Col. Joseph Alexander does a great job in analyzing the battle in tremendous detail. The strategic developments leading to the battle are presented in sufficient detail to get a feeling for why the battle occurred.Both the American and Japanese sides are presented (the Japanese record, of course, being mostly lost) which combine to make the story even more interesting. While some personal stories are told, the focus is on the tactical events of the battle.There are sufficient maps to refer to during the course of the story telling. The obligatory photos are also present.**Buy this book: if you are interested in the human drama of the bloody island campaigns; would like to study the tactical details of the battle.***Don't buy this book: if you are interested in more of the strategic picture; don't want too much detail of the battle; are bored by the drama of the island campaigns.