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 Working from new interviews with survivors, unpublished eyewitness accounts, and newly available documents, Hornfischer paints a vivid picture of the officers and enlisted men who took on the Japanese in America’s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.
 From the Hardcover edition.

Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal

History

Hornfischer, James D.

Military

Random House Audio |

From the seas of the Central Pacific to the shores of Japan itself, The Fleet at Flood Tide is a stirring, authoritative, and cinematic portrayal of World War II's world-changing finale. WINNER, Commodore John Barry Book Award, Navy League of the United States From the ''dean of World War II naval history''* and an author who has been acclaimed as "doing for the Navy what popular historian Stephen Ambrose did for the Army," here is an unprecedented account of the extraordinary World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower. With its thunderous assault on the Mariana Islands in June 1944, the United States crossed the threshold of total war. In this tour de force of narrative storytelling distilled from extensive research in new primary sources, James D. Hornfischer brings to life the campaign that was the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender--and forever changed the art of modern war. With a close focus on high commanders, front-line combatants, and ordinary people, American and Japanese alike, Hornfischer tells the story of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War as has never been done before. Here are the epic seaborne invasions of Saipan, Tinian and Guam; the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot; the first large-scale use of Navy underwater demolition teams; the largest banzai attack of the war; and daring combat operations large and small that made possible the strategic bombing offensive culminating in the atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. * "Hornfischer is the dean of World War II naval history.... In his capable hands, the story races along like an intense thriller.... Narrative nonfiction at its finest--a book simply not to be missed." --James M. Scott, Charleston Post and Courier "An impressively lucid account.... Hornfischer crisply and satisfyingly sketches all these figures, and his big Iliad contains a hundred smaller ones, as he propels his complex story forward with supple transitions that never leave the reader behind in the details. . . . At the end of his admirable, fascinating book, Mr. Hornfischer makes a strong case that America's failing to use the most terrible weapon yet born would have meant many hundreds of thousands more deaths, theirs and ours alike." --Wall Street Journal "An extraordinary memorial to the courageous--and a cautionary note to a world that remains unstable and turbulent today." --Admiral James Stavridis, Supreme Allied Commander, NATO (2009-2013), author of Sea Power "A masterful, fresh account of the latter days of the war in the Pacific that ably expands on the prior offerings of such classic naval historians as Samuel Eliot Morison." --Dallas Morning News

The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Bantam]

Winner, 2017 Commodore John Barry Book Award, Navy League of the United States * From the historian who has been acclaimed as "doing for the Navy what popular historian Stephen Ambrose did for the Army," here is an unprecedented account of the extraordinary World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower. "Hornfischer is the dean of World War II naval history.... In his capable hands, the story races along like an intense thriller.... Narrative nonfiction at its finest--a book simply not to be missed." --James M. Scott, Charleston Post and Courier With its thunderous assault on the Mariana Islands in June 1944, the United States crossed the threshold of total war. In this tour de force of dramatic storytelling, distilled from extensive research in new primary sources, James D. Hornfischer brings to life the campaign that was the fulcrum of the drive to compel Tokyo to surrender--and forever changed the art of modern war. With a close focus on high commanders, front-line combatants, and ordinary people, American and Japanese alike, Hornfischer tells the story of the climactic end stage of the Pacific War as has never been done before. Here are the epic seaborne invasions of Saipan, Tinian and Guam; the stunning aerial battles of the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot; the first large-scale use of Navy underwater demolition teams; the largest banzai attack of the war; and daring combat operations large and small that made possible the strategic bombing offensive culminating in the atomic strikes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the seas of the Central Pacific to the shores of Japan itself, The Fleet at Flood Tide is a stirring, authoritative, and cinematic portrayal of World War II's world-changing finale. "An impressively lucid account . . . admirable, fascinating." --The Wall Street Journal "An extraordinary memorial to the courageous--and a cautionary note to a world that remains unstable and turbulent today." --Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander, NATO, author of Sea Power "A masterful, fresh account of the latter days of the war in the Pacific that ably expands on the prior offerings of such classic naval historians as Samuel Eliot Morison." --The Dallas Morning News

Who Can Hold the Sea: The U.S. Navy in the Cold War 1945-1960

A close-up, action-filled narrative about the crucial role the U.S. Navy played in the early years of the Cold War, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Fleet at Flood Tide\n“A lucid, fast-moving and fitting finale to [Hornfischer’s] career.”—The Wall Street Journal\nThis landmark account of the U.S. Navy in the Cold War, Who Can Hold the Sea combines narrative history with scenes of stirring adventure on—and under—the high seas. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the victorious Navy sends its sailors home and decommissions most of its warships. But this peaceful interlude is short-lived, as Stalin, America’s former ally, makes aggressive moves in Europe and the Far East. Winston Churchill crystallizes the growing Communist threat by declaring the existence of “the Iron Curtain,” and the Truman Doctrine is set up to contain Communism by establishing U.S. military bases throughout the world.\nSet against this background of increasing Cold War hostility, Who Can Hold the Sea paints the dramatic rise of the Navy’s crucial postwar role in a series of exciting episodes that include the controversial tests of the A-bombs that were dropped on warships at Bikini Island; the invention of sonar and the developing science of undersea warfare; the Navy’s leading part in key battles of the Korean War; the dramatic sinking of the submarine USS Cochino in the Norwegian Sea; the invention of the nuclear submarine and the dangerous, first-ever cruise of the USS Nautilus under the North Pole; and the growth of the modern Navy with technological breakthroughs such as massive aircraft carriers, and cruisers fitted with surface-to-air missiles.\nAs in all of Hornfischer’s works, the events unfold in riveting detail. The story of the Cold War at sea is ultimately the story of America’s victorious contest to protect the free world.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Son, we’re going to Hell." The navigator of the USS Houston confided these prophetic words to a young officer as he and his captain charted a course into U.S. naval legend. Renowned as FDR’s favorite warship, the cruiser USS Houston was a prize target trapped in the far Pacific after Pearl Harbor. Without hope of reinforcement, her crew faced a superior Japanese force ruthlessly committed to total conquest. It wasn’t a fair fight, but the men of the Houston would wage it to the death. Hornfischer brings to life the awesome terror of nighttime naval battles that turned decks into strobe-lit slaughterhouses, the deadly rain of fire from Japanese bombers, and the almost superhuman effort of the crew as they miraculously escaped disaster again and again–until their luck ran out during a daring action in Sunda Strait. There, hopelessly outnumbered, the Houston was finally sunk and its survivors taken prisoner. For more than three years their fate would be a mystery to families waiting at home. In the brutal privation of jungle POW camps dubiously immortalized in such films as The Bridge on the River Kwai, the war continued for the men of the Houston—a life-and-death struggle to survive forced labor, starvation, disease, and psychological torture. Here is the gritty, unvarnished story of the infamous Burma–Thailand Death Railway glamorized by Hollywood, but which in reality mercilessly reduced men to little more than animals, who fought back against their dehumanization with dignity, ingenuity, sabotage, will–power—and the undying faith that their country would prevail. Using journals and letters, rare historical documents, including testimony from postwar Japanese war crimes tribunals, and the eyewitness accounts of Houston’s survivors, James Hornfischer has crafted an account of human valor so riveting and awe-inspiring, it’s easy to forget that every single word is true.

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors

"A masterpiece of 20th-century naval history." --Bob Shacochis, National Book Award-winning author of The Immaculate Invasion "The star of this year's reading list is James D. 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 layman's terms." --Cleveland Plain Dealer The Battle of Guadalcanal has long been heralded as a Marine victory. Now, with his powerful portrait of the Navy's sacrifice, James D. 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 stunning cinematic detail, are the seven major naval actions that began in August 1942, a time when the war seemed unwinnable and America fought on a shoestring, with the outcome always in doubt. 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 opposed the Japanese in America's hour of need. The first major work on this subject in almost two decades, Neptune's Inferno does what all great battle narratives do: It tells the gripping human stories behind the momentous events and critical decisions that altered the course of history and shaped so many lives.

“A literary tour de force that is destined to become one of the . . . definitive works about the battle for Guadalcanal . . . [James D.] Hornfischer deftly captures the essence of the most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war.”—San Antonio Express-News The Battle of Guadalcanal has long been heralded as a Marine victory. Now, with his powerful portrait of the Navy’s sacrifice, James D. 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 stunning cinematic detail, are the seven major naval actions that began in August 1942, a time when the war seemed unwinnable and America fought on a shoestring, with the outcome always in doubt. 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 opposed the Japanese in America’s hour of need. The first major work on this subject in almost two decades, Neptune’s Inferno does what all great battle narratives do: It tells the gripping human stories behind the momentous events and critical decisions that altered the course of history and shaped so many lives. Praise for Neptune’s Inferno “Vivid and engaging . . . extremely readable, comprehensive and thoroughly researched.”—Ronald Spector, The Wall Street Journal “Superlative storytelling . . . the masterwork on the long-neglected topic of World War II’s surface ship combat.”—Richard B. Frank, World War II “The author’s two previous World War II books . . . thrust him into the major leagues of American military history writers. Neptune’s Inferno is solid proof he deserves to be there.”—The Dallas Morning News “Outstanding . . . The author’s narrative gifts and excellent choice of detail give an almost Homeric quality to the men who met on the sea in steel titans.”—Booklist (starred review) “Brilliant . . . a compelling narrative of naval combat . . . simply superb.”—The Washington Times

The Battle off Samar, fought on the morning of October 25, 1944, during the climactic Battle of Leyte Gulf, pitted 23 Japanese warships against 13 U.S. To call it a mismatch scarcely described it. The Japanese fleet consisted of four battleships, six heavy cruisers and thirteen destroyers. The American force was built around six small, slow aircraft carriers, escorted by five small destroyers. The single largest of the Japanese combatants, the super-battleship Yamato, outweighed the entire American force combined. Yet somehow, in the chaotic and bloody two-hour daylight fight that followed, the undersized American side prevailed, routing the most powerful force that Tokyo's naval command had ever sent into battle. No American performed more bravely that day than Captain Ernest Evans, commander of the USS Johnston, a tincan armed with unimposing naval guns. For the first time, Evans's astonishing grit and determination are explored in full, offering readers an unforgettable story of wartime heroism at sea.

Destroyer Captain: The Life of Ernest E. Evans (American War Heroes)

Hornfischer, David J.

Historical

Dutton Caliber

Right Thinking is a provocative, illuminating field guide to twenty-five centuries of conservative wisdom. By his careful selection, James D. Hornfischer not only gathers the scattered apples of conservative thought from all periods of human history, but also helps us to shape and define the essence of conservatism itself. Here, in one convenient volume, are the best and most penetrating words of more than 130 famous (and infamous) conservatives, including Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, George Will, Ayn Rand, Benjamin Franklin, T.S. Eliot, St. Augustine, George Bernard Shaw, Aesop, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson.

Right Thinking: Conservative Common Sense Through the Ages

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

Pocket_Books

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Books by Hornfischer, James D.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hornfischer, James D.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal

The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945

The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945

Who Can Hold the Sea: The U.S. Navy in the Cold War 1945-1960

Who Can Hold the Sea: The U.S. Navy in the Cold War 1945-1960

Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors

Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal

Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal

Destroyer Captain: The Life of Ernest E. Evans (American War Heroes)

Right Thinking: Conservative Common Sense Through the Ages