HBO Series — THE PACIFIC
Coming in March is a ten-part HBO series, The Pacific, the follow-up to Band of Brothers. It debuts on March 14th, continuing on Sundays through May 16. Like Band of Brothers, it is produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
The series interweaves the stories of real-life Marines who were involved in various parts of the war and is based on two first-person accounts; Robert Leckie’s Helmet for My Pillow and Eugene B. Sledge’s With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. A companion book, The Pacific: Hell Was an Ocean Away, is coming out on 3/2.
Official Web site: HBO.com/The-Pacific
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Trade; 9781400110506; 9 Audio CD; $34.99Library; 9781400140503; 9 Audio CD; $69.99MP3; 9781400160501; 1 MP3-CD; $24.99
eBook available from OverDrive
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ebook available from OverDrive
An earlier paperback edition notes in a burst on the cover that it was “used by Ken Burns for The War on PBS.”
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In addition, two new titles have been published about the third major figure in the series, John Basilone.
Hero of the Pacific is the final book by James Brady, known for his books about the military, who died shortly after the book was published. Basilone, “Manila John,” is from Raritan, New Jersey where the library has a small museum honoring Sergeant Basilone. Library Director Mary Paese told Wiley Public Library rep Trudy Lindsey (who writes the newsletter Trudy’s News and Views) that the author did some of his research there. HBO will hold a special screening of the series at the libray.
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Oasis Audio; UNABR; 9781598595970; $29.99
Audio and ebook available from OverDrive
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In addition, St. Martins is publishing an authorized biography of Basilone. The Web site outlines his short and amazing life,
Sgt. John Basilone held off 3,000 Japanese troops at Guadalcanal after his 15-member unit was reduced to three men. At Iwo Jima he single-handedly destroyed an enemy blockhouse, allowing his unit to capture an airfield. Minutes later he was killed by an enemy artillery round.
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The series is likely to bring interest in other books about the war in the Pacific. Newmarket is re-releasing one about the sinking of the Japanese battleship, the Yamamato, told from both the American and the Japanese points of view.
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