Wednesday, August 22, 2012

"Neptune's Inferno", (The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal), by James D. Hornfischer

I have just had the pleasure of reading my latest selection entitled "Neptune's Inferno" (The US Navy at Guadalcanal), by James D. Hornfischer.  This epic novel is the ultimate in showing the reader, just what it was like in the Pacific during World War II.  Most people if they think about the Second World War, do not usually think about the fight in the Pacific, other than the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Hornfischer takes the reader right into the fray.    
  Many of the characters in this novel were are should be commonly heard names dating back the the war in the Pacific, but Hornfischer goes further in detailing out just how each and everyone of those leaders interacted with each other and how the conduct of that war was actually handled.  This is the first book that I have read where so many personalities were thrown together and each individual had to give and take, in order to guarantee or at least give our forces the best chance of winning each engagement their fullest commitment.  As you read this book, you will be catapulted back in time.  I found myself stand on the deck of some of the naval ships and on some of those tiny islands in the Pacific.  I could smell the air and the feel the fight.  
  "Neptune's Inferno" is a must read for any history buff of World War II and especially for those most interested in the war in the Pacific.  This book will enlighten even the most avid history buff.