I Will Run Wild: The Pacific War from Pearl Harbor to Midway

(Bloomsbury Publishing, 320 pages, $21.99)

In I Will Run Wild, Cleaver expertly captures the strained relationship between the U.S. and Japan prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. During 1941, Japan attacked and occupied French Indochina territories forcing President Roosevelt to place sanctions on Japan. On August 17, 1941, President Roosevelt warned Japan that the U.S. is prepared to take action if “neighboring countries” were attacked. By November of the same year, the USS Enterprise departed Pearl Harbor on a search mission for Japanese vessels, Admiral Halsey gave his crew the

order to shoot first, argue later. Yet, no one was expecting to engage in battle. And then, on the high seas, they were attacked.

The Japanese were better equipped, their fighter planes and battleships were unmatched. They outmaneuvered the U.S. in almost every battle. One soldier recalled the attack being “perfect”. Another recounted: “Planes were blowing up and there was smoke and fire everywhere. Our anti-aircraft defenses were pathetic.” But when the news that Pearl Harbor was attacked hit, every soldier knew that their plans had changed.

I Will Run Wild recounts America’s war against Japan from the moments leading up to the dramatic attack on Pearl Harbor to the pivotal and triumphant battle at Midway.