This volume is the fifth in Admiral Morison's history to deal with naval actions in the Pacific, and the seventh in his History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. It picks up operations in the Aleutians where they were broken off after the Battle of Midway and carries them through the capture of Attu and Kiska, including the Battle of the Komandorskis.
The two great amphibious operations covered in this volume are the recovery of the Gilbert Islands and the conquest of the Marshalls. Captain Morison, who took part in Operation "Galvanic," describes in great detail the planning, preparation and execution of the assaults on Makin and Tarawa, with a frank discussion of the mistakes.
The narrative then swings into the Marshalls campaign of early 1944, the most brilliant, massive and successful amphibious operation of the war up to that year.
There are several amusing interludes to these grim operations -- how the Japanese fooled us in the evacuation of Kiska, the occupation of Abemama with its R. L. Stevenson associations, and the taking of minor Marshall islands by small squads of Marines under junior officers.