Iwo by Richard Wheeler

Slipdigit · #1 (**permalink**) May 19th, 2008, 08:02 PM

I finished reading Iwo by Richard Wheeler last week. All in all it was good book, heavy on small unit details, especially where actions early in the battle was concerned, but it was not written in manner that would bog the reader down. The book gave a good overall view of Marine actions, obviously as it was written by a veteran of the assault. It is not written as an autobiography, but relates more of the overall picture of what was going on from the upper-level commanders to the rifleman.
There is good discussion of the Japanese defensive preparations as well as the build up to the US assault. The first 2/3rds of the book are devoted mainly the first week of fighting and my only complaint is the lack of the same detailed attention to the fighting over the next 3 weeks or so that was given to the first. This may not have been a bad thing, as the book would probably get a bit long and repetitious.
The discussion of the Japanese forces was even-handed and respectful , and gave a good account of what was going on below the ground. There was good treatment of the final days of Gen Kuribayashi and the other Japanese leadership.
There were moderately detailed maps, which helped the reader to follow the paths of the US units. There were a lot of photographs, many that I do not recall seeing before and they were scattered through out the book, instead of being placed in small groups. I found this to be a plus.
I would recommend this book for the novice to knowledgeable reader of WWII history. It provided good, reliable information in a well written manner.