bedsitter23

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: Please read my review in full to explain my rating. This book is about the Battle of Samar during World War 2- a battle in which American Destroyers ("Tin Cans")and Aircraft Carriers upset a large fleet of Japanese battleships.

My problem is with Hornfischer's writing style, but I am going to say that he shouldn't have changed a thing. Hornfischer puts in literally dozens of sailors' stories in this book; and that is awesome. That is awesome, because the people in this book are people's relatives. They are fathers and grandfathers, uncles, great uncles, great-grandfathers and so on. I think it is awesome that children, grandchildren, etc can read these stories.

That said, it is a tough read for someone who is not already familiar with this battle. We meet a ton of sailors. Also, there is not a lot of background on the other aspects of the battle. What were the political machinations, what was the environment of the battle and the surrounding area and so on. It made for a tedious read where I felt no real difference in the ships that were profiled.

The point being it is interesting to hear the stories of the men and how tough their situation is, but there is some real strategy in the ships maneuvering that is lost in the story. A combination of both would make for a great book. It is there, if you already know the story, I am sure, but it all blends together in the book.

Had I that background going in, my reaction might have been different. Had Hornfischer used the men's observations to propel a story and not as the whole story, it would have been better for the layreader.

It should also be commented that words like 'heroic' and 'patriotic' are thrown around cheaply and have been co-opted by right-wing radio. That is unfortunate because the men on this book are some of the most brave, most courageous, most patriotic men in this country's history in many, many aspects of that word. These are strong stories of bravery when they did not need to be brave, and when they needed to be brave the most. Incredible stories that remind why so many of our grandfathers did not talk about their WW2 experiences as much as we might wanted to hear of them.

Great men in this book. I will say it was dense enough that I considered giving up on it a few times,but someone with a good naval knowledge or real interest will find it worth it, I think. The last couple of chapters about the aftermath are pretty harrowing, and I would suggest if you do get bogged down like I did, to at least read those.

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