Fading Victory: The Diary of Admiral Matome Ugaki, 1941-1945

Matome Ugaki was chief of staff of the Combined Fleet under admiral Isoroku Yamamoto until both were shot down over Bougainville on April 18, 1943, resulting in Yamamoto's death. Following his recovery from injuries sustained in the incident, Ugaki commanded a battleship division and later directed the kamikaze attacks against U.S. forces off Okinawa. His diary, augmented by clarifying editorial commentary, is historically invaluable because it provides intimate day-to-day glimpses of the Imperial Navy at war, along with then-admiral Ugaki's running appraisal of the fighting. The journal ends abruptly on August 15, 1945, when Ugaki, staggered by news of Japan's surrender, departed on an airborne suicide attack against the Americans and was lost at sea. Goldstein and Dillon coauthored with Gordon Prange At Dawn We Slept . Photos not seen by PW. (Aug.)