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Product Description
Review
“Leckie puts you in the foxhole.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Fast-paced and informative . . . Characters are very much alive on the printed page.”—Navy Times
“[A] stirring story of America’s survival in its grimmest hour . . . as readable and gripping as a novel.”—Patriot Ledger
“Fast-paced and informative . . . Characters are very much alive on the printed page.”—Navy Times
“[A] stirring story of America’s survival in its grimmest hour . . . as readable and gripping as a novel.”—Patriot Ledger
Book Description
From Robert Leckie, the World War II veteran and New York Times bestselling author of Helmet for My Pillow, whose experiences were featured in the HBO miniseries The Pacific, comes this vivid narrative of the astonishing six-month campaign for Guadalcanal.
From the Japanese soldiers’ carefully calculated—and ultimately foiled—attempt to build a series of impregnable island forts on the ground to the tireless efforts of the Americans who struggled against a tenacious adversary and the temperature and terrain of the island itself, Robert Leckie captures the loneliness, the agony, and the heat of twenty-four-hour-a-day fighting on Guadalcanal. Combatants from both sides are brought to life: General Archer Vandegrift, who first assembled an amphibious strike force; Isoroku Yamamoto, the naval general whose innovative strategy was tested; the island-born Allied scout Jacob Vouza, who survived hideous torture to uncover the enemy’s plans; and Saburo Sakai, the ace flier who shot down American planes with astonishing ease.
Propelling the Allies to eventual victory, Guadalcanal was truly the turning point of the war. Challenge for the Pacific is an unparalleled, authoritative account of this great fight that forever changed our world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Battle Worth Learning About, Nov 20 2010
By Clifford A. Stuart - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Challenge for the Pacific: Guadalcanal: The Turning Point of the War (Paperback)
Guadalcanal is one of those battles that was more important than most people or historians give credit. We hear about Normandy, Iwo Jima and Midway more often, and those were important battles, but Guadalcanal was also important and just as risky. Robert Leckie writes about the battle, the personalities, and the conditions for over 400 pages. Guadalcanal was epic in scope and requires a lengthy book to due justice to the battle.Challenge for the Pacific: The Turning Point of the War, tells how the tide of Imperial Japan had been halted at Midway, and America went on the offensive in the Pacific at Guadalcanal. We learn that it was a battle fought savagely at sea, in the air, and on land, over the course of months, with great losses to both sides. We learn that the Americans and Japanese fought each other and the elements. We also learn that courage in battle was only part of the courage required by those who fought at Guadalcanal.
Robert Leckie will be remembered as a patriot and author who wrote about what he experienced first-hand. Challenge for the Pacific has opened my eyes to this important battle and the courage and tenacity of the leaders and men who fought it.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Turning Point of the War, Nov 24 2010
By Jeffrey T. Munson - Published on Amazon.com
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This review is from: Challenge for the Pacific: Guadalcanal: The Turning Point of the War (Paperback)
After the American victory at Midway, the remnants of the Japanese fleet returned home to lick their wounds. However, despite this defeat, Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands were at work. An airfield was being constructed on the island of Guadalcanal which, if finished, could threaten Australia and the surrounding areas. American intelligence found out about this airfield and soon, the First Marine Division, under the command of General Archer Vandegrift, was sailing to meet the Japanese. In the following six months, the Marines and Japanese would engage in one of the bloodiest campaigns of the war. Each side lost countless numbers of men, ships, and airplanes, but the strategic value of Guadalcanal had become so great that whoever held control of the island would control the entire South Pacific. The Marines were determined to make sure it was them and not the Japanese.Robert Leckie served as a machine gunner on Guadalcanal, and he writes from a position of complete knowledge of the battle. He describes the battle from August, 1942 until December, 1942. The Marines were relieved by the U.S. Army and the fighting actually continued until February, 1943. Leckie discusses all aspects of the battle, including the invasion itself, the disastrous battle of Savo Island, the battles of the Tenaru River, the destruction of the Ichiki Detachment, the murderous shellings of Henderson Field, and the great naval battles that took place in Ironbottom Sound. In addition to the fine description of the battles, Leckie also introduced the reader to the pesonalities, both Japanese and American, that fought in the battle. There personalities include "Manila John" Basilone, "Chesty" Puller, "Red Mike" Edson, Admiral Yamamoto, and Martin Clemens.
The battle for Guadalcanal was a six-month struggle for survival. Food was scarce on both sides. But, while the Americans were hungry, the Japanese starved. The Japanese began calling Guadalcanal "the island of death"; they were right. After the battle, the Japanese remained on the defensive for the remainder of the war.
This is an excellent book. Robert Leckie gives the reader a unique perspective of the battle because he was actually involved in the fighting. He describes each major conflict in the battle with great accuracy, and he brings all of the major players to life. I've read Leckie's other books ("Helmet for my Pillow" and "Strong Men Armed"), and "Challenge for the Pacific" maintains the same excellent narrative as these other ones. If you want to learn what the fighting on Guadalcanal was really like, then don't miss this book. Highly recommended.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book with much good insight on Guadalcanal, Jan 10 2011
By Scott M in SC - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Challenge for the Pacific: Guadalcanal: The Turning Point of the War (Paperback)
Very good read by a man who was there and lived it. I particularly enjoyed the intertwining of the naval and ground battles. Leckie definitely did his research and presents a thorough, detailed yet easy to read narrative of the battle. The only thing keeping it from being 5 stars was he tends to work a little too hard at his descriptives - a bit of overkill, in my opinion. But a great read and highly recommended.
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