H.P. Willmott's "Empires in Balance" (1982) is an excellent book, easy to read and includes detail of both the early war Allied and Japanese strategies and operational moves. It focuses on pre-war Japan, conflict with China, political strategies vis a vis the West, and a quick study on resources of the Japanese Empire. It begins military operation in detail starting from the 7/8 December Japanese strikes, campaigns in Indonesia and Philippines and continues to April 1942. Pretty much a season of disaster for Allied forces.
Empires in the Balance
The other recommendation is Ian W. Toll's "Pacific Crucible" (2011). A very engrossing read, the author keeps the reader in the story. This is book 1 in his Pacific War trilogy but each volume can stand by itself. Similar in scope to "Empires in Balance", the volume does provide more focus on Japanese politics, inter-service rivalry, and social contexts leading up and during WWII by using numerous Japanese sources, a rare thing in western writings. Unlike Willmott's book, "Pacific Crucible" takes the reader through the early US strikes and the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway. For me at least, the volume also provided new perspectives on Admiral King, the powerful figure at the head of the US wartime navy.
Pacific Crucible
