Author Description

Examines intelligence operations in the Pacific War, showing how espionage and codebreaking shaped outcomes. Across the Pacific is a comprehensive history of intelligence in the war between the United States and Japan—how it was gathered, interpreted, and at times fatally ignored. Drawing on decades of research and newly translated Japanese sources, the book examines both American and Japanese intelligence operations across every Pacific theater, including the often-overlooked China–Burma–India front. It explores the rise of Japanese militarism and espionage, the U.S. struggle to understand its adversary, and the decisive intelligence battles that shaped the Pacific War—from Pearl Harbor to Midway, Guadalcanal, and the Philippines, through the submarine and bombing campaigns that brought Japan to defeat. The narrative traces both sides’ evolving use of signals intelligence, codebreaking, and counterintelligence, revealing successes, failures, and missed warnings that influenced the course of the conflict. Rich with maps, photos, and original analysis, Across the Pacific illuminates the shadow war of information that underpinned the Pacific’s epic struggle. Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgements Terms and Acronyms PART ONE: THE ROAD TO WAR Introduction 1. The Rise of Japanese Militarism 2. The Road to War 3. Japan’s Spying on Adversaries 4. Russian Espionage Against Japan 5. Evolving US Intelligence 6. The Decisions for War and Attack, Pearl Harbor, and More PART TWO: WAR ACROSS THE PACIFIC 7. America Reacts 8. The Battles of Coral Sea and Midway 9. Learning to Fight: The Solomons Campaign, 1942–44 10. MacArthur’s Southwest Pacific Campaign 11. The Island-Hopping Campaign 12. China, Burma, India Theater PART III: VICTORY AND DEFEAT 13. Strangling the Empire 14. The Final Campaign—Intelligence and the Invasion of the Home Islands and the A-Bomb Decision 15. After the Fighting Appendix A. Douglas MacArthur Appendix B. Dramatis Personae Appendix C. Principal