Just finished reading The Admirals which covers he careers of America's first Five Star Admirals. This was a new position created in World War II to match Britain's and Russia's Field Marshal rank so that America - whose industrial might was largely winning the war against Germany and Japan had men of the same rank as the other allied nations.

The four men were Leahy, King, Nimitz and Halsey. Of these four Nimitz and King are without doubt more important.

It was King who managed the multi-ocean war effort but also determined the strategy against Japan of keeping the Hawaii-Australian lines of communication open and cutting through the central Pacific as a war goal. King did so while maintaining the heads of state acceptable 'Germany First' political strategy. This meant solving the U-Boat problem in the Atlantic while throwing resources into the Carrier and island hopping war of the Pacific.

Nimitz is probably the best commander of World War II. While the more media hungry general such as MacArthur and Patton sucked up print and air time, it was Nimitz's aggressive leadership during a time when America had precious few resources that led to the victories of the Coral Sea and Midway.

The really big difference with King and Nimitz as supposed to Jellicoe and Togo was that the American commanders understood that the new 18 inch gun on a battleship was the aircraft. They also understand that in a strike force the high speed carriers had to be the center and anyone who couldn't keep up - including battleships - had no place in that task force.

Japan and America understood that in a long war American industrial might would win. Within four years America would be pumping out warships, tanks and trucks at a prodigious rate. Consequently Japan took a short war strategy and tried to smash the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Japan new it could not fight a long war.

America understood this too. Where Nimitz differs is that he was willing to throw the full might of the American carriers at Japan during the early days when there was no guarantee that America could make that difference up with production. In the Coral Sea and Midway, Nimitz had an approach of aggression and the 'final battle', but with carriers instead of battleships as it was in Jellicoe's and Togo's day.

As a consequence, Nimitz as a strategist, forced a stalemate on Japan at Coral Sea and a victory at Midway that made the battles of Guadalcanal and Kokoda an allied victory. From that point on King's strategy of cutting through the mid and north pacific to stop Japan's lines of communication and supply from the oil, rubber and raw materials of Indonesia with Japan led to what we know as the 'island hopping' of World War II.

Japan expanded rapidly into South East Asia and China to make up for the raw materials its home island lacked. The main reason Dutch Indonesia was a goal was because of oil for Japan's fleet. King's strategy of island hopping through the Gilbert Islands to Okinawa with the Navy and Marines was to cut Japan off from the raw materials its Navy and Air Force needed.

The standout in this book is Nimitz. Of the five star Admirals mentioned in this book none has the leadership, strategic and tactical qualities that match his. This book could have been pared down to Nimitz and King, Despite the importance of Leahy as Roosevelt's and Truman's right hand man or loyal confident, or Halsey's bulldog fighting ability, the stand out leaders of the US Navy - and the allied world in WWII - are Nimitz and King in that order.

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• The Five Star Admirals: Nimitz, King, Leahy and Halsey