This classic Images of War book covers the dramatic events that befell both the Gilbert and Ellis Pacific island groups using a wealth of well-captioned photos and informed text. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the Gilbert Islands were occupied by the Japanese who built a seaplane base at Butaritari.

Born in 1954 in Sheffield, England, JIM MORAN lives in Yorkshire with his wife and daughter. Following a grammar school education, Jim has had a forty-year-long career as a civil engineering surveyor working on major highway and airbase construction projects, both in the UK and overseas. Jim has been a student of the history of the United States Marine Corps, massing a huge collection over the past forty years. He has assisted Hollywood productions on uniform and equipment details for Flags of our Fathers, The Pacific (HBO mini-series) and Windtalkers. Jim is an associate member of the Second Marine Division Association, US Marine Raider Association, Marine Corps Association, and US Marine Corps League as well as being the 'on-board ' historian to the US Marine Corps League, Det 1088 (UK).