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To mark the 80th anniversary of one of WWII's bloodiest and most heroic battles, here are my favorite ten books on the Battle of Iwo Jima.
1] Letters From Iwo Jima – Kumiko Kakehashi
This may be a somewhat controversial choice as my first pick, but this book and the Clint Eastwood film based upon it pack one hell of an emotional punch. The book centers on the mercurial Japanese general Tadamichi Kuriyabashi, who commanded the doomed forces on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima, the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific War. Kuriyabashi carried out his mission – to incur maximum American casualties – with horrifying success. An admirer of America who believed it had been a mistake for Japan to go to war, Kuriyabashi knew Iwo Jima would be used by the US as an airbase to hit Tokyo and fought to the bitter end to delay the inevitable. The letters from doomed Japanese soldiers to their loved ones reveal a tragic humanity. These men, like their adversaries, were hugely determined, and almost all died.
2] Iwo Jima – Richard F. Newcomb
This is as definitive a history as we’re likely to get of the fighting on Iwo Jima. Newcomb’s account is masterful and often extraordinarily detailed, based on hundreds of interviews with veterans and exhaustive research in archives. There are diary entries, moments of dark humor, and superb maps. Above all, this is an accurate chronicle of slaughter, heroism, and seemingly superhuman resilience. If you want to reaffirm your belief in the amazing qualities of the Greatest Generation’s finest warriors, look no further.
3] Red Blood, Black Sand - Chuck Tatum
This is arguably the most readable first-person account of the fighting on Iwo Jima by 5th Marine Division veteran Chuck Tatum. Tatum landed on the black sands of Iwo Jima on 19th February 1945, a callow teenager, along with 30,000 fellow Marines, and fought for two weeks – more than long enough to experience the infernal combat at its bloodiest. Notably, he was trained by Marine legend and Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone, whose death he witnessed. This is a brilliant account of the unimaginable horrors of Iwo Jima – some Japanese survived only because they were too badly wounded to kill themselves.
4] Indestructible – Jack H. Lucas
Twenty-seven men received the Medal of Honor for actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima, which lasted from 19 February to 26 March 1945. The day after the battle began, 17-year-old Private Jack Lucas earned the Medal of Honor, becoming the youngest recipient in WWII. Two grenades landed near him. He jumped on one and used his body to smother the blast of another. Miraculously, he survived, having been left for dead by his comrades. He saw the Stars and Stripes fluttering atop fabled Mt. Suribachi from his hospital ship. He would never forget the sight nor escape the pain of his wounds – he endured over twenty surgeries and carried some two hundred pieces of shrapnel in his body to his dying day.
5] A Tomb Called Iwo Jima – Dan King
This is an extraordinary historical record—a collection of accounts from a rare group: Of the more than 20,000 Japanese who fought on Iwo Jima, only a few hundred survived, and some of them spoke to King. Unlike other accounts of the Japanese at war in the Pacific, this book delves deep into the childhoods and pre-war lives of the combatants. It was said of the fighting on Iwo Jima that “uncommon valor was a common virtue.” That applied to both sides.
6] Strong Men Armed – Robert Leckie
To my mind, Robert Leckie was the finest writer to ever emerge from the Marine Corps. In this epic, he follows the fortunes of his fellow Marines from Guadalcanal all the way to the muddy killing fields of Okinawa. Leckie’s most celebrated book, Helmet for My Pillow, is one of the greatest books ever written about war and has long overshadowed this wonderful history by a writer/warrior lauded by the New York Times for possessing a “rare gift of capturing all that is human in the most inhuman of man's activities.”
7] War Without Mercy – John W. Dower
This is a must-read to understand the intensity of the fighting on Iwo Jima and, indeed, through most of the Pacific War. Dower is one of our finest living historians and a deserved winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for his wonderful book Embracing Defeat – A History of Japan in the Shadow of Defeat. This 1986 book showed for the first time how much racism played a part in fashioning the US and Japanese views of the enemy. Indeed, it’s an essential guide for any student of the Pacific War. Iwo Jima was a cauldron of immeasurable hatred stirred by misunderstanding, prejudice, and propaganda.
8] The Lions of Iwo Jima – Major General Fred Hayes and James A. Warren
Four thousand five hundred men belonged to Combat Team 28 when it landed on Iwo Jima on 19 February 1945. By the time the battle ended on 26 March, more than two-thirds of these men had been killed or seriously wounded. As one veteran remarked, “Each day, we learned a new way to die.” Co-author Major General Hayes was a Marine captain on Iwo Jima, one of the fortunate few officers to survive the battle. Therefore, this harrowing account hits home with great authenticity.
9] Iwo Jima 1945 – Derrick Wright
I have a bookshelf devoted to Osprey’s Campaign books. I’ve used many on battlefield tours, consulting their superb maps to find out exactly where and when big moments in WWII occurred. This volume includes striking illustrations by Jim Laurier and many National Archives photos. It’s a concise yet detailed chronicle and an excellent introduction to the battle and, if you’re not acquainted with the Osprey series, to the best-illustrated battle guides around.
10] Voices of the Pacific – Adam Makos with Marcus Brotherton
These two fine authors follow fifteen Marines from the 1st Marine Division, creating one of the best oral histories of WWII. Veterans like Sid Phillips, Chuck Tatum, and R.V. Burgin recount their odysseys, making for riveting reading. This is one of the last books of its kind – so few veterans are still with us. Thankfully, Makos and Brotherton have given voice to the amazing men who endured, fought, and never forgot – and who have died since this book was first published in 2014.
