Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 456 pages
- Published by: University of Illinois Press June 28, 2001
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 025206996X
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0252069963
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Book Dimensions:
8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
- Weighs: 1.3 pounds
Book Description
During the six months covered by volume five of Samuel Eliot Morison's awesome history, the United States Navy fought six major engagements in waters surrounding Guadalcanal, more bitter and bloody than any naval battle in American history since 1814. From the Solomon Islands campaigns to the courageous action of Edson's Raiders at the Battle of the Bloody Ridge, from the great three-day Naval Battle of Guadalcanal to the Battle of Tassafaronga, Morison describes the events of these excruciating months in thrilling, heartbreaking detail from the shipdecks, cockpits, and exposed ridgetops where the fate of thousands of soldiers and sailors was decided.
"You may search the seven seas in vain for an ocean graveyard with the bones of so many ships and sailors as that body of water between Guadalcanal, Savo, and Florida Islands which our bluejackets named Ironbottom Sound," writes Morison. His account of the action is both harrowing and inspiring, an insider's tribute to those who made Guadalcanal the proving ground of their resourcefulness, tenacity, and courage.
Reader ReviewsAfter finding out that my father served at Guadalcanal (sadly after he passed away), I became very curious about what it was like. This book summed up everything I wanted to know about Guadalcanal and the surrounding battles. The writing style is crisp and accurate and you get a feeling of being there. One minor caveat, this was written shortly after the war, so some of the words are not PC for today's world. Ignore it though, it shouldn't offend anyone but the most sensitive. If you like WW II history and want to know more about this epic battle (actually battles - land and sea) this is the best book to get all you need to know.
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