Tin can sailor, by raymond calhoun, is about the uss sterett in the pacific. The world at war, 19391945 is a monumental work that shows us at once the truly global reach of. In 2012 he received the pritzker military library literature award for lifetime achievement in military writing. List of naval guns of all countries, in increasing caliber size diameter mm weapon name country of origin period 20 breda model 35 kingdom of italy world war ii. As one of the premier rare book sites on the internet, alibris has thousands of rare books, first editions, and signed books. A former book editor at the publishing company harpercollins in new york.
Volume i contents part i the war program and its direction chapter page 1 planning the public works program 1 2 financing the war construction 25 3 wartime organization and growth of the bureau of yards and docks and the civil engineer corps 61 4 wartime contract construction problems 77 5 procurement and logistics for advance bases 115 6 the seabees 3 7 advance base equipment 151. It tells the gripping human stories behind the momentous. This new book on bismarck offers a forensic analysis. This book brings the secret of those sunken subs back to the surface. Hornfischer created essential and enduring narratives about americas world war ii navy, works of unique immediacy distinguished by rich portraits of ordinary men in extremis and exclusive new information. Recommend some good, fairly recent books on wwii naval. 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. The literature of world war ii is, as hastings notes at the beginning of his bibliography, so vast as almost to defy enumeration or comprehension, but inferno immediately moves to the head of the list. And though the battle locales that constitute the war in the pacific pearl harbor, midway, tarawa, guadalcanal, iwo jima are common knowledge, locations and statistics alone cant convey what it was like to have fought in those battles. This campaign saw american air, naval and ground forces later augmented by australians and new zealanders in a six months campaign slowly overwhelm determined japanese resistance. Its no longer in print but it covers every battleship in the world from the pre dreadnaughts right up until russian kirov, so its t. Battle of the atlantic 939543, history of us naval operations in wwii 2.
Easy, secure checkout and flatrate shipping australiawide. Max hastingss survey of world war ii concentrates on the experience of. The narration of nearly being flogged was riveting. Published on jul 20, 2018 world war ii is a huge event with tons of literature, so this video explains why max hastings inferno. Mar 06, 2012 during the american civil war, general w. He is the author of the fleet at flood tide, neptunes inferno, ship of ghosts, and the last stand of the tin can sailors, all of which have been new york times bestsellers and selections of the u. A native of massachusetts, he lives with his family in austin, texas.
Underwater archaeologist and naval historian tomas termote draws on his countless visits to the wrecks of uboats to explore topics ranging from their role in the war to the everyday lives of the men on board. World war ii casualties naval history and heritage command. Not quite a true naval novel, but the do shoot up and bomb ships. What naval battle is considered the turning point of the. Inferno is a magnificent achievement, a onevolume history that should find favor among readers thoroughly immersed in world war ii and those approaching the subject for the first time. Chief of naval operations professional reading program. The history of united states naval operations in world war ii book series by samuel eliot morison includes books history of us naval operations in wwii 1. The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. I picked up a book, the complete encyclopedia of battleships by tony gibbons. Feb 27, 2020 its been nearly 75 years since victory in wwii. As the british fled, denying asians access to evacuation ships to make.
Hornfischer, a native of massachusetts, is the author of the new york times bestsellers neptunes inferno, ship of ghosts, and the last stand of the tin can sailors, which won the samuel eliot morison award for naval literature. If you find just one book on this list that challenges you as a leader, then it has been a success. History of united states naval operations in world war ii. Operations in north african waters 1042643, history of us naval operations in wwii 3. Neptunes inferno by james hornfischer is a fine account of the naval battles of the guadalcanal campaign. The scale is primarily tacticaloperational, although strategic scale operations are also possible. He is the author of the fleet at flood tide, neptunes inferno, ship of ghosts, and. Inferno the world at war 1939 1945 is the best war history i have read. I read somewhere that when the book was first published, a copy was. Historical works in this category span the age of sail to the many naval battles of world war ii and beyond. About neptunes inferno with the last stand of the tin can sailors and ship of ghosts, james d. As the years thin the ranks of those who fought in the war, hastingss balanced and elegantly written prose should help ensure that the bloodshed, bravery and.
While most books tend to be at a certain level, hornfischer is somewhat uneven most of it is good, and good amounts of it are excellent, but it also has regular dips. From one of our finest military historians, inferno. With the last stand of the tin can sailors and ship of ghosts, j. The us navy was with japan and great britain, was a pioneer in the development of the naval air service. Guadalcanal, fought from august 1942 to february 1943, was the first major allied offensive of the war in the pacific theater. I got a gift card to get a book for my ereader and im looking for suggestions for pacific naval history ww2. Us navy in late 1941 strength, ships and organization as the united states enters the second world war in december 1941. James hornfischer discussed his book, neptunes inferno. Inferno the world at war, 19391945 by max hastings book. Hornfischers book exemplifies that statement in this graphic yet harrowing account of the major naval conflicts that occurred in the narrow straits of savo sound ironbottom sound during the guadalcanal campaign of 7 aug 1942 9 feb 1943. Thanks to commander rochefort, and the decoders at pearl harborthese men have never been given the credit they deserve. I cannot say there is a single best book that covers all of the battles, but i can recommend these as excellent pacific naval battle books.
James hornfischer discusses his book, neptunes inferno. Nov 20, 2011 from one of our finest military historians, inferno. He used maps during his presentation, and responded to questions from members of the audience. Navy professional reading program, maintained by the chief of naval operations.
Hornfischer born 1965 in massachusetts is an american literary agent and naval historian. Now, with his powerful portrait of the navy s sacrifice, james d. Hornfischer, about the naval battles around guadalcanal. With the publication of neptunes inferno, a masterpiece of 20th century naval history, its time to declare james hornfischer a national treasure, a member of the distinguished band of brothers stephen ambrose, shelby foote, ken burns, spielberg and hanks whose sacred mission has been vital to americas journey, preserving the stories. James holmes gives us his top ten books on naval warfare and diplomacy. Jun 25, 2007 the book does a great job of telling the main story from many different points of view mainly as an insider or an outsider to the events described. With the last stand of the tin can sailors and ship of ghosts, james d. Sep 17, 2006 list your top ten works of naval fiction. The world at war, 1939 1945 by max hastings knopf we tend to think of this world war as essentially a european and east asian conflict, but hastings is at pains to emphasize. The author of this book, max hastings, is a military author and historian. Bob shacochis, national book awardwinning author of the immaculate invasion the star of this years reading list is james d. Sources of information on us navy casualties in world war ii.
Hornfischer, a military historian whose flair for narrative is rivaled only by his ability to organize the sweep of battle and assess strategy and tactics in laymans terms. Building the navys bases in world war ii naval history and. The battle of guadalcanal has long been heralded as a marine victory. What is the best book about the pacific naval battles in wwii. The first major work on this subject in almost two decades, neptunes inferno does what all great battle narratives do. Hornfischers new book, the fleet at flood tide, will be published in.
Hastings unique account eschews the typical military history preoccupation with detailed accounts of generals and their battle plans. Its about a b25 group that flies and fights against the japanese in the pacific. Sep 28, 2016 hey everyone i thought we might want to showcase our favorite reference on naval ships. If you want a good overview of the theater of war with more surface actions fought than any other, its definitely a good pick. However we can say that the naval battles of ironbottom sound, as so vividly portrayed here by hornfischer, must have been a contributary factor. Its a quite good book talking about the naval war in the mediterranean from 19401945, and the author is very good about using sources from all involved.
Neptunes inferno, ship of ghosts, and the last stand of the tin can sailors, winner. The world at war, 19391945 is a monumental work that shows us at once the truly global reach of world war ii and its deeply personal consequences. Hornfischer deftly captures the essence of the most pivotal naval campaign of the pacific war. This list of naval battles is a chronological list delineating important naval fleet battles note if a battles name isnt known its just referred to as action of date.
As the years thin the ranks of those who fought in the war, hastingss balanced and elegantly written prose should help ensure that the bloodshed, bravery and brutality of that tragic conflict arent forgotten. Here, in stunning cinematic detail, are the seven major naval actions that. Also neptunes inferno, by the aforementioned james d. Hastings unique account eschews the typical military history preoccupation with detailed accounts of. Cameron, there is no doubt the battle of midway june 47 was the turning point of the war in the pacific. Lieutenant eugene ely 18861911 successfully attempted takeoffs from warships such as the uss birmingham 1910, or landings on the uss pennsylvania 1911. The bureau of naval personnels official list of the navys world war ii casualties resulting from enemy action is a 1947 ibm printout arranged chronologically by the campaigns as listed in the secretary of the navys navy and marine corps awards manual.
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