Guadalcanal

The Battle for Guadalcanal was Americas first offensive battle against the Japanese in WW2. This battle is one of the most famous of all WW2, especially for the US Marines and rightly so. Thrown together at the last minute, "Operation Shoestring" was aptly named. A see-saw battle of attrition that went back and forth, fortunes changing daily as each side sought to wipe out the other. Guadalcanal was the first US victory in the Pacific, the first in a long line of amphibious assualts to defeat Japan. Edwin Hoyt wrote this book in 1982. At that point, it was the definative book on the subject. Richard Frank has since written an even more comprehensive work, but Hoyt's is still a very good read. It gives an overview of what happened prior to and leading up to the attack on Guadalcanal, how the Marines stormed the beaches and had to weather everything the Japanese could throw at them. It was a grinding battle of attrition, which favored the US since we had more to throw into the fight...but it took time, as the US arsenal was being built up and we did not have the overwhelming resources of men and material that was common place in later fights. Hoyt's book is readable, gives accurate and fair treatment of both sides, the mistakes, the luck, the horrible conditions, lack of food, disease, fatigue and no-holds barred fighting that went to make this a living hell for both sides. The maps are adequate, the photos in the paperback version are dark, hard to really see, but do help the reader better see the terrain - just fighting the jungle was a hardship, let alone trying to fight the enemy as well. I have re-read this book many times and learn something new every time. I recommend this book to those just getting into history of the Pacific War as well as serious history buffs.

This summary like Mr Hoyt's other books is informative while also being engaging but since its not as comprehensive as Frank's or Hammel's books, only 4 stars could be given. The author gives you all the key events that the other books give but just not the depth they do. Coverage includes a prehistory before August 7th, 42, the landings, the initial Japanese air raids, the disasterous defeat at the Battle of Savo Bay, the many troop reinforcements, the shellings and air raids of Henderson Field, the battles at Tenaru River and Bloody Ridge, the attacks on USS Saratoga and Wasp, the Battle of Cape Esperance, the assaults on Galloping Horse, Sea Horse and the Gifu and so very much more. There are only a few maps and some nice photos. In the notes section you will find most of Mr Hoyt's sources are primary from both sides. Though the book isn't as large as the others already mentioned, its still a quality effort and if your just starting out reading about the campaign, this would be an excellent place to start. If you're a Canal Hound, like myself, this book is good enough to add to your collection.

Another nice book by Hoyt. Hoyt writes a nice story, even though there are no academic breakthroughs here. Hoyt describes the naval and land battles of the Guadalcanal campaign. He includes Japanese sources in this story of the campaign. Because of the complexity of the campaign, this short book is only a summary read of the battle for Guadalcanal. If one wants a more in depth book, one will need to read elsewhere.There were a couple of distractions in this book. First there was the habit of describing something about what was happening in the personal basis for the soldiers fighting this campaign, then in the next paragraph, Hoyt tells of the grand strategic dimensions of the war. This destroyed the flow of the book. Second, Hoyt tells of the sinking of the cruiser New Orleans, then he tells how this cruiser limped back to port. Obviously, this was some sort of error.Overall a good summary read of this campaign. If only the flow was there and the typos were not, this book would have been better.

This book was my first introduction to the battle for Guadalcanal, since reading it I've done further reading on the subject and found this one to be the best account of what happened. Mr. Hoyt not only covers the ground aspect of the invasion but all so the air and sea aspects.