The Ship That Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War

I have to admit that I'm a sucker for this type of history, the story of a warship told through the eyes of the sailors who served on it. The USS Hornet had a special place in WWII, being one of the precious few American carriers that had to mix it up with the more numerous, more experienced, and more disciplined Japanese carriers in the first year of the war or so. (Before the buildup of Essex class carriers could arrive on scene.) Although there were apparently multiple times when only one fully operational American carrier was in the war zones, and while the Hornet was "it" it didn't necessarily do anything the others didn't do, so the title might be a bit of an exaggeration. Nonetheless this is an informative and enjoyable book, and the Hornet definitely did its fair share to turn the tide of the war. The reader is taken along with the Doolittle raid where the Hornet bravely dashed in close to the Japanese homeland to launch the B-25's stowed on deck, and made a mad scramble back to home. You certainly get an appreciation of the tension that must have filled the carrier, along with the pride and jubilation of being the first to really strike back at the Japanese after Pearl Harbor. The Hornet's next big fleet action was Midway, where, unfortunately the performance of the air wing was a dud. The author clearly spent a large amount of time researching the men and tactics of the Hornet air wing and relays the fruits of his research to you before getting to the battle. There's a long and interesting chapter about Midway but alas the author doesn't seem to conclude as to why much of the Hornet air group never even found the Japanese. Perhaps this is just one of those instances in war where chance can lay waste to even the best laid plans of mice and men. After Midway the Hornet is actively involved in the Solomons campaign. What is most interesting here is the intenstiy and ferocity of the fighting, with the Americans both on the attack in a strategic sense and often hanging on by a thread at the same time. Also fascinating was the organizational difficulty of combined land and sea operations under different commanders. This purely bureaucratic wrangling unfortunately leaves the U.S. carriers marshaling in a specific zone of sea due to the nature of which command had responsibility over which region, and the Japanese were able to exploit this fact by pouring in their submarines. This leads to the horrific destruction of the USS Wasp which the men of the Hornet see firsthand. The Hornet fights in the battle of the Eastern Solomons and then finally, meeting her fate, at the battle of the Santa Cruz Islands. The writing of the battles is gripping, and a heavy counterweight to much of the fun and frivolity of leave in Hawaii and Espiritu Santo. Throughout, the author gives fair coverage to the entire spectrum of the crew's experiences as the ship evolved during the war into a real fighting machine. The death of the ship is written in a par

I read this book a while ago, but I'd have to say it was a very good book and led me to want to read more books about specific ships during the war. I didn't realize that the Pacific Fleet was down to one carrier at a point.After reading this book, I saw that there is a book about the Enterprise, so I picked that one up.

This book is a very well written account of the short but dramatic life and death of the first USS Hornet (CV-8) aircraft carrier of the US Navy. Historic books about individual ships are often written by enthusiasts who are full of information but, marginal writers at best. Lisle Rose is a wonderful exception to the latter side of this rule! He has crafted "The Ship that Held the Line" into a 278 page true novel that reads like a thriller in places and rarely ceases to rivet the readers attention. His association with many of the ship's survivors and lifetime fascination with this well known but, little written about fleet carrier whet his desire to write a complete account worthy of this great ship's memory. He has succeeded admirably. The Hornet lived for less than one year before her sinking after the Battle of Santa Cruz. Lisle traces the development of the many hundreds of new crew-members into a cohesive fighting force. He gives great insight into what the whole Doolittle Raid on Tokyo was like and masterfully describes the chaos that went on for the frustrated Hornet crew during the Battle of Midway. Great attention is given to helping the reader to understand the little details of carrier and Navy life. He points out how the American ability to tinker and improvise on an individual and group level was and is critical to winning battles both large and small. The troubles with effective firefighting during the final battle are vividly portrayed.All and all, this is an excellent book worthy of the historian and even the general reader. You will not waste your time at all with this book and will come away with much greater understanding of a pivotal time in our nation's history.

"The Ship That Held The Line" is not merely a book about the short life and death of an aircraft carrier. It is an insight into the earliest days of the Pacific theatre of operations. Rose delivers hard hitting documentary on the fractious relationship of the Hornet's Air Group, constant struggles with outdated weaponry (the TBD Devastator a prime example), and the early aircraft carrier doctrine that caused such catastrophe to the torpedo squadrons at Midway. We learn of Marc Mitscher's devotion to "on the job" training for air crews, the inherent problems of keeping a large ship adequately supplied, and the importance of reliable communication between task group commanders and squadron leaders alike. A great book to have.

This book detailing the short life of the USS Hornet and its demise during the batteles around Guadalcanal is a very well written and detailed account of the life of the ship. Like Eric Hammel the author brings to life what it must have been like to have taken part in these (in the end) momentous events. The History is all there, but also there are some very perceptive insights into both the successes and failures of the US Navy at this time. On top of it all it's a darn good read! I read as many books on the war in the Pacific as I can and some, once digested, are put down and apart from the odd time that they might be used for reference merely pad the bookshelves. (Again) Like Eric Hammell's books this is one I will read and re-read!