In the dark days of 1942, the battle for the Solomon Islands was very much in doubt. When carrier dive bomber Robert D. "Hoot" Gibson sighted the Japanese fleet heading for "Hell's Island," he attacked the vanguard ships, sinking the heavy cruiser Kinugasa and two loaded Japanese troop transports in a battle royal that earned him the Navy Cross. He was also credited with the sinking of an I-Class submarine and shooting down two Zeroes, after going toe-to-toe with Japan's premier a...

**The New York Times bestselling official companion book to the Emmy® Award-winning HBO® miniseries.Look for The Pacific miniseries, now available to stream on Netflix!**Between America's retreat from China in late November 1941 and the moment General MacArthur's airplane touched down on the Japanese mainland in August of 1945, five men connected by happenstance fought the key battles of the war against Japan. From the debacle in Bataan, to the miracle at ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The extraordinary true story of the World War II air, land, and sea campaign that brought the U.S. Navy to the apex of its strength and marked the rise of the United States as a global superpower, from the acclaimed author of The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors—with original maps and more than 120 dramatic photographs“A masterful, fresh account of the latter days of the war in the Pacific . . . Hornfischer off...

Winner of the 2011 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature, The Twilight Warriors is the engrossing, page-turning saga of a tightly knit band of naval aviators who are thrust into the final—and most brutal—battle of the Pacific war during World War II: Okinawa.April 1945. The end of World War II finally appears to be nearing. The Third Reich is collapsing in Europe, and the Americans are overpowering the once-mighty Japanese Empire in the Pacific. ...

**A remarkable eyewitness account of the most brutal combat of the Pacific War, from Peleliu to Okinawa, this is the true story of R.V. Burgin, the real-life World War II Marine Corps hero featured in HBO®'s The Pacific.“Read his story and marvel at the man...and those like him.”—Tom Hanks**When a young Texan named R.V. Burgin joined the Marines 1942, he never imagined what was waiting for him a world away in the Pacific. There, amid steamy jungles, he encountered ...

With their renowned squadron leader Greg “Pappy” Boyington, Marine Fighting Squadron (VMF) 214 was one of the best-known and most colorful combat units of World War II. The popular television series Baa Baa Black Sheep added to their legend—while obscuring the truly remarkable combat record of the Black Sheep and Boyington. A retired naval flight officer and former historian for the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, Bruce Gamble provides a highly readable account that serves to bo...

“The story of Sergeant Major Maurice Jacques is the story of a true warrior. With close to fifty months’ combat in Korea and Vietnam, he’s one of that rare breed, men who have looked the Devil in the eye—for a long time—and never blinked!”**—**LtCol. Oliver North, USMC (Ret.)COMBAT AND DEATH, SACRIFICE AND HONORMaurice Jacques served for thirty years with the U.S. Marine Corps, nearly six of them in combat. As an accomplished infantryman, parachutist, recon...

"A memoir and more . . . Kernan brings this maritime battle superbly to life. . . . And he narrates the air assault in gripping detail" ( The Wall Street Journal).The Battle of Midway is considered the greatest US naval victory, but behind the luster is the devastation of the American torpedo squadrons. Of the 51 planes sent to attack Japanese carriers only 7 returned, and of the 127 aircrew only 29 survived. Not a single torpedo hit its target.A s...

From the national bestselling coauthor of Dragon's Jaw, here is the incredible true story of the most spectacular aircraft carrier battle in history, World War II’s Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.“Superb... the greatest naval air battle of all time finally receives the meticulous and comprehensive treatment it deserves.”—Richard Frank, author of Tower of SkullsIn June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets made their way...

An extraordinary slice of untold WWII history: how unproven Marines driving untested Sherman tanks turned the tide against Japan in the Battle of Tarawa.In May 1943, a self-described "really young, green, ignorant lieutenant" assumed command of a new US Marine Corps company. His even younger Marines were learning to operate an untested weapon, the M4A2 "Sherman" medium tank. Just six months later, the company would be thrown into one of the ghastliest battles of Wo...

Here, one of America’s most popular military historians re-creates, using their own moving and powerful voices, the true stories of the U.S. Marine pilots who flew the Allies to victory in World War II. These riveting accounts recreate conflicts ranging from the Marines’ gallant defense of Wake Island, where Captain Henry “Baron” Elrod destroyed two enemy planes before joining the fight on the ground, earning a posthumous Medal of Honor in the last-ditch attempt to stave off the Japanese, ...

The bomber pilot whose bravery in the Battle of Midway changed the course of WWII recounts his story in this extraordinary memoir: "An instant classic" ( Dallas Morning News).On June 4, 1942, above the tiny Pacific atoll of Midway, Lt. (j.g.) "Dusty" Kleiss piloted his SBD Dauntless into a near-vertical dive aimed at the heart of Japan's Imperial Navy. The greatest naval battle in history raged around him as the U.S. desperately searched for its first major...