothing short of astounding, and in a world without the dominant aircraft carrier is tantalizing evidence that she would indeed have been a decisive Naval weapon.

She sank 3 ships and crippled another carrier with a shot from 19.65 miles, by far the longest shot in naval history.

Admiral Kurita's decision to withdraw just as Center Force was about to cross the T on Taffy 3, long regarded as inexplicable or made from a combination of exhaustion and/or cowardice, is also seen in an entirely new light, as the information available to him is finally explained.

The link to the Amazon page is below. If you click on the photo of the book cover, you can preview the intro and a good part of the first chapter:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160888046X/sr=1-1/qid=1401990301/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1401990301&sr=1-1

 

Thanks Good Ol' Boy, I don't think you will be disappointed. If you like it and can pass along the good word to any friends/forum members with similar interests that would be great and I know Robert would appreciate it.

His work on this book was a side-job, so to speak. He works at the National Institute for Health in DC and thus has access to the Archives and other resources in the area. He previously has written several well-received articles on Kirishima and South Dakota (link below), but this is his first full book.


http://www.navweaps.com/index_lundgren/index_lundgren.htm

 

I've got the Kindle version but haven't read it yet. Hope to soon.

 

Here's a link to some of his earlier work. I am expecting the book to be of equal or better quality.
http://www.navweaps.com/index_lundgren/Kirishima_Damage_Analysis.pdf