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by James D. Hornfischer (Author)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the acclaimed author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors comes a "vivid and engaging" (The Wall Street Journal) account of the deadliest, most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war: Guadalcanal.
"A literary tour de force that is destined to become one of the . . . definitive works about the battle for Guadalcanal."--San Antonio Express-NewsThe Battle of Guadalcanal has long been heralded as a Marine victory. Now, with his powerful portrait of the Navy's sacrifice, James D. 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 stunning cinematic detail, are the seven major naval actions that began in August 1942, a time when the war seemed unwinnable and America fought on a shoestring, with the outcome always in doubt. Working from interviews with survivors, unpublished eyewitness accounts, and previously unavailable documents, Hornfischer paints a vivid picture of the officers and enlisted men who opposed the Japanese in America's hour of need. Neptune's Inferno does what all great battle narratives do: It tells the gripping human stories behind the momentous events and critical decisions that altered the course of history and shaped so many lives.
Author Biography
James D. Hornfischer was a writer, literary agent, and book editor. He was the author of the New York Times bestsellers Neptune's Inferno, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers, Ship of Ghosts, and The Fleet at Flood Tide, all widely acclaimed accounts of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, as well as the upcoming Who Can Hold the Sea. His books have received numerous awards, including the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Distinguished Service and the Naval Historical Foundation Distinguished Service Award. James D. Hornfischer died in 2021.
