In  The Battle of Midway , the author presents one of the most important naval battles of the Second World War—a clash that, in a remarkably unexpected way, altered the balance of power in the Pacific. The once-feared main striking force of the Japanese Empire was annihilated, and for the first time the initiative in the war passed into American hands. The book was written by Craig L. Symonds, a distinguished, retired professor of the United States Naval Academy and first pub