Synopses & Reviews
From the author of Pacific Payback comes the gripping true story of the Cactus Air Force and how this rugged crew of Dive-Bombers helped save Guadalcanal and won the war.
November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japans expansion through the South Pacific. Both sides have endured months of grueling battle under the worst circumstances: hellish jungles, meager rations, and tropical diseases, which have taken a severe mental and physical toll on the combatants. The Japanese call Guadalcanal Jigoku no JimaHell's Island.
Amid a seeming stalemate, a small group of U.S. Navy dive bombers are called upon to help determine the island's fate. The men have until recently been serving in their respective squadrons aboard the USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown, fighting in the thick of the Pacific War's aerial battles. Their skills have been honed to a fine edge, even as injury and death inexorably have depleted their ranks. When their carriers are lost, many of the men end up on the USS Enterprise. Battle damage to that carrier then forces them from their home at sea to operating from Henderson Field, a small dirt-and-gravel airstrip on Guadalcanal.
With some Marine and Army Air Force planes, they help form the Cactus Air Force, a motley assemblage of fliers tasked with holding the line while making dangerous flights from their jungle airfield. Pounded by daily Japanese air assaults, nightly warship bombardments, and sniper attacks from the jungle, pilots and gunners rarely last more than a few weeks before succumbing to tropical ailments, injury, exhaustion, and death. But when the Japanese launch a final offensive to take the island once and for all, these dive-bomber jocks answer the call of dutyand try to perform miracles in turning back an enemy warship armada, a host of fighter planes, and a convoy of troop transports.
A remarkable story of grit, guts, and heroism, The Battle for Hell's Island reveals how command of the South Pacific, and the outcome of the Pacific War, depended on control of a single dirt airstripand the small group of battle-weary aviators sent to protect it with their lives.
Review
“John Prados is a clever and prodigious digger of historical fact. Using new sources, especially from the Japanese side, he offers a fresh and compelling account of the true turning point of the Pacific War.”
—Evan Thomas,
New York Times Bestselling Author of
Ikes Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Struggle to Save the World and
Sea of Thunder “John Prados has done it again: He has taken a well-known, oft-described military campaign and has brought new and important perspective and insight to the events.”
—Norman Polmar, Author of
Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of the K-129
“John Prados has turned his considerable talents to the Navys Solomons campaign, not only shedding light on an oft-neglected aspect of World War II, but shedding new light by carefully evaluating the influence and impact of intelligence on that vital struggle.”—Thomas J. Cutler, Author of The Battle of Leyte Gulf
"Move over, Midway. John Prados wants to bump the famed naval battle from its vaunted spot as the Allies' Big Turnaround in the Pacific. Instead, the historian argues, the tide really turned during the long, complicated, and messy land-and-sea battles of the Solomon Islands...And his reasons are very persuasive...With his storytelling's rich depths and surprising perspectives, Islands of Destiny is essential reading for anyone interested in the Pacific War."—World War II Magazine
"In vivid, immediate prose, Prados details battles from Guadalcanal to a late-1943 siege at Rabaul in New Guinea, showing how cunning strategy allowed the Allies to overcome the Japanese at sea and in the air...Prados provides an accessible history that avoids excessive jargon. Even casual readers of World War II history will find it engaging, and they will likely agree that the author makes a strong case for his revisionist assessment. A well-crafted addition to the canon of World War II military histories."—Kirkus Reviews
"Authoritative...Islands of Destiny serves as a powerful reminder of the geography, the strategy and the ferocity of the Solomons campaign...this book won't disappoint."—Wall Street Journal
“[Prados] argues that Guadalcanal and the Solomons campaign, not Midway, were the Pacific Wars true turning point. His use of Japanese primary sources is especially impressive. Imperial Navy figures, often treated as ciphers, regain their humanity in this authors sympathetic hands.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
“John Prados is a clever and prodigious digger of historical fact. Using new sources, especially from the Japanese side, he offers a fresh and compelling account of the true turning point of the Pacific War.”
—Evan Thomas,
New York Times Bestselling Author of
Ikes Bluff: President Eisenhower's Secret Struggle to Save the World and
Sea of Thunder “John Prados has done it again: He has taken a well-known, oft-described military campaign and has brought new and important perspective and insight to the events.”
—Norman Polmar, Author of
Project Azorian: The CIA and the Raising of the K-129
“John Prados has turned his considerable talents to the Navys Solomons campaign, not only shedding light on an oft-neglected aspect of World War II, but shedding new light by carefully evaluating the influence and impact of intelligence on that vital struggle.”—Thomas J. Cutler, Author of The Battle of Leyte Gulf
"Move over, Midway. John Prados wants to bump the famed naval battle from its vaunted spot as the Allies' Big Turnaround in the Pacific. Instead, the historian argues, the tide really turned during the long, complicated, and messy land-and-sea battles of the Solomon Islands...And his reasons are very persuasive...With his storytelling's rich depths and surprising perspectives, Islands of Destiny is essential reading for anyone interested in the Pacific War."—World War II Magazine
"In vivid, immediate prose, Prados details battles from Guadalcanal to a late-1943 siege at Rabaul in New Guinea, showing how cunning strategy allowed the Allies to overcome the Japanese at sea and in the air...Prados provides an accessible history that avoids excessive jargon. Even casual readers of World War II history will find it engaging, and they will likely agree that the author makes a strong case for his revisionist assessment. A well-crafted addition to the canon of World War II military histories."—Kirkus Reviews
"Authoritative...Islands of Destiny serves as a powerful reminder of the geography, the strategy and the ferocity of the Solomons campaign...this book won't disappoint."—Wall Street Journal
“[Prados] argues that Guadalcanal and the Solomons campaign, not Midway, were the Pacific Wars true turning point. His use of Japanese primary sources is especially impressive. Imperial Navy figures, often treated as ciphers, regain their humanity in this authors sympathetic hands.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
Review
Advance Praise for Pacific Payback
“Deeply researched and well-written, Pacific Payback is by far the most detailed account of U.S.S. Enterprise's dive-bombers, and their decisive role at the Battle of Midway.”—Jonathan Parshall, co-author of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
“In the early naval battles in the Pacific, the U.S. carriers took the fight to the enemy. Their most effective weapon was the Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber. At Midway the SBDs destroyed four carriers and arguably turned the tide of the War against Japan. Their individual stories, however, remain largely untold. Stephen L. Moores Pacific Payback relates the experiences of the Enterprise SBDs beginning with the attack on Pearl Harbor up to Midway and covers all the carrier dive bombers in that decisive battle. This heartfelt tribute to the SBD pilots and radiomen offers much new information and is a valuable contribution to the history of the Pacific War.”—John B. Lundstrom, author of The First Team
“In bringing this story to the public, Stephen Moore has done a service to the courageous fliers of Scouting Squadron Six and Bombing Squadron Six. These men piloted the Douglas Dauntless dive bombers from the decks of the noble Enterprise, often entering battle despite being outnumbered. Their bravery during the wars first six months, when the nation needed heroes, should long occupy a premier spot in our nations history.”—John F. Wukovits, author of For Crew and Country and One Square Mile of Hell
Review
Praise for
Pacific Payback
“This heartfelt tribute to the SBD pilots and radiomen offers much new information and is a valuable contribution to the history of the Pacific War.”—John B. Lundstrom, author of The First Team
“In bringing this story to the public, Stephen Moore has done a service to the courageous fliers of Scouting Squadron Six and Bombing Squadron Six.”—John F. Wukovits, author of For Crew and Country and One Square Mile of Hell
“Deeply researched and well written, Pacific Payback is by far the most detailed account of USS Enterprises dive-bombers and their decisive role at the Battle of Midway.”—Jonathan Parshall, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
Synopsis
Acclaimed WWII historian and military intelligence expert John Prados offers a provocative reassessment of the Allies’ battle for the Solomon Islands—a turbulent, dramatic campaign that, he argues, was the true turning point of the Pacific conflict. Historians traditionally refer to the Battle of Midway as the point when Allied forces gained the advantage over the Japanese. In Islands of Destiny, Prados points out that the Japanese forces quickly regained strength after Midway and continued their assault undaunted. Taking this surprising fact as the start of his inquiry, he began to investigate how and when the Pacific tide turned in the Allies’ favor. His search led him to the decisive battles and strategic maneuvers in the fight for the Solomon Islands. Beginning with the invasion of Guadalcanal in August 1942, the Solomons became a hotly contested battleground for over a year, culminating in the isolation of Rabaul by the Allies. As military forces fought over the strategically important islands, a secret war of intelligence was also being waged. For a total picture of the conflict, Prados integrates blow-by-blow action on the ground with the code breaking, aerial reconnaissance, secret spy posts, and submarine scouting that were vital to the Allied effort. The Solomons arena saw some of the most intense combat of WWII—from major naval actions, including a key confrontation between battleships, to air battles that took place almost daily. With expert knowledge and crystal clear prose, John Prados illustrates why these events were not only thrilling, but pivotal in the Allies’ path to victory.
Synopsis
Sunday, December 7, 1941, dawned clear and bright over the Pacific....
But for the Dauntless dive-bomber crews of the USS Enterprise returning to their home base on Oahu, it was a morning from hell. Flying directly into the Japanese ambush at Pearl Harbor, they lost a third of their squadron and witnessed the heart of Americas Navy broken and smoldering on the oil-slicked waters below.
The next six months, from Pearl Harbor to the Battle of Midwaya dark time during which the Japanese scored victory after victorythis small band of aviators saw almost constant deployment, intense carrier combat, and fearsome casualties. Many were killed by enemy Zero fighters, antiaircraft fire, or deadly crash landings in the Pacific, while others were captured and spent years in POW camps. Yet the Enterprises Dauntless crews would be the first to strike an offensive blow against Japanese installations in the Marshall Islands, would be the first to sink a Japanese warship, and would shepherd the Doolittle Raiders bombing of Tokyo.
Not until Midway, though, would Dauntless crews get the chance to settle the score...and change the course of World War II.
Drawing on dozens of new interviews and oral histories, author Stephen L. Moore brings to life inspiring stories of individual sacrifice and braveryand the sweeping saga of one of Americas greatest triumphs.
INCLUDES PHOTOS
About the Author
Dr. John Prados is a senior research fellow on national security affairs, including foreign affairs, intelligence, and military subjects, at the National Security Archive. He also directs the Archive’s Iraq Documentation Project, as well as its Vietnam Project. He holds a PhD in International Relations from Columbia University. His books Vietnam: The History of an Unwinnable War, 1945–1975; Keepers of the Keys; and Combined Fleet Decoded were each nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He has published articles with Vanity Fair, The Journal of American History, Scientific American, The New York Times, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe.