Every so often, the Admiral Nimitz Foundation and the National Museum of the Pacific War host authors of WWII books for author’s forms and booksignings. These events are always free to the public and books are available for purchase on site. They serve as a way for authors to promote their work as well as a way to keep people informed on the newest scholarship and literature dealing with WWII in the Pacific.
Recently we hosted Hugh Ambrose who talked about and signed his book, The Pacific, the companion to the HBO series. His book follows very closely the lives of five veterans who were there in the Pacific, “…instead of layering some oral histories onto a historical framework, I follow the lives of five veterans who, between them, experienced most of the key moments of the war,” wrote Ambrose. ‘The Pacific’ takes you from the beginning to end of the Pacific theater of WWII through the eyes of five men.
Just this last Saturday, John D. Lukacs was here discussing and signing his book, Escape from Davao. He dives into the untold story of ten American men, being held as POWs by the Japanese, making an escape from Davao Penal Colony in the Philippines. These men had all survived the Bataan Death March and were being held with Filipino criminals in what the Japanese thought was an inescapable facility. With the help of two Filipino inmates the escape was a success but the battle to tell their story would not end until long after they returned home after their daring getaway.
The afternoon of Memorial Day, May 31, at 2:00, author Bruce Gamble will be here with his new book, Fortress Rabaul. Rabaul was the headquarters for the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Southwest Pacific as well as the target for hundreds of missions by the American air forces. The island’s history from January 1942 to April 1943 is covered in Gamble’s latest book. The book has gotten great editorial reviews and we are really looking forward to having yet another exceptional writer to add to the list.
To stay updated on which authors are visiting the museum, check the website at www.PacificWarMuseum.org or become a fan of the National Museum of the Pacific War on Facebook. Also, the authors sign all remaining copies of their book we have on site and they are available for sale while supplies last at both the Bush Gallery Museum Store and the Nimitz Bookstore.
