Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles - The Pivotal Aircraft Carrier Battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz, August - October, 1942

505 pp. "Volume 2 of Hammel's Guadalcanal trilogy is even better than his previous book ( Guadalcanal: Starvation Island ). While that work focused on a land battle, this one concentrates on the desperate air-sea battle of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz islands. There have only been five carrier versus carrier battles in naval history; Coral Sea, Midway, and the Marianas have been criticized and analyzed many times. The battles treated here have until now been neglected. Hammel begins his study with a useful discussion of the development of U.S. and Japanese carriers, aircraft, pilot training, weapons, etc. Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed. Essential for World War II collections, along with volume 1." - Library Journal