Masterful pacing, vivid character sketches, and gripping action blend with rigorous historical detail in Samuel B. Griffith's The Battle for Guadalcanal.

Launched on August 7, 1942, to protect Allied control of the strategic South Pacific islands, the Guadalcanal operation was the most costly American offensive of World War II in the history of the U.S. Navy up to that time. Griffith, who fought with Edson's Raiders on Guadalcanal, describes in gritty detail the vicious close-range fighting, the valiant defense of the Henderson Field airstrip, and the dramatic naval engagements that led, in February 1943, to an American victory.

Drawing on American and Japanese sources, Griffith delineates the strategic decisions that shaped the conflict as well as the determination and endurance of combatants on both sides. A breathtaking narrative of military action anchored by a historian's objectivity, The Battle for Guadalcanal is a story of raw courage, desperate measures, and ultimate triumph.


Factual, yet human and vivid and eminently readable, The Battle for Guadacanal, is military history at its best
Reviews
"A thrilling narrative. It has the authentic quality of Marine Corps greatness." -- Marquis Childs "[The] writing is factual, but because it pays attention to personalities, it is also human and vivid... Highly interesting ... and eminently readable." -- Elbridge Colby, America "[Griffith] has succeeded admirably in producing a concise and coherent account." -- Library Journal



Book Information
ISBN 9780252068911
Author Samuel B. Griffith
Format Paperback
Page Count 312
Imprint University of Illinois Press
Publisher University of Illinois Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 28mm