New York Times bestseller: The true story of the WWII naval battle portrayed in the Roland Emmerich film is “something special among war histories” (Chicago Sun-Times). Six months after Pearl Harbor, the seemingly invincible Imperial Japanese Navy prepared a decisive blow against the United States. After sweeping through Asia and the South Pacific, Japan’s military targeted the tiny atoll of Midway, an ideal launching pad for the invasion of Hawaii and beyond. But the US Navy would be waiting for them. Thanks to cutting-edge code-breaking technology, tactical daring, and a significant stroke of luck, the Americans under Adm. Chester W. Nimitz dealt Japan’s navy its first major defeat in the war. Three years of hard fighting remained, but it was at Midway that the tide turned. This “stirring, even suspenseful narrative” is the first book to tell the story of the epic battle from both the American and Japanese sides (Newsday). Miracle at Midway reveals how America won its first and greatest victory of the Pacific war—and how easily it could have been a loss.

This volume turns the corner from defeat to victory, beginning with the first of the great carrier actions of the war, the Battle of the Coral Sea. This is followed by a detailed account, the first to be written from Japanese as well as American sources, of the decisive Battle of Midway, and the Japanese thrust on the Aleutians, which ended with their occupation of Attu and Kiska. Part II, entitled "Submarine Actions", tells the little-known story of the "Silent Service", which courageously attacked Japanese shipping during the first year of the war.

A close-up look at the battle of Midway Island analyzes this crucial naval victory, which marked the turning point for the American fleet in the Pacific theater of World War II.