How Long to Read Across the Dark Islands

How Long Does it Take to Read Across the Dark Islands?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 38 minutes to read Across the Dark Islands by Floyd W. Radike

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

ACROSS THE DARK ISLANDS The War in the Pacific Floyd W. Radike Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.) “I remember sitting in a foxhole on Guadalcanal in the rain. The sergeant I shared the hole with shook his head and asked me: ‘What in the hell are we doing on this godforsaken island? Why don’t we let the Japs keep this stinking rock?’ I didn’t have an answer.” The war in the Pacific has never been portrayed more honestly—or in prose more powerful—than in Across the Dark Islands. In this unflinching account, Brig. Gen.Floyd W. Radike remembers how he started his military career in the mud and mayhem of Guadalcanal, fighting a campaign as crucial to the war’s outcome as it was chaotic and cruel. Here is no whitewashed view of that war or the men who waged it. Here instead is the sobering story of a junior officer in a National Guard unit suddenly shipped off to the front lines, disdained by “regular army” elitists who served beside him, and given second-class status so that others could earn headlines and promotions. While struggling to survive amid dirt and disease, routine and monotony, Radike endured harrowing missions incompetently, arrogantly, or just impatiently planned. As no book ever has, Across the Dark Islands reveals shocking details removed from myth and sentimentality: how American commanders were intimidated by the Japanese stereotype of fearlessness, night attacks, and cries of “banzai” . . . how imitations of John Wayne heroics caused immediate death . . . threats of court-martial quieted accusations of Army injustice . . . and panic and flight destroyed a fight for the enemy’s Munda Field airstrip, an event that “disappeared from the record and appears in no official history.” Emerging from the hellish conditions and military miscalculations is a tribute to common sense, courage, and respect for proper procedure, attributes that would help the author and soldiers like him to save their lives, succeed in battle, and win the war. From Guadalcanal to the Philippines to a planned invasion of Japan ended by the atom bomb, General Radike’s experience spanned the entire course of the pivotal Pacific theater conflict. Candid and cautionary, his memoir is an important work whose writing rivals that of classic novels like James Jones’s The Thin Red Line and Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead. It should be read by anyone looking to join an army or wage a war.

How long is Across the Dark Islands?

Across the Dark Islands by Floyd W. Radike is 274 pages long, and a total of 69,596 words.

This makes it 92% the length of the average book. It also has 85% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Across the Dark Islands Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 20 minutes to read Across the Dark Islands aloud.

What Reading Level is Across the Dark Islands?

Across the Dark Islands is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Across the Dark Islands?

Across the Dark Islands by Floyd W. Radike is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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