Ian W. Toll has been laboring for years on a trilogy of books chronicling World War II in the Pacific. Twilight of the Gods relates the final chapter as U.S. commanders argued among themselves over the next steps. The grandiose Gen. Douglas MacArthur wanted to take the Philippines, where he expected to be showered in honor. His austere naval counterpart, Admiral Ernest King, wanted to sail straight to Japan. MacArthur was probably correct and got his way.
Twilight of the Gods doesn’t conceal MacArthur’s many faults, including spin-spewing press officers that shaped his false image as a popular frontline CO. Much of Toll’s book is devoted to the struggle within U.S. military and political leadership over the direction of the war. The author has a gift for finding just the right stories—illustrated by telling details—and of humanizing the players at the top as well as the war on the ground, in the air and at sea.
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