Synopses & Reviews
From the author of the bestselling Abandon Ship! comes a classic work of World War II history.Richard F. Newcomb is one of the true masters of military storytelling. The Battle of Savo Island is the story of the opening engagement of the Solomon Islands campaign, a unique chapter in naval history. It was the first surface encounter for a coordinated American force in nearly half a century and a very bad start. Courage and will were never lacking, but the Imperial Japanese Navy was about to hand the U.S. Navy the bitterest defeat in its history.
Richard F. Newcomb, one of the pioneers of narrative nonfiction, is also the author of the bestselling Abandon Ship! and Iwo Jima. He lives in Florida.
The Solomon Island campaign is a unique chapter in naval history. Those seventeen months of 1942-43 were marked by unremitting warfare, sudden and vicious battlesmost of them at night, most at very close range, all of them deadly.
This is the story of the opening exchange of that campaign, now known as the Battle of Savo Island. It was the first surface engagement for a coordinated American force in nearly half a century, and a very bad start. Courage and will were never lacking, but Admiral Mikawa and the Imperial Japanese Navy, with the help of their dreaded Long Lance torpedoes, perfected a new tactic based on an ancient Japanese war strategy that they introduced here to devastating effect.
Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan once said that history shows military men are reluctant to change tactics, but "the one who does will go into battle with a great advantagea lesson in itself of no mean value." As Newcomb's gripping history makes clear, Savo taught us that lesson; it was learned the hard way, but learned forever.
"A phenomenal job of historical research . . . A triumph of the writing art."Richard Tregaskis, author of Guadalcanal Diary
Review
"A phenomenal job of historical research . . . a triumph of the writing art."
--Richard Tregaskis, author of Guadalcanal Diary
Synopsis
From the author of the bestselling Abandon Ship! comes a classic work of World War II history.Richard F. Newcomb is one of the true masters of military storytelling. The Battle of Savo Island is the story of the opening engagement of the Solomon Islands campaign, a unique chapter in naval history. It was the first surface encounter for a coordinated American force in nearly half a century and a very bad start. Courage and will were never lacking, but the Imperial Japanese Navy was about to hand the U.S. Navy the bitterest defeat in its history.
About the Author
Richard F. Newcomb, one of the pioneers of narrative nonfiction, is also the author of the bestselling
Abandon Ship! He lives in Florida.