This is THE most detailed and informative historical narrative of the surface action on Guadalcanal, Nov.13-15, 1942. From detailed tactical maps to personal accounts of the actions and heroism of both sides of the conflict, Eric Hammel truly puts the reader on the battle bridge, behind the turrent guns, in the cockpit, and treading shark infested waters. You won't be able to put this book down.

Many books have covered the WWII struggle for Guadalcanal, and with good reason. The campaign marked the Allies' shift from defense to offense in the Pacific theater.

Though the US Navy had turned back a grave threat by sinking four Japanese carriers at Midway in June, 1942, the Americans remained on the defensive in the Pacific until the enemy began building an airstrip on an obscure island in the Solomon chain. This "unsinkable aircraft carrier" threatened to cut off re-supply of Australia.

This peril compelled the US to act. On August 7, 1942, American forces landed on Guadalcanal and took the new airstrip, which they dubbed Henderson Field. The landing was easy, but the fight for control of the island proved to be anything but. Each side, realizing the stakes and refusing to fold, alternately raised the ante.

Gaining control of the island depended on reinforcement and re-supply by sea, so control of the surrounding waters was crucial. Those waters were the scene of many naval clashes, but Hammel concentrates on the three-day span which turned the tide and doomed Japan's effort to recapture Guadalcanal.

That span included the hellish melee of Friday the 13th, in which a Japanese bombardment and resupply force and a pick-up flotilla of US cruisers and destroyers nearly collide in the dark; the daytime defense of the island by the Henderson-based "Cactus Air Force" and fliers from the carrier Enterprise against warships and transports; and the climactic clash of battleships off Savo Island.

These events have been described in many histories but often misunderstood. The surface battles were fought in the dark, among multiple ships operating almost independently. Many ships, and more commanders, were lost. Misidentification of friend and foe occurred from the start, and much confusion has survived to this day.

Hammel's great contribution is his orderly depiction of chaos. While it is both horrifying and thrilling to consider the spectacle of dozens of warships blazing away at one another at point-blank range, it's impossible to understand. Through both review of records and interviews with dwindling survivors, Hammel has put together a time-line. He lets us see what happened to each ship in turn, dividing the free-for-all into fairly comprehensible bites.

The US Navy's achievement here was heroic, and the principals have been lionized. But Hammel does not shrink from showing the heroes' weaknesses. US commanders' failure--and its tragic results--to understand their ships' new technology is depicted frankly. The Americans could have overcome the Japanese' superior night-vision capability by putting ships with the best radar in the lead. But commanders squandered a potential advantage by disposing their ships without regard to radar.

If Hammel has a weakness, it's the characters. Many men figure in the story; we learn what they do, but not who they are. They character who leaves the strongest imprint is US Admiral William F. Halsey, whose aggressive fighting spirit set the tone for the US offensive.

This quibble and the occasional awkward turn of phrase are amply compensated by Hammel's organizational and descriptive skills. He includes a helpful glossary and an array of maps up front, adds a description of participating ships in an appendix, and a good complement of photos in between.

Hammel matter-of-factly describes the deaths of many seamen: blown to bits, drowned, burned, scalded, concussed, torn by shrapnel, run down by ships, shredded by propellers, convulsed by depth charges, machine-gunned in the water, eaten by sharks. Despite the dispassionate tone, the sacrifices of our fighting men assume a cumulative, awesome power. Hammel indulges our senses; his painterly descriptions of the equatorial heat, the conical shadow of Savo, and the sickly-sweet smell of tropical plants linger in the memory as long as images of the horrors of war.

Guadalcanal was a contest of wills. After November 15, The Japanese retained the will to fight, but not to win. The Americans went on the attack and never looked back. The turning point deserves a close examination; this book does it justice.