"A Time of Islands--Stories of the Pacific War Isles" by Greg Wahl

Inspired by none other than naval historian and literary agent Jim Hornfischer, Greg Wahl applied a flash fiction approach to what World War Two was about at some of the Pacific Islands that became famous as theaters of war.  Wahl, a former dentist who makes his home in Peoria, said a professor friend of his encouraged him to take on the project that involved two years of research on eight islands where fighting took place in WWII.Hornfischer, who died in 2021, had originally suggested that Wahl take on some 40 battles, a feat that Wahl said could have taken decades. Hornfischer, the author of books like “The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-45” and “Neptune’s Inferno: the U.S. Navy at Guadacanal,” was a military expert whose accounts merited awards from the Naval Historical Foundation.Wahl, on the other hand, offers up wartime stories without all the historical details that most relate to the subject. “I focus on the people, the people who fought the battles,” he told Steve Tarter.By focusing on those who fought, "A Time of Islands—Stories of the Pacific War Isles" communicates personal moments at a time when life wasn’t assured, when the world was up for grabs.