The last time I picked up a book on the Battle of Midway, it was Jon Parshall and Tony Tully's Shattered Sword. Considering Shattered Sword being very high regarded and enjoying nearly a "definitive" status, it sets quite a standard to those that follow.

With that said, I think, Peter C. Smith's Midway: Dauntless Victory may have just reached that high standard.

He adopted an approach where he presented all angles of the battle, American and Japanese, new findings and old (some proven wrong) theories. Take the misconception that the Japanese carriers' decks were packed full of aircraft for example, which had since been proven impossible by Jon Parshall and Tony Tully, he continued to express some of the American pilots' views from their recollections that they saw the Japanese decks busy with activity. "Who are we to deny them that memory, misguided or not?", Smith noted. He quoted Ray Wagner, noting that he was merely trying to write "impartially, without fear nor favor, as an historian should".

This review is published only in part on Amazon.com; for the entire review, please see my website, the World War II Database.
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Needless to say, this is a book that I will recommend.

The author seems mainly interested in showing he knows more detail of trivia than other authors on the battle. The book is poorly edited with footnotes on every page that are mainly biographies of every character mentioned. These should be in an appendix. Items that should be footnotes are carried in the text to such an extent that the ebb and flow of the battle is lost. He does have a few good points: the US carriers launched their planes too far from the enemy, and US subs were not a factor.

More than 60 years after the Battle of Midway, new books reveal truths and refute myths about the fight that changed the Pacific war's tide. In 2005, Parshall and Tully's Shattered Sword, raised our knowledge, and now we have a British history that analyzes that struggle with even more complete detail, and an objectivity that only an outsider could offer.

Biographies of nearly all the leaders and pilots are provided in more relevant detail and critical frankness than American publishers would dare. Most of the 97 photos of aircraft and men have not been seen before in books, and strong captions are grouped together for easy reference.

Very complete comparisons of aircraft and ships are provided, and descriptions of how Navy planes had to find their way to and from moving targets and ships may stun the GPS generation. Some readers may want to skip those details of the Zero's radio and arresting gear.

Especially valuable aircrew battle impressions often contradict each other, showing why an old war history axiom reminds us that someone actually present in a fight only sees what is in his view. Young people incompletely trained and in their first fight are likely to be mistaken, like those who said they saw Messerschmitts at Midway.

Many historians seem to be seduced by hindsight, not remembering that war success, as well as failure, comes from taking risks. Failure to understand the enemy frustrates many paper plans.

Technical errors happen; the SBD-3's twin flexible mounts were M-2. 30-caliber quickly put out in 1942. The twin .303 caliber mounts were RAF guns fitted to another Douglas bomber, the DB-7B. Computer keyboards caused confusion among B-24/25 and B-26A references.

Midway Dauntless Victory is the most useful single book about that air battle, since careful references and thorough operational comparisons make it possible to trace each issue to the source.

Ray Wagner - San Diego Air & Space Museum - March 27, 2008

This book reads like a novel if you ignore the voluminous footnotes and tables, and just follow the narrative. It is an exciting story about high level intrigue and inept command decisions that lead to a long list of tragic events, losses of life and aircraft.

As in any good historical novel the crisis is reached when all the inhabitants of the wagon train are about to be annihilated. Then the calvary gallops over the horizon to save the day. In this case it was the intrepid dive bombers who risked their lives to save the United States Navy's fleet and bring the story to a happy ending. It's a fun read if you just stick to the narrative. The rest is for history buffs.

A good novel begs for the sequel. I have read several books about the Battle of Midway but this is the first time I have found mention of the Navy's internal intrigue pre war and during the early days of WW II. Sounds like the Army's Billy Mitchell controversy trying to establish the power of aviation.

As the editor for an international association that is exclusively focused on the 1942 Battle of Midway, I was rather skeptical when I first learned that this book was in the works. My feeling was that trying to re-tell the entire story of the battle of Midway was pointless at this late date. A host of well-written books and occasionally credible video productions have covered the subject thoroughly and, for the most part, accurately enough.

Nonetheless, Peter Smith has managed to pull off the unexpected in producing an account of the battle that pretty much surpasses the scope of anything previously seen. The depth of his research and the total effort he put into the project are quite amazing. That said, one needs to be mindful of the book's subtitle, "Fresh Perspectives on America's Seminal Naval Victory of World War II." While Smith is indeed telling the full story of Midway and then some, he is also drawing upon his 38 years as a military author and researcher to present perspectives on the battle that aren't generally found in other works, particularly the earlier ones. Such perspectives, of course, are the author's personal opinions, and that's where his book becomes vulnerable.

To be sure, Smith's research is utterly awesome, so his stated perspectives are very well founded and should, for the most part, resonate well with almost anyone who does not have already have a very thorough knowledge of the subject. But for those who do, the book has several relatively minor misstatements of fact or interpretation that are subject to correction or at least debate. The good news, though, is that the debatable passages do not significantly detract from an immense body of work that, on balance, deserves to be ranked among the best Battle of Midway histories ever produced. Readers who can get past its occasionally arguable assertions and what appears to be an inordinate number of simple typographical errors should welcome it to their naval history libraries.

I'd actually give it four and a half stars here if I could, since its few shortcomings are enough to deny it an outstanding rating. But given its immense scope and depth of content, it does deserve to be included among the most thorough and therefore useful resources on Midway.

Captain N. J. "Dusty" Kleiss, USN Ret. (San Antonio, TX USA)

As a WWII dive bomber pilot flying an SBD in the USS Enterprise Scouting Six Squadron, I found Peter C. Smith's book to be the most compelling and accurate historical account of this battle to date. Smith brings numerous new facts to light as well as dispels previous misconceptions.
For example, as the book details, Smith sets the record straight on the bombing of the Kaga, Hiryu, and the Mikuma.
In each of those attacks, I was fourth to dive, and had a perfect view of the enemy. Apart from the Mikuma having some slight previous damage, none of those vessels had experienced any hit prior to the Scouting Six bombing.
Along with being a pictorial treasure, Smith's book is a great read for its numerous conversations with Americans and Japanese who were active before, during, and after this tide-turning WWII battle. Kudos to Smith for his correct historical capture and a job well done.

Capt. N. J. "Dusty" Kleiss, USN Ret.

Peter Smith's controversial research will evoke lively discussion among students of the Battle of Midway. The English historian's fresh view of the battle reviews the facts objectively and examines the international ramifications of the battle. His coverage of the world wide importance of Midway in setting the high tide of Axis expansion supports Robert Morgenthau's assertion in his Newsweek article that the State of Israel could not have been founded if the Japanese had been victorious at Midway.

The Dauntless dive bomber was the great equalizer to successfully destroy the four Japanese aircraft carriers during the famous aircraft battle of Midway, June 1942. The author, Peter C.Smith, has told the true and accurate story of the great dive-bomber with his gripping and vivid accounts of the navy carrier pilots that flew the Dauntless. As a Dauntless dive bomber pilot flying off the USS Hornet, through his book I relived my experiences during the three day battle.
CDR Clayton Fisher,USN (RET)

The Dauntless dive bomber was the great equalizer to successfully destroy the four Japanese aircraft carriers during the famous aircraft battle of Midway, June 1942. The author, Peter C.Smith, has told the true and accurate story of the great dive-bomber with his gripping and vivid accounts of the navy carrier pilots that flew the Dauntless. As a Dauntless dive bomber pilot flying off the USS Hornet, through his book I relived my experiences during the three day battle.
CDR Clayton Fisher,USN (RET)