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Title: Too much detail and not enough context
Review: Okinawa 1945: The Last Battle (Campaign, 96)by Gordon Rottman is packed full of details concerning the Okinawa landings. If one wants to merely know about troop movements then this is the book for you. However, the battle was about more than troop movements. As, such Rottman's book seems sterile. This is especially true after reading Ospery's other books about the War in the Pacific, especially Iwo Jima and Tarawa.What is missing from the book is any context for the battle or any notion that men fought the battle. Okinawa was the last major battle of the War and resulted in a devesting loss of life. Rottman cites the statistics, but in order to understand the battle mere statistics are insufficient. The Ospery format certainly limits the ability of Rottman to move beyond the basics of the battle. However, the books on Iwo Jima and Tarawa prove that it can be done.
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