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Rating: 
Summary: Best Guadalcanal book I've ever read
Review: I've read all the classic books on Guadalcanal, but this was the most detailed, most real, most gripping of them all. You can tell the author was there with the bombs falling and bullets flying because it was written while it was all happening.There are some scenes that are just unforgettable, like when a private gets scared and shoots in the dark at what he thought was a Jap, but shoots a Sgt. Casey instead right through the chest. Then Casey's buddy needs to be restrained from killing the private. Or when a Ranger didn't like an order he got from an officer, so he shot and killed the officer. Then another Marine pulled his pistol and killed the Ranger. Later on, the Marine who killed the Ranger ended up in a bloody fistfight with the author in the pitch black night over a grudge. They were swinging at each other without being able to see each other. There are lots of historical notes that tie together what the author witnessed with what was going on all over the island. What's really impressive is that the author's account differs from the official Marine Corps account in a few places where it's clear that the author's account is the correct one. The book has a lot more to it than just Guadalcanal. It covers from January 1941 through the end of 1945. The rest of the book is written just as well and is just as interesting as the part on Guadalcanal, but the part on Guadalcanal, which is the biggest section in the book, really rocks.
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