Rating: 
Summary: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors : The Extraordinary Wo
Review: Six months after the Battle of Samar, Adm. William Halsey said to Rear Adm. Clifton Sprague, commander of U.S. naval forces in that engagement, that the latter had written there "the most glorious page in American naval history." In his first historical work, Hornfischer offers an immensely gripping account of the supreme courage and self-sacrifice displayed by the outgunned sailors and airmen of Sprague's Task Force off the Philippine coast in October 1944. With captivating prose and innovative battle maps, Hornfischer deftly creates a clear picture of what has been characterized by some historians as the most complex naval battle in history. The author draws extensively upon interviews with surviving veterans, previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, and official naval documents to record an almost minute-by-minute account of the action that saw Sprague's lightly armed and thinly armored escort carriers and destroyers (Tin Cans) deflect and ultimately turn back the Japanese juggernaut of battleships and cruisers aiming to attack MacArthur's Leyte beachheads. Steeped in the immensely rich details of the men and ships that fought, Hornfischer's work will be welcomed by both general readers and naval enthusiasts. Highly recommended for all public libraries
Rating:
Summary: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors : The Extraordinary Wo
Review: Six months after the Battle of Samar, Adm. William Halsey said to Rear Adm. Clifton Sprague, commander of U.S. naval forces in that engagement, that the latter had written there "the most glorious page in American naval history." In his first historical work, Hornfischer offers an immensely gripping account of the supreme courage and self-sacrifice displayed by the outgunned sailors and airmen of Sprague's Task Force off the Philippine coast in October 1944. With captivating prose and innovative battle maps, Hornfischer deftly creates a clear picture of what has been characterized by some historians as the most complex naval battle in history. The author draws extensively upon interviews with surviving veterans, previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, and official naval documents to record an almost minute-by-minute account of the action that saw Sprague's lightly armed and thinly armored escort carriers and destroyers (Tin Cans) deflect and ultimately turn back the Japanese juggernaut of battleships and cruisers aiming to attack MacArthur's Leyte beachheads. Steeped in the immensely rich details of the men and ships that fought, Hornfischer's work will be welcomed by both general readers and naval enthusiasts. Highly recommended for all public libraries
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but . . .
Review: The book makes a good addition to the extensive writing on the battle of Leyte Gulf,24-25 October, 1944. Hornfischer's problem in writing the book was how to mine materials already worked over many times. This he does by effective use of oral history
gathered in interviews with the now-elderly survivors of the battle. Hornfischer has also,as he notes, attempted to make allowance for the fallibility of memory and the propensity
of memories to be affected by subsequent information.It is remarkable that Hornfischer has been able to present an extraordinarily coherent picture of the tactical developments while recording chaotic events through the eyes of men dealing with what was occurring within the confines of their own ships and their own limited hortizons. It is an undeniably human story. Those things having been said, the book has serious limitations, not as history but as literature. In his attempt to produce a gripping narrative, the author seems never to have met a simile, metaphore, or adjective he doesn't like, often descending to the level of pulp fiction. Occasionally, those attempts to color the story actually trivialize the particular event they describe. Often, "salty" jargon is used quite unnecessarily, and some technical terms are misused, but that is detail. The most serious defect, from this reviewer's viewpoint, is the entirely excessive description of the carnage suffered aboard the ships of Taffy 3. Certainly, the effects of naval weaponry are horrible and deserve to be described. However, the repeated
reference to the intimate details of damage to human bodies, often identified with particular individuals, cannot be excused. The heroism of the sailors is not honored, nor
is the memory of those who died. Far better it would be to leave most of those details to the cleansing waters of the sea.
Rating:
Summary: A classic naval David vs Goliath story and America is David
Review: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is both compelling military history and a tale of the horrors or naval warfare. The author's dynamic style blends historcally detailed descritions with the human aspects of naval warfare to make this a great read for both naval history buffs as well as those who simply seek to understand the tribulations of men at war. World war II history is in its glory at present and this story of a little told but, historically very signficant Pacific battle, fills a large void in a contemporary military library. Hornfischer brilliantly sets the stage for the somwhat accidental mismatch that resulted in a classic naval David vs Goliath story where America is David. In doing so he artfully describes the differences between the U.S. "Tins Can" Destroyers and their humongous Japanese foes showing how American ingenuity, heroism and sheer bravery overcame insurrmountable odds.
Rating:
Summary: History at its most exciting
Review: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors puts the reader on the decks of American "tin cans" as they faced the mightiest ships of Imperial Japan in October 1944. The narrative is so vivid the reader can practically hear the big guns and feel the concussion of exploding shells. My first thought when finishing the book was, because of the action and David versus Goliath storyline, it was a natural for film. My second thought was that a movie could not do this story justice. It would be hard to explain how the Japanese set their trap, and how something like an errant torpedo or fatigue might have helped turn the course of the battle. Most importantly, we would miss so many of the anecdotes of individual heroism sprinkled throughout this book. Hornfisher's explanation of the strategies employed during the battle of Samar is fascinating, and he gives an account of the conditions and the battle without talking down to the reader. He is at his best, though, in describing the desperate heroism of the sailors of Taffy 3. Hornfisher gives the reader a sense of who these men were, how they were unexpectedly called upon to be great and how they rose to the challenge. The reader is pushed from today - where the war is won and safely in the history books - back in time into the shoes of those sailors, who don't know if the United States will defeat Japan or if they will live or die. Vivid, too, is the sacrifice of those who died in the battle, and the book is graphic at times. But Hornfisher handles this with respect, and ultimately it serves to magnify the heroism of the men. The survivors today say they are not heroes; that all they did was the best they could for their country, each other and themselves. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors shows how these men are heroes, and how succeeding generations of American owe them a debt of gratitude.
Rating:
Summary: A Bit Overrated
Review: The success of Tin Can Sailors is a good example of what the power of a large publishing firm such as Bantam can accomplish. Hornfischer expanded on Captain Henry Doscher's seminal "Little Wolf at Leyte," published eight years ago by the lesser known Eakin Press, and Bantam made the book into a best seller. In the spirit of Steven Ambrose's many publications, this book is not so much history as a populist accounting. I would have preferred a more carefully documented treatise - along the lines of Admiral Morison. Less gore would have been appropriate as well; it benefits the reader little to learn about a sailor continuing to run after his head has been lopped off. Make no mistake about it. Bantam and Hornfischer have done a service to the memory of these brave men. A stronger editor's hand would have made Tin Can Sailors a better book.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible story, a significant battle, very well told
Review: This book has it all. It is an incredible story. It is a battle that if not for the incredible heroism and luck of the U.S. Navy, the pacific war could have been set back significantly (who knows what effect a tactical victory at that point would have had on the Japanese decision to continue fighting or surrender). And it is very well told.
To me the most incredible part is how each U.S. commander on the spot made the right decision and in many cases, assuming that they and their ship would die, attacked the Japanese fleet. This is a story of the incredible professionalism and bravery of the U.S. Navy in WWII. And in the case of the ships involved, a Naval staff that was almost entirely civilians before Dec 7.
It also shows Halsey at his worst - and deservedly so.
Rating: 
Summary: 4.5 Stars Good Reading but Can Be Confusing
Review: This book is good reading about the battle off Samar and brings home the personal cost on the US side of the battle, but when the action heats up, the scene shifts from one ship to another and another and another which got to be a bit confusing for me. Also, I think Hornfiscer did a good job, by and large, but I didn't care for his assessment of Kurita. I don't think we can really know whether Kurita could have wiped out Taffy 3 or not (Hornfischer seems to think he was wise to have withdrawn). Overall, the book s very good and I'd recommend it to any history buff of WWII.
Rating:
Summary: The Naval Equivalent to "Flags of Our Fathers"
Review: This book is superbly researched and written. It documents the personal lives of those Naval personnel, true patriots and heroes, which made General MacArthur's return to the Philippine's successful even after Bull Halsey naively fell for being pulled off of a screening position by a decoy of Japanese Aircraft Carriers. Called the Battle of Samar, I first became aware of this battle while taking my father-in-law to his WWII ship's reunion and no book will ever do a better job of documenting the battle. He served on a Destroyer Escort (DE411)which was the sister ship to DE413 (Samuel B. Roberts). The Sammy B., is one of four U.S. ships lost in the battle, whose activity is vividly documented by Hornfischer. There are maps with sufficient details to support the narrative and show locations of task forces and individual ships as the battle raged. Based upon hundreds of personal accounts weaved together in the sequence as events occurred, they make the battle come alive with the heroic accomplishments, pain, and heartache of sacrifice necessary for our freedom and liberty today. Exceptional quotes are too numerous to list in this space but the one I often recount for folks is from the skipper of the Sammy B. as the Johnston came by in the middle of the battle, "It gave me a hurt feeling to look at it...I saw her captain... I had met him at conferences...He was on the fantail conning his ship by calling down to the engine room...stripped to the waist, covered with blood...left hand wrapped in a handkerchief...That's the last I saw of him." Hornfischer sums it up very well when he writes, "...it was the greatest naval battle ever fought for distances it spanned, for the tonnage of ships sunk, for the duration of the duels between surface ships, and for the terrible losses of human life." The images of this book will remain with me for a long time!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating history...
Review: This historical work is a well-written account of one of the most fascinating chapters in naval history, an unequal battle between the biggest Japanese battleships and cruisers vs. a group of destroyers and "pocket" aircraft carriers in late 1944 off the Phillipines. It examines an interesting problem, which is how the US Navy would react and handle a situation of certain desctruction: would they fight? how would they fight? As history the book as some weaknesses. It focuses on the individuals on the American side, almost excessivly, and follows each step in the battle and each ship or airplane's participation minutely. The research effort was obviously enormous and the results are enourmously readable. On the down side, the threading of sequences together is a bit difficult to follow, with leaps back in time to follow a different ship making it hard to keep up with the narrative flow at times. The "human interest story" focus and lack of detail on the Japanese side also serve to diminish the impact. We don't really see the effect of the Americans' efforts, except as they perceive it. And there is less introspection about some of the decisions than there could be. That said, this book captures palpably the feelings and flavors of this kind of naval combat, now gone. If you've seen historical black and white footage (Victory at Sea, etc.), this gives you color and texture that is missing from those grainy images. Although it is not a perfect examination, it is an excellent popular recounting of an overlooked and interesting moment in naval warfare.
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