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Here's a spot on the companion book. Hugh Ambrose will appear to discuss his new book at the Pritzker Military Library.

Hugh Ambrose

THE PACIFIC

Member Reception - 5:00pm cst - On Thursday, April 15th

Presentation & Live Webcast - 6:00pm cst

By the end of the war, their chests were covered in medals of valor. To a man, they had paid an extremely high price for each and every one.

On Thursday, April 15th, Hugh Ambrose will appear at the Pritzker Military Library to discuss his new book, The Pacific, which is the official companion volume to the HBO miniseries of the same name. This event is free and open to the public. The presentation will begin at 6:00 p.m., preceded by a reception for Library members at 5:00 p.m. It will also be webcast live and recorded for later broadcast on WYCC-TV/Channel 20.

Produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Gary Goetzmann, the team behind the award-winning 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, The Pacific follows the intertwined journeys of three Marines — Robert Leckie, Eugene Sledge, and Medal of Honor recipient "Manila John" Basilone — from their first battles on Guadalcanal, through the rain forests of Cape Gloucester and the strongholds of Peleliu, across the bloody sands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and finally home.

The companion book adds the stories of their fellow Marines Sidney Phillips and Austin "Shifty" Shofner, along with Navy carrier pilot Vernon "Mike" Micheel. Through them, Ambrose widens the scope of The Pacific to include Bataan and the Battle of Midway, from the hardships endured in POW camps to a dive bomber's first, nerve-shattering experience of aerial combat. Drawn from the men's military records, letters, journals, and photographs, Ambrose's book enhances and expands on the story told in the HBO miniseries — one that evokes what made the war against Japan distinct from World War II in Europe, and honors the men and women who paid a high price to win it.

Hugh Ambrose was a consultant on several books by his father, the best-selling historian Stephen Ambrose, and served as the historical consultant for The Pacific miniseries. Ambrose is also the former vice president of the National World War II Museum and has led battlefield tours through Europe and along the Pacific Rim.

Please note: Seating for this event is limited, so reservations are strongly recommended. Call 312.587.0234 While we will attempt to seat all who wish to attend, we can only guarantee a place for attendees with a reservation. Reservations will be held until 15 minutes prior to the start of the program.

This event is eligible for 1.5 Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs) for education professionals in Illinois.

Pritzker Military Library

610 North Fairbanks Court, 2nd Floor

Chicago, IL 60611

312-587-0234

Honoring a Hero, A Legend, John Basilone - Semper Fi

Vee

Last night I finished a marathon viewing of "The Pacific." I've read that some people were disappointed in it, but I thought it was terrific. The only problem I had with it was the fact that there were several scenes of graphic sexual content that I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing a pre-teen child to watch, and kids really need to see this series. Even though I already knew that John Basilone was KIA on Iwo Jima, I hated to see it onscreen. He really was an American Hero in every sense. He could have stayed home after his actions at Guadalcanal, but chose to return to action to help the newer USMC recruits and payed for it with his life.

I liked the series, too. They touched on a lot of really good points. Was anyone else moved by how young Sledge's character looked throughout the war? Look at that baby face!! I wonder how many baby faced soldiers marched off never to return.

I think they could have done more for us to get to know the characters a little better. I read both the books that this show were based on and they couldn't be any more different from each other.

Too much sex... but hey I don't get paid to be a movie critic, lol! But I'll give it a B+. They didn't touch much on the dry humor that was so prevalant in Lecke's story (that I enjoyed so much in his book). And Sledge's story was so intense I had a case of combat fatigue when I finished it.

I hated seeing Baslione KIA too, even if I knew it was coming... kinda like watching the Titanic.

We have to admit, we haven't seen the whole thing yet. What happened you ask?

Well...we began by watching the first three episodes and of course as we all know, life is filled with interruptions. So was our case. But, we now have TIVO and put it on "season pass" so it would record any upcoming episodes.

But...there was some sort of software glitch and it skipped over episodes 4 and 5. It recorded all the rest. So we tried again, and told it to record those episodes. Long story short; it never did and time passed and...

So this week they aired all for Veteran's Day, and we told the machine to start over again. Last night we started from the beginning and re-watched episodes one through three and will watch the rest this weekend (hopefully).

Brooke: Many others have stated the thing about character development too, and we would have to agree after only watching three. It's hard to get the feel of who's who. But of course, still enjoying the hell of out it.

We have not read the books, so I cannot make a comparison, but many times the movies leave out so much. Unfortunate.

Yeah! We've actually made it through seven episodes. Finally, finally getting to view the series.

We are both enjoying it immensely. It's very well done. It was a very sad moment when Ack-Ack met his fate. Pelileu was a real hell hole. What an absolutely miserable, horrific island. 500 caves, day-after-day. That is truly hell on earth!

Well I don't know what so many people on the internet (Amazon.com, other reviews, etc.) were all complaining about, but Lee and I just got done watching the last episode minutes ago and both of us were very impressed and very touched my the story. We both gave it two thumbs up.

After watching epi 9 tonight, and waiting for the next one to start, I went in the kitchen and cried and washed the dishes and scrubbed the stove to get my act back together. It was touching and made my stomach twist. To think of all my buddies who fought in WWII, just broke my heart.

I thought of Rocky fighting it out in the mud and each of the men who shared their stories with me during the last 6 years. That's what it's supposed to do. Tug at a heart string!

I sometimes think people are way too critical of things. I plan on buying the set and watching it again and again.

One thing I hear from so many people and after watching the entire thing I have to take it back; the character development. By the end I had no problem. Guess I had to give it a chance. And all who compare it with BOB...well, how many times have you seen BOB? Come on? I've probably watched it 25 times. No wonder we know the characters. If you watched Pacific that many times, the characters would be inside your eyelids.

Anyway, I just wanted to say BRAVO to the writers and producers and the actors. Top notch. You did good and you brought the war home to us once more.