Helmet for My Pillow

This is a gripping tale of the battle in the Pacific during World War 2. It presents the experiences of single soldier, and the people who fought alongside him, but doesn't attempt to be a history book. There is little analysis of why he was placed in the battles he faces or what part they play in the war; it is the tale of what it means to fight - or wait to fight - inch-by-inch, island-by-island against an enemy whose driving force is a mystery but who is never anything more than another man.

This is by far the best book I've read on what it means to fight in a war. In some respects this is unexpected, since the war in the Pacific appears to have a far less clear narrative than, for example, the campaign in Normandy, however it does mean that the focus is more on what life was like for a soldier, which makes it a more personal, human story.