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The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War (Bluejacket Books) Paperback – April 15, 2012

by Lisel A. Rose (Author)

24 customer reviews

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The American fleet aircraft carrier Hornet is widely acknowledged for the contributions she made to the war effort. The Doolittle Raid, launched from the Hornet's deck, inaugurated America's Pacific counteroffensive and transformed the aircraft carrier into one of the world's prime strategic weapon systems. She was one of three carriers to participate in the victory at Midway and the fighting around Guadalcanal. Through the experiences of this key warship and the eyes of her crew and the aviators who flew from her deck, Lisle Rose recreates the first desperate year of the war in the Pacific. He tells how the Hornet was molded into a deadly weapon of war, how the ship was fought and ultimately lost, and what it was like to live aboard her at a time when the fate of the United States depended on the Navy's tiny carrier fleet.

In chronicling the carrier's operational history, the author contends that the fate of the Hornet's air group at Midway remains one of the great controversies in modern naval history and that the ship's importance in helping to keep the Japanese juggernaut at bay during the most critical period of the Pacific war is incontestable. His arguments ring true today as the controversy continues. Rose succeeds both in letting the reader see things the way the men of the Hornet did and in placing their experiences in a broad historical context.

The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War (Bluejacket Books)

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About the Author

Lisle A. Rose was an enlisted man in the U.S. Navy before earning his Ph.D. in history and serving in the state department's bureau of oceans and international environmental scientific affairs.

Series: Bluejacket Books
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: Naval Institute Press; Complete Numbers Starting with 1, 1st Ed edition (April 15, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1557500088
ISBN-13: 978-1557500083
Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 24 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,695,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3958 in Books > History > Military > Naval
- #15316 in Books > History > Military > World War II

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4.3 out of 5 stars

5 star		54%
4 star		33%
3 star		9%
2 star		0%
1 star		4%

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Top customer reviews

A good book that could have been better.

ByReviewer from Terraon November 30, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

While a little fact checking by the editor would have made this a great book, it's still a damn good read about a ship that once it left the US, never saw her home waters again. The Hornet, well known for carrying the Doolittle Raiders had a short and finally violent end. Her first captain, Marc Mitscher was honest about his appraisal that his ship could have done better. But this is the story of the crew and the ship, of it's successes and failures. In the end, she and her crew did their job, and did help stay the Japanese, giving the US industry time to fire up, build new ships and eventually begin the conquest of the captured Pacific territories.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

A very good, detailed read for a WWII naval buff

ByRobert Larisonon January 23, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A very interesting and detailed look at carrier operations at the beginning of the war in the Pacific. I was expecting a memoir type book but was pleasantly surprised to find the book both a memoir and a treasure trove of details about how a new carrier is brought on line and how it works. The discussion of 1941 carrier strike doctrine was new to me. I had not realized there was a 1941 carrier doctrine in the US Navy that really did not make a lot of sense...example...always launch all of the fighters first, the bombers next, and the torpedo bombers last. This made the fighters, who had the shortest range already, oribit and wait for all the other planes to launch..perhaps as long as half an hour, burning up their fuel and consequently reducing their already short operational range. The longest range planes, the torpedo bombers, took off last under the doctrine. This eventually changed but the doctrine was in place as late as Midway. Also no experience/training in joint operations between carriers...there was a reason so many early carrier task groups had only one carrier. Also a very detailed look at the navy side of the Doolittle raid on Tokyo...which launched from the USS Hornet. A very good, detailed read for a WWII naval buff.

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Great to read. And to learn more the history

Bydave cunninghamon July 22, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Learning more history
Learning more history of ww 2 and what the sailors went through i like reading more history

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

Good history but not a "definitive" account

ByCharles L. Ainsworthon October 12, 2009

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

In writing a book about an aircraft carrier, it seems that an author has a choice of either writing a detailed, comprehensive operational history which might be a little dry because of the weight of all the detail, much of it mundane, or leaving out a lot of detail in order to create a tighter, more exciting narrative. In this case, it appears that the author has chosen the latter option. Apparently because it leaves out a lot of detail, the book is a good read and moves along quickly with a compelling story. The book provides a general history of the ship with some anecdotes and brief but colorful descriptions of shipboard life. There are a few errors but they didn't distract me too much. My preference, however, would have been for a more detailed history of the Hornet so that this book could serve as a complete reference. Because of the lack of detail, those interested in the complete history of this ship will need to acquire more than just this book.

For more detail on the Hornet's air operations, I suggest both volumes of John Lundstrom's "First Team" series. Greater detail on the Hornet's participation at the Battle of Midway and the fiasco and command cover-up involving its air groups are contained in Alvin Kernan's "The Unknown Battle of Midway: The Destruction of the American Torpedo Squadrons" and Robert Mrazek's "A Dawn Like Thunder: The True Story of Torpedo Squadron Eight". Greater detail on Hornet's participation in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands can be found in Eric Hammel's "Carrier Strike: The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands,October 1942". And greater detail on the Hornet's design and construction can be found in Norman Friedman's "U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History".

Again, I would have preferred for this book's author to have included all of this so that this book would be all that was required to know just about everything one might want to know about this carrier. Since that isn't the case, this book serves as an incomplete, but important work among a number of excellent books documenting the important contributions of this fine ship and its brave crew to the US victory in the Pacific War.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most recent customer reviews

Five Stars

A really good read thoroughly enjoyed.

Published 1 year ago by Colin Hurcomb

Five Stars

very great book

Published 1 year ago by robert rogers

Five Stars

Very good read for any one interested in WWII history.

Published 1 year ago by Stan

A good book that could have been a very good one

The Hornet played an outside role in WWII because it was one of a handful of US Fleet carriers that fought the Japanese until the arrival of the Essex class.Read more

Published 1 year ago by Brian Halma

Four Stars

Great story. I was on the U.S.S. Hornet CVA 12 and can relate to some fact aboard ship.

Published on August 17, 2014 by HARRY FRIEDRICH

One of my favorites.

I liked the way the story of this book is told, from the perspective of the average sailor. There were some errors, but nothing to get excited about.Read more

Published on November 9, 2013 by Happy Positive.

Informative, interesting, and well written

Published on August 2, 2013 by Joe Morrow

A year in the life of the USS Hornet

Some military history books provide sweeping accounts of entire campaigns, others focus on the details of specific battles.Read more

Published on July 2, 2013 by David M Harland

The Ship that Held The Line

I've just finished reading "The Ship That Held The Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War", and I don't think I've ever read a better or more readable account...Read more

Published on February 19, 2011 by Rodger Kingston

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The Ship that Held the Line: The USS Hornet and the First Year of the Pacific War (Bluejacket Books) Paperback – April 15, 2012

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