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 Working from new interviews with survivors, unpublished eyewitness accounts, and newly available documents, Hornfischer paints a vivid picture of the officers and enlisted men who took on the Japanese in America’s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

Product Description: The United States is embroiled in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan (and now Libya?) wars that seem as far from Americans understanding as the countries are distant from our shores. With American Veterans on War, Elise Forbes Tripp brings our current wars and their predecessors home in the words of 55 veterans aged 20 to 90...read more

Product Description: Michael D. "Moon" Mullins with his usual flair has found a perfect way to bring life to the stories of America's Warriors. His lyrical way with words has opened a window into the past that is closing much too quickly. Out of the Mist, Memories of War touches the soul and brings the reader to a deep understanding of the sacrifices made by those ready to stand in the breach...read more

Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" is forcing Americans to face the horror of war. For many veterans the film is bringing to the surface memories and emotions they have suppressed and never been able to share, even with those closest to them. Hell, Healing, and Resistance: Veterans Speak, a devastating new book by Daniel Hallock, portrays the human cost of war with equal candor, but offers veterans and their families something Spielberg could not-healing. No one knows the human cost of war better than those who were there. In these accounts, veterans take readers through this century's battle fields and back home, revealing their inner scars and the ongoing suffering shared by their families and many others whose lives they touch. Many veterans feel betrayed and silenced by the country that demanded the ultimate sacrifice of its young men and women. Here, they speak from our nations homes, workplaces, hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters, determined to spare the next generation from the scourges of war. For some, personal resistance to militarism has spelled a remarkable transformation of their lives, and filled them with vibrant hope and purpose. Yet veterans also seek healing. A starting place, they say, is to let veterans speak - to give them space to honestly confront the past. This book does that. Survivors of war allow us to enter into their quest for healing, and so are healed. In the words of one veteran: "I share my story to awaken my heart, to reclaim my life. It is the listening people around me who help me to remember what it's like to feel full and not empty, and to trust that feeling." Beyond this, the veterans in this book teach us that healing is far from an individual experience - it reaches out to embrace fellow veterans, family, friends - ultimately an entire culture. Their voices are joined by those of their wives and husbands, sons and daughters, and civilians caught in the cataclysm of the wars they fought. To listen to their stories is to open ! ours! elves to the call of the hour in the midst of a war-sick world.

A collection of first-person narratives by and interviews with Marines who took part in the Korean War, from the ordinary recruit to the high-ranking commander