Taking Midway: Naval Warfare, Secret Codes, and the Battle That Turned the Tide of World War II -- Martin Dugard, Hardcover

From Martin Dugard, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Bill O'Reilly's Killing series--with more than twelve million copies sold--comes a fast-paced, dramatic account of the famous yet little understood battle that turned the tide of World War II.

1942. Everywhere around the world, the Allies are losing the war. Nowhere is this felt more completely than in the Pacific, where Japanese sea and ground forces claim victory after victory. Singapore falls. Then the Philippines. The vaunted American Navy fights to a draw with the Japanese at the Battle of Coral Sea. America's lone moral victory is Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's bombing raid on Tokyo--though even that is tinged with tragedy as two crew members are shot down and beheaded.

Meanwhile in Honolulu, a brilliant young naval officer is determined to break Japan's top secret codes. Lt. Commander Joseph Rochefort is inches away from cracking the code by April. He is then startled to learn that the Japanese are planning yet another major invasion somewhere in the Pacific. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is planning to send four aircraft carriers to complete this task, in a bold attack that will be even larger than the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Rochefort's methods are unique and those in power in the US Navy find his data flawed. Simply, many don't believe him. The best mind in the US Navy believes the next big attack will come at New Guinea or Australia.

To prove himself, Rochefort must not only find the precise location but predict the date. What ensues is the cat-and-mouse adventure that will become the epic fight known as the Battle of Midway. Japan's Yamamoto will go toe-to-toe with American admirals Chester Nimitz, Jack Fletcher, and Raymond Spruance. The dramatic battle will involve strategy, luck, heartbreak--and will also change the course of World War II.

Author: Martin Dugard
Publisher: Dutton
Published: 05/20/2025
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780593473245

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 12/01/2024 pg. 12

About the Author
Martin Dugard is the New York Times bestselling author of several books of history, among them Taking London, Taking Paris, Taking Berlin, the Killing series, and The Explorers.