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Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
by James D. Hornfischer
Judging by the Goodreads ratings/reviews and the fact that Hornfischer's Neptune's Inferno is on nearly every military recommended reading list I can find, it's safe to say that this book is regarded highly.
Rightly so. In reading some of the Goodreads reviews I saw someone mention that Hornfischer ranks right up there with Atkinson in how they research, convey, and describe the both the formation and execution of battles. I just finished [b:The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777|41812830|The British Are Coming The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777|Rick Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538524326l/41812830._SY75_.jpg|65247139] and can affirm this to be true. The battle writing from both authors is compelling, terrible, and important. It's also very good.
I think that I would leave it right there but for the fact that this book is on all these military reading lists. That says to me that top military leaders and influencers are suggesting this book for junior officers and career enlisted. It's to those types of readers I add this note of caution:
When introducing people as characters and filling in the historical and contextual run-up to his actual subject, Hornfischer has a habit of using language such as:
"Qualities that got you ahead in peacetime were yielding to skills equally ageless, but prized only in desperate times: a glint in the eye, a forward-leaning, balls-of-the-feet bearing, a constitutional aspect of professionalized aggression."
and,
"The awareness that one was in the presence of such an insurgent came at a pheromonal level. He didn’t have to be brash or intimidating. If he had the right qualities, they carried through the air around him despite his quietude. Some men were fiery and motivational, leading with a barely restrained recklessness and a demeanor of perpetually fresh anger. Others were intellectual warriors, brains in circuit with the matrix in space where vectors flew toward other vectors and the results of battle followed from the nature of their intersections. The fighter’s way was elemental. It was not possible to cultivate it reliably in an academic meritocracy, or to gauge it by class rank."
So I write this to those of you seeking a life of service and duty, this kind of language is for the armchair warriors wondering how they would've stacked up against history if given a chance (and probably finding themselves with just the right glint of the eye or nature of their intersection or whatever) This language is not for you. This kind of language is fine for books, but if you allow that kind of self-appraisal and self-awareness to enter your way of thinking you will no longer be handling your self, your people, or your position, well. You will, in fact, be pretending to a legacy rather than doing your job. Read and enjoy, it's a good book, but reserve caution because it was written with the enthusiast in mind as a reader, not the professional.
Rightly so. In reading some of the Goodreads reviews I saw someone mention that Hornfischer ranks right up there with Atkinson in how they research, convey, and describe the both the formation and execution of battles. I just finished [b:The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777|41812830|The British Are Coming The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777|Rick Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538524326l/41812830._SY75_.jpg|65247139] and can affirm this to be true. The battle writing from both authors is compelling, terrible, and important. It's also very good.
I think that I would leave it right there but for the fact that this book is on all these military reading lists. That says to me that top military leaders and influencers are suggesting this book for junior officers and career enlisted. It's to those types of readers I add this note of caution:
When introducing people as characters and filling in the historical and contextual run-up to his actual subject, Hornfischer has a habit of using language such as:
"Qualities that got you ahead in peacetime were yielding to skills equally ageless, but prized only in desperate times: a glint in the eye, a forward-leaning, balls-of-the-feet bearing, a constitutional aspect of professionalized aggression."
and,
"The awareness that one was in the presence of such an insurgent came at a pheromonal level. He didn’t have to be brash or intimidating. If he had the right qualities, they carried through the air around him despite his quietude. Some men were fiery and motivational, leading with a barely restrained recklessness and a demeanor of perpetually fresh anger. Others were intellectual warriors, brains in circuit with the matrix in space where vectors flew toward other vectors and the results of battle followed from the nature of their intersections. The fighter’s way was elemental. It was not possible to cultivate it reliably in an academic meritocracy, or to gauge it by class rank."
So I write this to those of you seeking a life of service and duty, this kind of language is for the armchair warriors wondering how they would've stacked up against history if given a chance (and probably finding themselves with just the right glint of the eye or nature of their intersection or whatever) This language is not for you. This kind of language is fine for books, but if you allow that kind of self-appraisal and self-awareness to enter your way of thinking you will no longer be handling your self, your people, or your position, well. You will, in fact, be pretending to a legacy rather than doing your job. Read and enjoy, it's a good book, but reserve caution because it was written with the enthusiast in mind as a reader, not the professional.