Hey there, I'm searching for a book or audiobook to buy for my younger brother and he really really loves ww2, and if possible, specifically naval battles. He's moving away from home for a year and I thought perhaps you guys would know which books to avoid when trying to purchase books which cover battles factually and accurately, rather than trying to tell a story with heroism and over-embellishments?
I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't see the call to arms.
On the whole, I'm not a huge fan of MilHist on audiobooks. It often becomes difficult for me to keep track of names or (particularly) maps if I can't refer back, y'know?
That being said, I do have some suggestions! I'm long on record as saying that Shattered Sword is maybe the best Pacific War history book around. I'm happy to say that the recent audiobook release does nothing to change that.
Not naval battles per se, but both A Helmet For My Pillow and With The Old Breed have excellent audiobooks. I can't recommend these books highly enough.
I can't access my Audible account at the moment so I can't recommend any others, but those three for sure.
Have you visited the subreddit booklist? It has a number of relevant entries. /u/fourthmaninaboat and /u/when_ducks_attack and /u/coinsinmyrocket may be able to offer more specific guidance.