Return to Midway
by Robert D. Ballard, Rick Archbold

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Book Reviews of Return to Midway

Book Review: A first class account of another famous ship.
Summary: 5 Stars

Just as soon as I took delivery of "Return to Midway" I was aware I was a holding a 5 Star Book and there was nothing contained within it's 190 pages to make me take away any of those stars. On the contrary, I could so easily have added stars for the factual detail, the readable style of writing, the photography and undoubtedly the artwork. But, in the same way as 5 stars are the most that can be awarded to either a military Generals or an hotel, so 5 stars are the most I could possibly allot to this particular book - and each one is thoroughly well deserved.

As the name suggests, this book is about the author's return to Midway - the scene of one of the fiercest naval battles of WW2. In what has become his customary style, Dr Ballard skilfully takes the reader through his own journey towards his eventual goal whilst giving an accurate account of the Battle of Midway itself. In so doing, he treats us to historic facts, memories from some of those who were there (Americans and Japanese), documents, maps, historic photographs and his own photography which are all combined to produce a story which is as complete as it should be.

The greatest loss on the US side during the battle was the 19,900 ton Aircraft Carrier USS Yorktown - and Ballard's discovery of this wreck almost 3 miles down on the seabed is as great a discovery as either the Titanic or the Bismarck.

Having found this famous and yet elusive ship so deep, the author has again skilfully put together the most complete account of his search, discovery and final success. The various underwater photographs of the ship are then cleverly matched with a description of what the reader is looking at coupled with a photograph of that particular view from when the ship was afloat.

As I have said before when reviewing this man's work; As I know from researching and writing about lesser ships, he really has done the most thorough job of work on all fronts.

Once again, the book's front cover shows the artwork of Ken Marschall. From thousands of photographic images taken far below the surface, montage after montage of the various sections and profiles of the USS Yorktown were created so that Mr Marschall was able to provide us with a number of paintings which are every bit as accurate as a colour photograph.

I congratulate Dr Ballard on yet another excellent and professional job of work. Once again he has succeeded where others only dream.

NM

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