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

Lisle A. Rose (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1995

Re-creates the first desperate year of the war, and shows how the Hornet helped to shape the brief golden age of the carrier.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 309 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507295
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507297
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,326,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Story of the Hornet's Short and Checkered Life, December 24, 2005

By 

Dianne Roberts (Los Angeles, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War (Paperback)

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 particularly poignant and heartfelt manner. You really get to bond with the ship and her experiences throughout her short life and honestly feel the loss as she slips forever beneath the waves, devoid of all human life.

Definitely recommended for WWII history, Navy, or Carrier buffs.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History-Yes: New Insights-Yes: Interesting-Yes, September 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ship That Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War (Hardcover)

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!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hornet helps turn the tide of WWII., April 7, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ship That Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War (Hardcover)

This book decribes the roughly one year combat life of the USS Hornet, one of America's prewar aircraft carriers . During the crucial first twelve months of WWII, with the United States reeling from Pearl Harbor and other defeats, the USS Hornet and a handful of other carriers were the only ships the U.S. had that could stop and eventually push back the oncoming Japanese. The author concentrates on how it was like to live aboard these floating airfields and describes the triumphs and tragedies of this particular ship; from the launching of Dolittle's famous raid against Tokyo, to the heartreading and somewhat mysterious failure of the ship's air group at Midway. In what is the most vivid chapter, the author recreates the Hornet's last battle at Santa Cruz, where the ship finally succumbs to Japanese torpedos. For those who are interested in knowing what it was like to serve on one of these great ships during the "carrier war" this book is execellent