The Silver Waterfall is much more than a book, it’s an immersive experience. Author Kevin Miller thrusts the reader into the cockpits of WWII bombers and fighters during the Battle of Midway to feel every incoming shot from enemy ships, every exploding anti-aircraft shell and every enemy fighter trying to gain position to blow you out of the sky. Even better, the reader gets to experience these sensations from both the American and Japanese sides of the war, bringing a higher level of humanity and moral ambiguity to the battles that you wouldn’t get from reading only about the American side of the story.
What makes this book so compelling can be summed up in one word: perspective. In addition to the book providing viewpoints from both countries in the Battle of Midway, it also does a brilliant job of telling the story from different levels of the military. The book follows Admirals, XOs, COs, fighter pilots, bomber pilots and gunners. Each character has a different role and a different take on the mission and the war. By providing insight into different levels of the military within the context of one major battle, the reader gets a richer experience through holistic storytelling that allows you to piece together the bigger picture.
And the coup de grâce – this book is historical fiction. The events and characters are real. The experiences are real. The damage to planes, ships and people are real. In fact, the individuals in the book have life stories that either end in the waters of the Pacific Ocean or continue on for many years (the author shares the stories of major surviving characters after the war). It takes a lot of talent to utilize real characters and a real battle, add in tons of research and flying acumen, then add fictionalized context on what each character feels and does. But Kevin Miller does it quite impressively.
I highly recommend The Silver Waterfall to fiction and non-fiction fans alike. It’s a fantastic WWII story about a pivotal battle that we’ve all learned about in history class, but provides a unique perspective that I found fascinating and believe you will too.
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