"The Pacific," by Hugh Ambrose, is the Official Companion Guide to HBO's Explosive New Miniseries

Hugh Ambrose, son of the late historian Stephen Ambrose who wrote the book “Band of Brothers,” joined Imus today to discuss his book, The Pacific, about the Pacific campaigns during World War II. Beginning this Sunday, HBO will air a 10-part miniseries of the same name, for which Ambrose’s book is the official companion guide.

The Pacific starts with the first pitched battle between the U.S. and Japan at Guadalcanal in 1942. From there, it follows American servicemen through jungles and coral atolls; from the fierce fighting at Iwo Jima to the battle at Okinawa in 1945.

“It is encompassing this great, vast, complex war we call the Pacific,” said Ambrose.

The Pacific theatre of war during World War II receives less attention than the European one, providing Ambrose and miniseries producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks the opportunity to take the audience to unfamiliar places.

Guadalcanal, for instance, was “a vortex” in which the U.S. Navy, as well as its pilots and Marines, all took part. “It’s a huge and important campaign in stopping the Japanese from coming down the Pacific rim and dominating Australia,” said Ambrose.

But the conditions in that part of the world were a fiercer enemy to the United States than Japan. “We lost a lot more guys to malaria than we ever did to the Japanese,” he added.

As the war went on, American troops developed a deep-seated hatred of the Japanese, triggered by the attacks at Pearl Harbor but perpetuated for other reasons.

“Later in the war, as it becomes clear that we are going to win and Japan is going to lose, the Japanese will still wait, wounded, on the battlefield until a Marine approaches before detonating a grenade,” Ambrose said.  “They do that because they want to kill themselves. But they want to kill one or two more Marines with them.”

To counter this tactic, U.S. troops shot everybody lying on the battlefield, causing many to struggle with their own humanity.  “It’s a very dark ending,” said Ambrose.

Traveling around the Pacific, Ambrose learned just how widespread the hatred had been for the Japanese. Standing in front of a memorial for the war dead in the Philippines, the Filipino Ambassador told him that as far as they were concerned, the few hundred thousand killed by the atomic bombs in Japan “got off easy,” compared to the lasting effects of Japanese occupation and warfare in The Philippines.

“It certainly puts a new spin on what was at stake in the Pacific, why the U.S. had to win,” said Ambrose.

While the great courage of the United States and its allies won that war, Ambrose believes it is this country’s compassion that won the peace. “Japan is our great ally, and as we face the challenges of the 21st century, that is the kind of benchmark, that is the kind of leadership that the U.S. is capable of,” he said.

The Pacific miniseries is seven years in the making, and has received tremendous reviews across the board for its realistic portrayal of the war there, leading Imus to conclude, “It’ll be a little better than a movie of the week on Country Music Television.”

-Julie Kanfer