Book Review: ‘When the Shooting Stopped: August 1945’

A detailed look at the end of the war in the Pacific

Sailors of the battleship U.S.S. Pennsylvania (BB-38) pump out water over her quarterdeck, after being torpedoed in Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on Aug. 12. Naval History and Heritage Command

Few subjects have been more dissected in article, essay, and book form than World War II. It is more than fitting that this should be the case for the largest conflict in world history.

Renowned historian Barrett Tillman has provided another dissection of the war. In his new book “When the Shooting Stopped: August 1945,” he presents what took place in the Pacific Theater during the final days of the war and shortly after Japan surrendered.

The Bomb and More

When it comes to the end of the war in the Pacific, one moment stands out (two, really): the dropping of the atomic bomb. Although there were many other events surrounding this major one, they’ve gotten shrouded in the debris and destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.