With The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Ship of Ghosts; James D. Hornfischer created essential and enduring narratives about America’s World War II Navy; works of unique immediacy distinguished by rich portraits of ordinary men in extremis and exclusive new information. Now he does the same for the deadliest; most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war: Guadalcanal.Neptune’s Inferno is at once the most epic and the most intimate account ever written of the contest for control of the seaways of the Solomon Islands; America’s first concerted offensive against the Imperial Japanese juggernaut and the true turning point of the Pacific conflict. This grim; protracted campaign has long been heralded as a Marine victory. Now; with his powerful portrait of the Navy’s sacrifice—three sailors died at sea for every man lost ashore—Hornfischer tells for the first time the full story of the men who fought in destroyers; cruisers; and battleships in the narrow; deadly waters of “Ironbottom Sound.†Here; in brilliant cinematic detail; are the seven major naval actions that began in August of 1942; a time when the war seemed unwinnable and America fought on a shoestring; with the outcome always in doubt. But at Guadalcanal the U.S. proved it had the implacable will to match the Imperial war machine blow for violent blow. Working from new interviews with survivors; unpublished eyewitness accounts; and newly available documents; Hornfischer paints a vivid picture of the officers and enlisted men who took on the Japanese in America’s hour of need: Vice Admiral William “Bull†Halsey; who took command of the faltering South Pacific Area from his aloof; overwhelmed predecessor and became a national hero; the brilliant Rear Admiral Norman Scott; who died even as he showed his command how to fight and win; Rear Admiral Daniel Callaghan; the folksy and genteel “Uncle Dan;†lost in the strobe-lit chaos of his burning flagship; Rear Admiral Willis Lee; who took vengeance two nights later in a legendary showdown with the Japanese battleship Kirishima; the five Sullivan brothers; all killed in the shocking destruction of the Juneau; and many others; all vividly brought to life.The first major work on this essential subject in almost two decades; Neptune’s Inferno does what all great battle narratives do: It cuts through the smoke and fog to tell the gripping human stories behind the momentous events and critical decisions that altered the course of history and shaped so many lives. This is a thrilling achievement from a master historian at the very top of his game.
#1450143 in Books 2008-04-17 2008-04-17Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.54 x 1.03 x 5.72l; .95 #File Name: 052595046X272 pages
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Brilliant look at divorce and the grieving processBy Carrie LinkIn her Anger section (Stage II) she says; "The snag about marriage is; it isn't worth the divorce. My new doctrine is; never marry. I won't ever again. It is absolute swill. It's not just my marriage. It's all marriages except a handful. Marriage is a conspiracy from Tiffany's; florists; the diamond industry; and Christian fundamentalists. The only thing good about it is the diamond ring; the wedding gifts; and the honeymoon. A; (the name she gives her son in the book) I could have gotten anywhere. I could have gotten A from a turkey baster and a lovely gay man with a college education and a pleasant disposition. IF ONLY I'D HAD THAT MUCH SENSE AT THE TIME. I'm sending turkey basters to all my single girlfriends; with holly tassels; for Christmas."In Bargaining (Stage III) she says; "Sorry is the two-dollar bill of words. It's worth something; but in the end it's ridiculous; a souvenir at best."Section IV: Grief; she says; "Grief; I understand with icy clarity; is simply information I allow myself to know."And she says this; when wondering what she might say to her son one day when he asks about divorce: "I will say: 'You enter into - well. You enter into a kind of madness. You will make discoveries; not all of them happy. And the surprises are not staggered or regularly spaced; they are coming at you at light-speed; all at once; and you have to continue. You don't get to stop and say; I'll pick this all up in a year or so; when it isn't so difficult or painful or scary. When I'm ready. No no no. You have to go back in daily; until. Until it passes; or something happens to lessen its dark brilliance. you never know when this will be. You just have to keep meeting it. And gradually it disperses; leaving a small tear in your heart. A little hole; an aperture in you; as in a camera lens which; in the right light; can be perceived and accepted as a perspective-enhancing hole.'"You don't have to be divorced; almost divorced; thinking about divorce; or even know someone getting divorced; to appreciate this book - it's about grief. And aren't we all grieving something; or someone? Or both?3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. heartbreaking realityBy Russell RowlandAlthough Suzanne Finnamore is known for her sense of humor; I found this book to be a gut-wrenching depiction of the realities of divorce. Finnamore writes about loss with brutal honesty and razor sharp prose. And she's occasionally hysterical. It's a wicked combination. A wonderfully inspirational story of overcoming the pain of the end of a marriage seemingly made to order.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Better than any self help book!By Brent MorrisThis book helped me so much coping with separation and divorce. I first found it at the public library while searching for "Divorce for Dummies" and the like. Instead I found Suzanne Finnamore's book a revelation and far more helpful than any guidebook could possibly be.
