This book discusses the Battle off Samar, which was a two and a half out naval battle fought on October 25, 1944 between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. This was one of the largest naval battles fought. Admiral Halsey was tricked into taking his fleet after a decoy fleet of Japanese ships. His fleet was caught unawares, and wound up facing many Japanese cruisers and battleships. The Japanese lost three ships, had four damaged ships, lost 52 aircraft, and somewhere between 200-700 men. Ultimately, the US lost 1,161 men, with a further 913 wounded. Four USN ships were lost during this battle, and those that survived floated around at sea, hoping for rescue. (The ships that were USS HOEL, USS JOHNSTON, USS SAMUEL ROBERTS, and USS GAMBIER BAY.) A plane spotted them, but radioed back the incorrect coordinates, preventing their rescue for some time. Admiral Halsey was immensely criticized for his leadership and mistakes during this battle, which he staunchly defended.

This book was gifted to me by a friend in the Navy. (Thanks Nika for all of the Naval books you sent me!) If for no other reason than that, I liked the book. This book was very dramatic and action packed, which I expected. It's hard to have an underprepared group up against impossible odds and a skilled enemy and it not be dramatic. This really was a last stand. I think the criticism that Admiral Halsey got was justified. I also think that the survivors were very deserving of the awards they got. Check this book out if you are interested in Pacific Theatre battles of World War II.