Edward Miller's "War Plan Orange" is a well researched and effectively written book on the United states Navy's plan of action against a naval threat from the Empire of Japan. He covers the plan from it's initial design, through it's many changes, and through the point where it was "taken off the self" and executed.
While the sneak attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor might have destroyed a large portion of the physical fleet. One thing they could not touch was this plan and through it's use as the foundation for the US response, the defeat of Japan was assured. Let's hope that we still make plans that prove this effective.

Author Edward Stanley Miller has expertly distilled the political and military conditions of each era of war planning for the Pacific Theater. Using a plethora of original references to illustrate contemporary reasons for each era of stratagy, Mr. Miller has done a yeoman's job. The text is logical (a difficult task to identify all of the ebbs and flows of the various planning bodies of the time)and informative. The supporting tables, charts and maps are helpful but could have been expanded. Additional maps of Midway, Corregidor and various other key locations would have enhanced the text. Considering the main thrust of this scholarly work however , any lack of illustrative aids is not a major handicap. This book serves as a benchmark for U.S. military and geopolitical stratagy in the greater Pacific area for the first half of the twentieth century.

Too often these days both fictional and "factual" scholarly and media representations of military personnel falls into two categories: buffoons or renegades. Edward S. Miller explodes the myth that the interwar military planners were a bunch of buffoons and the actual combatants who won the war against Japan a bunch of brilliant innovators. War Plan Orange reveals the careful, thoughtful debate and study that went into Pacific War Planning for 48 years. In the final analysis, about the only mistake the interwar planners actually made was to underestimate time and resources required (something that happens with every campaign). As to basic strategy, their work was sound. The campaigners of WW2--some of whom helped with interwar planning--did nothing innovative, they simply executed a good plan proven through much wargaming and study.