books on overall Pacific Theater

I'm looking for some books that give an overview of the Pacific Theater for a beginner; I'm less interested in detailed accounts of individual battles. I have found these suggested on various sites and forums:
Ronald Spector - Eagle Against the Sun
John Prados - Combined Fleet Decoded
John Costello - The Pacific War
Basil Collier - The War in the Far East 1941-1945: A Military History
John Toland - The Rising Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Japansese Empire
Donald Miller - D-Days in the Pacific
Dan Van der Vat - Pacific Campaign: The U.S.-Japanese Naval War 1941-1945

I'm not going to read all of them but the library should have at least a couple. Any other recommendations that might fit on such a list?
Thanks,
Ryan

 

James F. Dunnigan - Victory at Sea (not the video documentary)
Eric M. Bergerud - Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific
Eric M. Bergerud - Fire In The Sky: The Air War In The South Pacific

 

Great! Thanks for more suggestions.
Ryan

 

I can't suggest any that haven't been already but will throw out my support of John Toland's The Rising Sun.

I would not suggest Donald Millers D-Days in the Pacific. I personally put it away without finishing because of too many inaccuracies with some of the numbers.

 

John Prados - Combined Fleet Decoded
Well, this book is a very good read(I have two copies myself), but it does focus mostly on the US code breaking activities against Japan.

I would strongly suggest "Victory at Sea: World War II in the Pacific" by James F Dunnigan & Albert A. Nofi. This book is a good primer on the Pacific War, however, IIRC it is out-of-print so you will have to look for it. The book covers the campaigns, ships, aircraft, armies, weapons, logistics, politics, and many short bios on the major personalities of the Pacific War.

 

While it concentrates on Midway the background information given on the IJN high command and politcs make Shattered Sword a candidate for this list. Like wise Neptune's Inferno addresses similar issues with regards to the USN high command and politics. Both are quite readable and available. Now if only someone would do the equivalant of Wages of Destruction for Japan.

 

Has anyone read Pacific Fury by Peter Thompson?

The book purports to cover the Pacific land sea and air war, with a summary of the years leading up to 1941. I have a chance to borrow a copy.

 

Pacific fury is ok, i much prefer "a Bastard of a Place', although it covers primarily the war in PNG

 

War Plan Orange: The U.S. Strategy to Defeat Japan by Edward S. Miller gives a great look at U.S. planning and decision making both before and during the war.

America's Fighting Admirals: Winning the War at Sea in World War II by William Tuohy also seemed pretty good. It describes the way in which U.S. flag officers were trained pretty well, which is an under-appreciated aspect of the allied effort. (And a big part of how Navies build their traditions.)

Admittedly, neither of these is precisely a "general" history. But neither are they descriptions of specific actions. and once you've gotten a grasp of the basic sequence of events, they're good places to go. (Particularly the former.)

There are any number of other books that, while concentrating on specific actions, like the earlier mentioned Shattered Sword, manage to give good insight into the decision making or training of one side or the other. (First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway by John B. Lundstrom is another great example. A little more focused than you want, maybe, but a great description of early war fighter tactics and carrier operations and how they developed. Paired with Shattered Sword it's an unbeatable combination.)