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Guadalcanal: Starvation Island
 
 
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Guadalcanal: Starvation Island [Paperback]

Eric M. Hammel (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 19, 1987
Guadalcanal
Starvation Island
by
Eric Hammel

The Japanese defeats at Midway and Guadalcanal decided the outcome of the Pacific War. Guadalcanal was the classic three-dimensional campaign. On land, at sea, and in the air, fierce battles were fought with both sides stretching their supplies and equipment to the breaking point. The campaign lasted six months, involved nearly one million men, and stopped Japanese expansion in the Pacific.

When the campaign began on August 7, 1942, no one on either side quite knew how to conduct it, as Eric Hammel shows in this masterly account. Guadalcanal: Starvation hand corrects numerous errors and omissions in the official records that have been perpetuated in all the books previously published about the campaign. Hammel also draws on the recollections of more than 100 participants on both sides, especially the enlisted men at the sharp end. Their words bring us into the heart of the battle and portray the fighting accurately, realistically, and very powerfully.

Guadalcanal: Starvation Island follows the men and the commanders of this decisive World War II campaign in an integrated, brilliantly told narrative of the desperate struggle at sea, on land, and in the air.

***

Praise for Guadalcanal: Starvation Island and Eric Hammel

“A comprehensive history of the Guadalcanal Campaign . . . [and] a well-balanced account. Well written and fast moving.” —Marine Corps Gazette

“Hammel has written the most comprehensive popular ac-count to date . . . and exposes controversial aspects often passed over,” —Publishers Weekly

“Hammel takes the reader behind the scenes and details how decisions were made . . . and how they impacted on the troops carrying them out. He tells the story in a very human way.” —Leatherneck Magazine

“A splendid record of this decisive campaign. Hammel offers a wealth of fresh material drawn from archival records and the recollections of 100-odd surviving participants. . . . A praise-worthy contribution to Guadalcanal lore.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Hammel’s ability to reveal both the immediacy and the hu-manity of war without judgment or bias makes all his books both readable and scholarly. —San Francisco Chronicle

“Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed. —Library Journal
--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13-15, 1942 $24.84

Guadalcanal: Starvation Island + Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13-15, 1942


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hammel has written the most comprehensive popular account to date of what was essentially the first major counteroffensive against the Japanese in World War II and exposes controversial aspects often passed over. He discusses at length, for example, the poor intelligence-gathering efforts of the Marines before the Guadalcanal landing, the temporary abandonment of the First Marine Division by the Navy, and the meddling of Admiral Kelly Turner in the tactical deliberations of Marine Gen. A. A. Vandergrift. Although Hammel vividly describes the air and naval battlesequal in importance to the ground operationshe focuses on the hard-pressed Marine infantrymen and gives a good account of the heroics of individuals now regarded as legendary in the Corps, such men as "Manila John" Basilone, "Red Mike" Edson and "Chesty" Puller. Hammel is author of The Root: The Marines in Beirut. Photos. Military Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 532 pages
  • Publisher: Pacifica Press (CA) (December 19, 1987)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0935553045
  • ISBN-13: 978-0935553048
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,367,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eric Hammel's writing career began in the 1960s, when he was a teenager. He has had forty military history books, one novel, and more than sixty-five non-fiction articles published. Eric has worked as West Coast contributing editor for Leatherneck Magazine and as a publishing acquisitions and content editor, but he has spent most of the years since 1983 as a full-time author, editor, and publisher.

Free sample chapters from all of Eric Hammel's in-print books can be viewed at his author site, http://www.EricHammelBooks.com
All of his books are available on Amazon.com.

 

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars good history of an incredible battle, May 13, 2004
This review is from: Guadalcanal: Starvation Island (Paperback)
Guadalcanal is the most interesting battle of American history. It was the first American offensive of World War II and victory hung in a seesaw balance for three months as Americans slowly and painfully gained land, sea, and air superiority over their Japanese opponents. The costs were enormous. Japan and America lost 26 ships each. Most of them were sunk in "Iron Bottom Sound" in the "Slot." The 18 pilots of one fighter wing of the "Cactus" air force were reduced to four in less than three months -- but they shot down 83 Japanese planes. Hammel estimates that 35,000 Japanese died in the battle -- about one third of them of disease and starvation. U.S. losses of Army, Navy, and Marines totalled about 3,000 dead.

Eric Hammel has written a competent and readable book on the battle of Guadalcanal from August 7, 1942 when the first Marines stepped on shore until mid-November when the battle was won -- although three months of bloody mop-up operations remained. Hammel covers land, sea, and air operations, and his descriptions range from the strategy sessions of the Brass to the battle experiences of 18-year old Marine privates. My enthusiasm for this book is restrained however as there are many other accounts in books and on the web which are equally good.

Hammel's technical discussions of battles and strategies are very good; his description of the conditions the marines faced in Guadalcanal -- abandonment by the navy, malaria and dengue, shortages of everything, a shrieking, suicidal enemy who hardly seemed human, a dark, menacing jungle -- is less good. The marines called Guadalcanal "Operation Shoestring" and it deserves the name. For the Japanese it was even worse.

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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant portrayal of Can Do Marines in extreme conditions., December 8, 1997
The best book I've read on Guadalcanal. Helps one understand the professionalism of the Marines. A dedicated group of men trying to survive a very tough situation. I was really impressed by their ability to keep their weapons operating in that jungle environment for months with almost no resupply help from the Navy. - Robert Merritt Edson
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fine book by a fine author, August 22, 2005
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Eric Hammel is a splendid writer, and this book is a splendid account of the Guadalcanal campaign. Part of a trilogy which included volumes about the naval aspects of the Guadalcanal battle, "Starvation Island" focuses on the land and land-based air phases of this far-flung struggle. Well-written and entertaining, this is history at its best. Along with the other fine volumes about the Guadalcanal campaign, such as Richard B. Frank's excellent work ("Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle") this book will be enjoyed by anyone interested in this crucial turning point in the war in the Pacific.
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