Rating: 
Summary: The real face of battle...
Review: Jim Hornfischer has put together a magnificent story of a battle which has generally received too little attention. The Battle of Samar, one of four major naval actions in the Leyte Campaign, has been somewhat obscured because of errors made by two high-ranking admirals, Halsey and Kinkaid.
In short, Samar is the battle resulting when Halsey headed north with his fast carriers, allowing the Japanese Admiral Kurita to get into the small task groups of "jeep" carriers, which were protected only by small screens of destroyers and destroyer escorts. These little escort carriers were mostly assigned anti-submarine duties in covering McArthur's landings on Leyte.
Thanks to nearly suicidal attacks by destroyers Hoel, Johnston, and Heermann, and the destroyer escort Samuel B. Roberts, Kurita's cruisers were badly battered, and Kurita himself was demoralized, so he retreated. The escort carriers Gambier Bay and St. Lo were lost, as well as the Hoel, Johnston, and Roberts. Over 800 American sailors died, compared to thousands of Japanese.
Many blame the American admiral, Kinkaid, for the much delayed rescue effort which could have saved many more surviving U. S. sailors.
This is a very well-written and researched history, which puts a most human slant on the horrors of war. Hornfischer's prose will bring tears to your eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Edge-of-Your-Seat History
Review: Only once in a great while does a book come along that manages to combine the authentic historical detail with the fast pace of the thriller. Many good books have been written on the subject of the Battle off Samar from the perspective of the Japanese admirals who led the attack, from the point of view of the American commanders who fought against them, and by those who showed us the valiance of the escort carriers. What has been missing was a view of the fighting as it was experienced by the tin cans. Jim Hornfischer has filled that void with a book filled with personal detail yet told in an edge-of-your-seat fashion that will hold the reader's attention page after page.
Hornfischer shows us rather than tells us of the saga as it unfolds and he provides insights into the lives and backgrounds of those who fought and those who died in what many call the most valiant battle in naval history. He analyzes the strategy and tactics, when right and when outguessed, and presents us with a vista of action as though we were there on deck ourselves, adrenaline pumping as our ship dodges shells and maneuvers to attack Imperial Japanese Naval Forces many times our own size. He depicts the courage and dedication of the defenders in the face of impossible odds and the valor they showed as the destroyers HOEL, HEERMAN, and JOHNSTON, and the destroyer escorts SAMUEL B ROBERTS, DENNIS, RAYMOND and JOHN C BUTLER gave as good as they got.
This is an important book and one that everyone interested in naval history should read and one that every destroyer veteran should have in his personal library. If you read only one destroyer book about the war in the Pacific, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors should be that book.
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.
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