Great historical nonfiction read! Highly recommend it to fans of the genre and those looking to expand their reading circle. Purchasing for library.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't know of another biography of Wade McClusky, a key figure at the Battle of Midway. But the book is not an in-depth biography of McCluskey. It goes on a lot of tangents, especially during World War Two.

A very captivating story about dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky and how by his steadfast action and patience turned the tide of the war by locating the Japanese fleet. The author mentions numerous times how he should have been acknowledged, more and given more credit for finding the Japanese fleet. This point I got the first few times he mentions it but the author repeats this many, many times in the book and does take away from what actually is a good book. What I believe the author was wanting to do was show how valuable he was to the entire battle and debunk other historians who have said that McClusky should not have been leading his squadron that day or how he missed when releasing his bomb. His group though sunk two carriers and after his miss, the pilots after him had a better alignment for the release of their bombs.
What should be noted is the author speaks about how the Japanese left carriers back in Japan thinking they would not need them. Also, he talks about how Pearl was already in the rebuilding stage and rushed to put a carrier back out with men working around the clock. This would be the beginning of the change that the Japanese did not foresee. The Imperial Navy suffered a great loss that day for the pilots they lost were not replaced. Their experience was far greater than the Americans, but now with the loss of planes and men, the war would begin to change slowly. Overall a good book.

I have read a lot of books on what was the beginning of the end for the Japanese in the Pacific, but this is the first I have ever read that focuses on LCDR Wade McClusky, who led the SBD Dauntless squadrons flying off the carrier USS Enterprise - and the man who single-handedly may have turned the tide of war in the Pacific by choosing to follow a hunch....a hunch that would leave the cream of the Japanese navy burning hulks,

Half biography half history, Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway is a fascinating read. There have been many books written about that 1942 battle, but the inclusion of the Wade McClusky details made this book from David Rigby all the more impressive. Mr Rigby made the experience come alive for me and I appreciated his conversational tone. His dedication to research is obvious and I think this book deserves a place on any library shelf.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.

A rousing account of the memorable and unforgettable exploits of Lt Cdr C. Wade McClusky in the Battle of Midway. What makes this work of David Rigby stand out is his attempt to provide the late McClusky the greatness and honour which he so richly deserves. Even though it may come as a surprise the exploits of Wade McClusky have not only been relegated to the confines of obscurity (unfairly so), he has also been accused by some historians of miscalculating and botching up dive bombing techniques (even more unfairly so according to Mr. Rigby). Hence "Wade McClusky and the Battle of Midway is an endeavour to set the record straight whilst calling a spade nothing other than a spade.

On the 4th of June, 1942 McClusky piloting a Doubglas SPD-3 Dauntless Dive Bomber was soaring along at 19,000 ft. He was heading two squadrons of USS Enterprise dive bombers, Scouting Six (VS-6) and Bombing Six (VB -6). The 33 aircrafts with their payloads were in a position to wreak havoc on the Japanese aircraft carriers patrolling the Pacific. However McClusky and his squadrons had a problem, they were running perilously low on fuel. But there was yet another problem which made the fuel shortage seem like a tolerable fly in an otherwise powerful ointment - the Japanese were nowhere to be seen in the vast, wide expanse of the blue Ocean.

What happened next would singularly change the course of not only the Battle of Midway but the arc of history itself. Instead of heading back south as nine out of ten pilots would have done, for a badly needed refuel and a renewal of the scouting mission, McClusky in an act of sheer tactical genius turned North anticipating that a slowly moving Japanese fleet would be floating in the northern direction of the Pacific. This ingenious and lateral thinking was what made historian Gordon Prange to write of McClusky, "What he brought to his job was a gift for command, composed in equal parts of personal fearlessness and ability to feed unexpected data into his brain cells and click out a prompt intelligent answer."

The heroics of McClusky can be gauged by this incredulous fact. To quote Mr. Rigby, As of 10.00 a.m on the morning of June 4, 1942, after six months of war, the United States was losing the war in the Pacific. One half hour later, at 10.30 a.m on June 4, 1942, the United States was winning." A ten minute attack that commenced at 10.20 a.m by dive bombing aircraft from both the USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown decimated the three formidable Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Kaga and Soryu into smouldering wrecks leaving only Hiryu to continue the war efforts, an examination which never succeeded.

Mr. Rigby embellishes the feat of Wade McClusky in his racy work and in the process restores the War hero to the highest pedestal of honour, a place where he deservingly belongs.

Thanks to NetGalley and Osprey Publishing for allowing me to read this prerelease digital book in exchange for an impartial review. I really wanted to like this book. I agree with the author that McCluskey was an American hero and played a key role in not only winning the Battle of Midway, but in turning the tide of the war in the Allies favor. I enjoyed reading about Wade McCluskey’s early life and his days at the Naval Academy. I was fascinated by his role in the Battle of Midway, when as the aircraft carrier Enterprise's air group commander he made the critical tactical decision that led to the sinking of two of Japan's fleet carriers, Kaga and Akagi. When McClusky could not find the Japanese carriers where he expected them, and with his air group's fuel running dangerously low, he spotted the Japanese destroyer Arashi steaming north at flank speed. (The Arashi had stayed behind to attack the submarine USS Nautilus, which had been harassing the Japanese fleet.) Surmising that the Arashi must be following the main fleet, McClusky ordered a change in course to follow the Arashi. This led him directly to the enemy carriers. He then directed his dive-bombers into an attack which led to the destruction of both Kaga and Akagi. A squadron from the Yorktown had taken off an hour later, but it used a more recent, and hence more accurate sighting for the location of the Japanese carriers. It arrived at the same moment as the Enterprise's bombers and attacked the Soryu, and within minutes, three of the four Japanese carriers had been turned into burning hulks. All of that was great, but unfortunately rather than dwelling on the McCluskey’s accomplishments and the battle action, the author seemed obsessed with other historians’ critical comments. For example, some recent historians have criticized McCluskey’s lack of experience with dive bombers as leading to errors in judgement. This is because McCluskey had only been promoted to air group commander one month earlier and before that had been a fighter pilot. He had switched to dive bombers upon his promotion. The author does a good job of disputing their claim by describing McCluskey’s extensive fight training hours in all types of aircraft including fighters, dive bombers and torpedoes bombers. He was in fact one of the most experienced pilots in the Navy at that time. The problem is the author refuses to let it go and argues the point over and over throughout the book. He also spends a great deal of time and repetition over other historians’ criticism of McCluskey’s decision as to which carrier to attack first and whether it conformed to dive bomber doctrine. The fact is his group sunk the two carriers they attacked so all the discussion of which should have come first is moot. But the author returns to this over and over. This would have been a much better book had the author concentrated on telling the story of McCluskey and the Battle of Midway and devoted one chapter to correcting criticisms and misstatements concerning McCluskey’s actions. His repeated rants ruined the narrative flow of the book for me.

Wade McClusky is an unsung hero from WWII. He was the commanding officer/Pilot of two squadron's of SBD Dive Bombers who found the Japanese Fleet on June 4, 1942 and pressed a surprise attack that sank three of the four Japanese Aircraft Carriers at Midway.

McClusky received high praise from the Navy and even the President of the United States. He was credited with changing the course of the war in the Pacific with the Japanese. But he hasn't always received the honors that he deserves from historians. Some historians felt he did not have a good sense of Dive Bomber tactics. But how can you argue with a man who lead the attack that sunk three of Japan's major air craft carriers and turned the tide of the battle of Midway?

David Rigby doesn't just give you a blow by blow of a "ten minute battle" that changed the war. Instead he gives you the background of who McClusky was and how he earned his "wings" and the gratitude of a nation, even though they didn't really understand what he did.

I found the book completely captivating. I finished it in two days reading. I couldn't put it down because of the intrigue of not just the Battle of Midway but the documentation of the founding of Naval Air Warfare and air craft carriers. This is a great history book that gives a great background into something that more American's should read and understand.

I hope you enjoy it.