Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle - Penguin (Non-Classics)

Frank's Guadalcanal delivers on its assertion of being "definitive."

The first thing that intrigued me about this book was its subtitle, "The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle." I've seen other history books tout themselves as the "complete" or "untold" story of their subject, but seldom will you see "definitive," since by definition the need for further research is then obviated.

Frank states in his introduction why, since so much ink was already spilled over Guadalcanal and thirty-five years passed before his research began, there would be a need for yet another book about Guadalcanal. He gives us two reasons why his work will be different.

First of all, previous authors specialized in only one of the three dimensions of the battle of land, sea and air. Like the parable of the three blind men describing the elephant, earlier authors have grasped only one of the three dimensions and made it their focus. These are riveting accounts and individually provide excellent coverage of their specific field. What Frank achieves, however, is to give a comprehensive balance and synthesis of all three elements.

Second, Frank has availed himself of primary sources that were unavailable to the earlier authors in order to provide perspective from the Japanese side of the hostilities. He is able to do this because a decade after the war ended, the Japanese began compiling a dense, 101-volume history of the war, four volumes of which describe actions of the Guadalcanal campaign. This wealth of information from the Japanese side adds inestimable richness to Frank's coverage and analysis.

I read through the other readers' reviews and would like to address the two most common objections to the book: that the maps are inadequate, and that Frank's writing is too academic and lacks the flair of a storyteller, failing to develop lively personalities.

First, the maps: It is true that there is no list of maps in the table of contents. Also, the existing maps are either too small or lack sufficient detail. I believe, however, that anyone reading this book likely has more than just a passing interest in the Pacific war and probably possesses other sources that contain adequate maps. That being said, Frank's Guadalcanal is too comprehensive and would be of little introductory value to a Pacific war neophyte, even with more extensive and better maps.

Second, the academic nature of the writing: Military history writing in the Western tradition has always fallen into one of two categories, those that tell the audience what they want to hear, and those that report and analyze events dispassionately but sometimes uncomfortably for the reader. This tradition goes back to the very beginning of military history writing and the two earliest Greek historians, Herodotus and Thucydides. Herodotus said he wrote his history of the Greek wars with Persia, "so that marvelous deeds...may not be without their glory." Thucydides said he wrote his history of the Peloponnesian War, "not as an essay which is to win applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time." All subsequent military histories can be evaluated in their ratio of Herodotus to Thucydides. Frank's Guadalcanal lands squarely in the Thucydidean camp.

A fine history of the WWII battle of Guadalcanal

Military histories can be well written and informative but they're often out of balance. Richard Frank states at the outset that he will include everything of relevance so he looks at American and Japanese sources, tracing the battle from both sides. He covers the ground, sea and air actions, equipment performance, training, tactics, strategy, supply, the political context and psychology (the beliefs true and otherwise of participants about themselves and their opponents).
The picture that emerges is of Japanese dominance at sea(better training), rough equality in the air and American dominance on the ground. Interesting points are the full use by the Japanese of their effective "Long Lance" torpedoes from ships and aircraft while the Americans virtually throw away their great advantage in radar. The Japanese leadership high and low place too much faith in the "quality of the Japanese soldier" leading to the bizarre idea that he can fight almost without food (!), undertake 20 mile marches through impenetrable jungle and make successful bayonet charges against machine guns. They just can't believe that they can be defeated by Americans and a general hubris leads them to send too few units, do poor intelligence work and not press their advantage when they could have won the battle in it's early stages. Somehow the Japanese also missed the point that it was only necessary to shut down Henderson airfield, something they could have done fairly easily by gaining and holding firing positions without trying to occupy the whole island.
On the American side there was a deep lack of experience, especially in the navy, but superior supply and some occasional fine leadership (e.g. Vandegrift of the marines) let them stabilize the situation and eventually win.

The Most Comprehensive Work On Guadalcanal

When I first got this book, I did not think I'd be able to read it all. There is so much information, so many facts, such excellent depth, I thought I'd be overwhelmed. But it draws you in. The whole Battle of Gaudalcanal is so fascinating. So much depended on this battle. Mistakes were made by both sides, terrible conditions of jungle warfare, the difficulties getting food, replacements, material there for both sides. All of this and so much more is presented for the reader.

I can see where some reviewers would say this is dry, perhaps a few more maps would be helpful - keep reading, I wish there were such works on all important battles such as this. Very illuminating, the amount of research that went into this book is almost as staggering as the battle itself. This is definately for the serious students of history, but it is absolutely rewarding reading.

Still the best work on this campaign

I've probably read about 20 to 30 books which cover the Guadalcanal campaign in one aspect or another, and this book is still the best single reference on the campaign that I've found. By making the effort to obtain the relevant volumes of the Senshi Sosho, Japan's official war history, which isn't widely available in English, Frank set a standard for Pacific War books in presenting the Japanese side that other western war historians have not, unfortunately, always emulated. Not only does Frank do an excellent job of presenting the perspectives of all the adversaries involved in the battle, but he's also an excellent writer. Frank brings history alive with vivid, clear, and compelling prose. Moreover, he doesn't scrimp on the important details, giving important data on casualties, losses, troop numbers, and ship names, so that the book can serve as a important reference for researchers as well as a great story for all.

Although this book is now almost 20 years old, it has withstood the test of time. Updated information from more recently available Japanese records, such as those presented in Stanley Jersey's "Hell's Islands" book, have so far revealed few errors or omissions in Franks work. For anyone interested in learning about the Guadalcanal campaign, I suggest that this book be your first read. If greater detail is then desired, I suggest John Lundstrom's "First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign" and Michael Smith's "Bloody Ridge: The Battle That Saved Guadalcanal".

Gaudalcanal: A definitive account of the landmark battle

The book received is in fair shape. It was published in 1990
and shows its age in a dignified manner. I have not yet read
the book and probably won't until Jan. 2010, when my wife and
I go to St. Maarten and spend three weeks reading books. Hope
this meets your requirements.