A masterful account of a vital four months in the bloody battle for
the Pacific, giving fresh insights into the Guadalcanal and Solomons
campaign, a key turning point in both the Pacific Theater and
the wider Second World War.
From popular Pacific Theater expert Jeffrey R. Cox comes this insightful
new history of the critical Guadalcanal and Solomons campaign at the
height of World War II. His previous book, Morning Star, Rising Sun,
found the US Navy at its absolute nadir with the fate of the
Enterprise, the last operational US aircraft carrier at this point in
the war, unknown. This new volume completes the history of this crucial
campaign, combining detailed research with a novelist's flair for the
dramatic to reveal exactly how, despite missteps and misfortunes, the
tide of war finally turned. By the end of February 1944, thanks to
hard-fought and costly American victories in the first and second naval
battles of Guadalcanal, the battle of Empress Augusta Bay, and the
battle of Cape St George, the Japanese would no longer hold the materiel
or skilled manpower advantage. From this point on, although the war was
still a long way from being won, the American star was unquestionably on
the ascendant, slowly, but surely, edging Japanese imperialism towards
its sunset.
Jeffrey Cox's analysis and attention to detail of even the smallest
events are second to none. But what truly sets this book apart is how he
combines this microscopic attention to detail, often unearthing new
facts along the way, with an engaging style that transports the reader
to the heart of the story, bringing the events on the deep blue of the
Pacific vividly to life.
