Storm over Leyte

The Philippine Invasion and the Destruction of the Japanese Navy

By: John Prados

Narrated by: Ricard Ferrone

Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of the Battle of Leyte Gulf in World War II - the greatest naval battle in history.

As Allied ships prepared for the invasion of the Philippine island of Leyte, every available warship, submarine, and airplane was placed on alert while Japanese admiral Kurita Takeo stalked Admiral William F. Halsey's unwitting American armada. It was the beginning of the epic Battle of Leyte Gulf - the greatest naval battle in history.

In Storm over Leyte, acclaimed historian John Prados gives listeners an unprecedented look at both sides of this titanic naval clash, demonstrating that despite the Americans' overwhelming superiority in firepower and supplies, the Japanese achieved their goal, inflicting grave damage on US forces. And for the first time, listeners will have access to the naval intelligence reports that influenced key strategic decisions on both sides.

Drawing upon a wealth of untapped sources - US and Japanese military records, diaries, declassified intelligence reports, and postwar interrogation transcripts - Prados offers up a masterful narrative of naval conflict on an epic scale.

©2016 John Prados (P)2016 Recorded Books

Very good book

Book has a lot of details about Japanese admirals and naval war doctrine. Only problem was a lot of admiral, ship and I port names in Japanese and some times hard to keep up with. Book explains why things happened and each side’s wins and mistakes.

Greatest Naval Battle Ever!

Storm Over Leyte brings this story back to life and as each event unfolds from both sides you experience the battle from preparation to conclusion.

This book's a must for anyone who enjoys naval history, in particular WW II action as the Americans battle the Japanese for domination of the Pacific.

Needless to say my interest level was high because my father was at Leyte aboard the California. This old Battleship had been sunk at Pearl, raised, modernized and was now back in action.

You'll learn about the key players on both sides along with the successful strategy that brought victory to one side and revealed heroism on both sides.

Lastly you'll learn more details about the dreaded weapon that included both plane and pilot, the kamikaze.

Too much minutiae

There was a lot of information here that could have been left out and still make for a good history of ww 2.
I also found that readers pronunciation of many words diminished the listening quality.

excellent!!

Learned things I didn't previously know. great listening. found the narrator to be well verse on ship name pronunciation.

great book, mediocre reader

reader's smoker's voice is annoying and his japanese leaves much to be desired. the book, however. is awesome.

Good history book, bad choice for audio book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is not really a good choice for an Audiobook. There are tons of small details about process and personalities and lots of players, but hard to keep track of them all, especially the IJN without a scorecard or something. I've read several books about this battle and things leading up to it and still had a hard time keeping this author's details straight in my head while listening.

What other book might you compare Storm over Leyte to and why?

It kept reminding me of "Shattered Sword" about the battle of Midway. Tons of small details and lots of Japanese names and places and process. Good if you are a student of history trying to really get a feel for the whole thing, but difficult to read more than a little at a time.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Ricard Ferrone?

Perhaps. This is a rather dry, detailed history, all written past tense, passive voice, so it's not fair to rate the narrator overall on this one piece.

Could you see Storm over Leyte being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Cannot imagine as film or TV. Would have to be a mini-series of 10-15 hours or so.

Any additional comments?

This book is really for the student of naval history, not for someone interested in the battles themselves. The battles take up only the last 1/4 of the book. "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" by James Hornfischer is much better on the battles and is good in print or audio. Even the Samuel Eliot Morison book "Leyte Gulf" is more interesting and accessible.

Potential lost

This could easily be a great book and a great listen. However, the author somehow managed to make one of favorite topics extremely dry, and then they topped it off by putting one of the most monotone and boring narrators I've ever heard to read it. Couldn't finish it. Literally the only audio book thats ever put me asleep at the wheel. Such a great topic turned out so terrible. Sad

Awesome!

A Very Definitive account of the Greatest Naval Battle in History! You can never get enough facts about this battle but this one sure does pack a lot of them! 5 Stars all the way around!

Excellent

Very informative. Good production. Good story
Enjoyed listening to the history of this naval battle

A Little Too Monotone

If you could sum up Storm over Leyte in three words, what would they be?

No comment

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not a book to determine favorites

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Reader seemingly not well versed on pronunciation of Japanese names

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Not a book that could easily be made into a film

Any additional comments?

The above questions are not very relevant to this type of book