Editor Bresnahan, a broadcast journalist, unites about 30 military historians, veterans, and US Navy analysts to ponder alternate scenarios of the Pacific War during 1941-1945. In chapters on decisive battles and key turning points, such as Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, and Iwo Jima, the various contributors weigh in on what would've happened if events had taken a different turn and what the long term consequences would have been. There is special focus on the first year of the war. Contributors also wonder whether the war was inevitable and whether it could have been won without the atomic bomb. An introduction by a retired Japanese vice admiral gives a perspective of the Japanese side of the war. Bresnahan has written other alternative history books. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)