One account, 1922–1945
From the treaty fleet and Fleet Problems through Pearl Harbor, the carrier war, the drive west, Leyte Gulf, Okinawa, and surrender.
The United States Navy in the Pacific, 1922–1945
The Ruthless Pacific
The battles are remembered. The question underneath them is whether there was a fleet at that place on that date — fueled, armed, repaired, and led well enough to be there at all. This book is that account, 1922–1945.
$39 · Instant download · 30-day money-back guarantee
From the team behind Naval High Command WW2 on YouTube.
46chapters
181,000narrative words
2,198endnotes
117archival photographs
The book
What this history covers
The battles are here, but so are the decisions, systems, and people that determined what the fleet could do.
The fleet behind the battles
Command, intelligence, fuel, repair, torpedoes, shipyards, racial segregation, and the personnel who kept the Navy operating across the Pacific.
Claims readers can trace
The narrative is tied to 2,198 endnotes drawn from action reports, war diaries, deck logs, dispatches, and published scholarship.
Look inside
See the actual book
These are pages from the delivered PDF: the complete contents, a representative chapter page, and the opening of the endnotes.
Buy the book — $39
Three DRM-free files · Instant download
Contents
Four chronological parts
The Gathering Storm
The treaty fleet, Fleet Problems, Pearl Harbor, the early raids and Coral Sea.
The Knife Edge
Midway, Guadalcanal, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and the South Pacific command.
The Machine
Torpedoes, fleet logistics, the Messman Branch, Tarawa, the Marshalls and the Philippine Sea.
The Reckoning
Port Chicago, Leyte Gulf, the typhoons, Okinawa, Indianapolis and the end of the war.
Forty-six chapters across the four parts, plus prologue, epilogue, bibliography, glossary, three appendices, and officer and ship references. The full table of contents is in Look inside.
Research
Sources kept visible
The book is built from action reports, war diaries, deck logs, dispatches, and published scholarship.
The notes distinguish a document from a reproduction and from a secondary account. When figures disagree, the basis for each figure is stated instead of silently choosing one.
- Action reports
- War diaries
- Deck logs
- Dispatches
- Published histories
- 2,198endnotes
- 171works cited
- 67articles cited
- 3appendices
What a reader said
★★★★★
Impressive work with careful citation. Well done. Very readable and well-organized.
Purchase options
And a second book, free
Buy The Ruthless Pacific for $39 and US Command in Color comes with it, free — a separate 526-page visual volume that sells on its own for $29. All files are DRM-free and delivered immediately through Gumroad.
The Ruthless Pacific
$39
The 753-page PDF plus the EPUB edition. And US Command in Color, 526 pages — free with your order.
- 46 chapters in four parts
- 117 archival photographs
- 2,198 endnotes
- PDF + EPUB
- Free: US Command in Color, 526 pages
US Command in Color is a visual gallery of generative colour interpretations of archival photographs. It is not a colour edition of The Ruthless Pacific.
Buy the book — $39
Read it first. Decide after.
Buy it, download all three files, read as much as you want. If it is not what you expected, ask for a refund within 30 days and you get your money back. No form, no questions — just reply to the Gumroad receipt.
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- Secure checkout by Gumroad
Before you buy
Practical details
What files do I receive?
Three files: the 753-page The Ruthless Pacific PDF, its EPUB edition, and the separate 526-page US Command in Color PDF. Every file is DRM-free.
Which devices can I use?
The EPUB works with Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, most ebook readers, and Amazon Send to Kindle. The fixed-layout PDF is best on a tablet or desktop.
Can I see inside before buying?
Yes. The Look inside section shows real pages from the delivered PDF — the complete table of contents, a chapter page with an archival photograph, and the opening of the endnotes. Every page opens at full size.
How is it delivered?
Gumroad provides the files immediately after purchase. Save them to your own devices; there is no subscription or expiry.
What is the refund policy?
The Ruthless Pacific has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Ask within 30 days and you get your money back.
Is US Command in Color a color edition?
No. It is a separate visual gallery of generative interpretations based on archival photographs—not authentic or restored period color, and not a color edition of The Ruthless Pacific.
Who we are
Signal Press
The team behind Naval High Command WW2 researches, writes, and publishes its military-history books through Signal Press.