South to Java [Paperback]

William P. MacK and William P. Mack Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2008

The crew of an old U.S. Navy destroyer steaming toward a deadly battle in the Java Sea is the focus of this famous novel set at the outbreak of World War II as the Allies attempted to defend the Philippines and Dutch East Indies against superior Japanese forces. Thrust into conflict against the highly trained modern navy, the American sailors often had only their own courage with which to meet the enemy, and Admiral Mack's memorable description of those men as they faced overwhelming odds has assured the book s popularity since it first appeared in hardcover in 1987.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William P. Mack, the author of numerous books, served as a gunnery officer aboard the destroyer USS John D. Ford in the Java campaign. He was Vice Admiral and commander of the Seventh Fleet and later served as superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. William P. Mack Jr. has coauthored a number of books with his father.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (March 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591144760
• ISBN-13: 978-1591144762
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tin Can Sailors will enjoy this., May 2, 2008

By 

xsquid "Bob" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: South to Java (Paperback)

As a USN vet I'm always on the prowl for a good nautical yarn and this book certainly fit the bill when I first found it 17 years ago. South to Java was the first in a six book series known as the Destroyer series and took advantage of the authors first hand experience serving in an old WWI Four piper (funnel) destroyer similar to the ship his heroes serve in. This fabulous story is set in the opening days of World War II with the US Navy's Asiatic fleet stationed at Cavite in the Philippine Islands. The story begins right before the start of the war and continues through the escape of the last ships to Australia after the doomed attempt by the out classed ABDA command at the Battle of the Java Sea. Perhaps the most enjoyable part was the humor and "old school" sea stories the characters, both officer and enlisted, enacted during the course of the book. Its not often that we are treated to the enlisted men's view of a story and this book provided a good balance between the wardroom and crew decks. In summary a good war story, a good naval story and a good story about the people who fought with what they had. Its always about the people and like Admiral Daniel Gallery before him, Admiral Mack does a good job telling their story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "GENERAL QUARTERS!!!!!, August 6, 2010

By 

Joseph R. Calamia (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: South to Java (Paperback)

"South to Java" by Vice Admiral, William P. Mack and William Mack Jr. is a contemporary historical novel anywhere as good if... not better than any of the "Horatio Hornblower novels by C.S. Forester.

Here is a novel of rare quality that parallels the classic book, "The Sand Pebbles." The late Vice Admiral didn't only write about the U.S. Navy's Asiatic fleet and the battle of the Java seas...hell, he lived it!

This is a rollicking realistic novel about the last classic "Tin-Can" sailors who rode those old obsolete four-stack destroyers straight into the jaws of the Imperial Japanese Navy with little more than the rust on their ships and the bravery in their hearts. This is the story of the USS O'Leary (that never really existed), but was in actuality, an imaginative conglomeration of all the real thirteen (13), destroyers who faced the Japanese fleet all rolled into one.

The names and characters in this story may also be fictitious, but they are in a sense... as real as life itself!! One can not help but be reminded of other ghostly images of similar novels and movies like Hermoun Wouks 1951 novel entitled, "Caine Mutiny" and the sequel 1954 movie with Humphrey Bogart, or even...the 1955 production of "Mr. Roberts' with Henry Fonda, and James Cagney.

"South to Java," is a superb novel that will keep you "steaming" upon the waters of imagination until you have finished the very last page! Don't plan to get much sleep if, you order this book because I guarantee... you won't put it down on your watch!