Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal

4.5 stars rounded up.Most think that the turning point in the Pacific war was the Battle of Midway. However, as important as Midway was, after reading [b:Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal 8575701 Neptune's Inferno The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal James D. Hornfischer https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320403084l/8575701.SY75.jpg 13444597], I am now convinced that the true turning point was the fight for Guadalcanal.This book focuses mainly on naval action. The land fight on the island was very tough. The naval fight, however, was ferocious with more than triple the KIAs in the ground fight. It was not a single battle. There were seven major naval engagements starting with the Battle of Savo Island and ending with the Battle of Tassafaronga. One of those was a carrier fight. The other battles were primarily surface unit slugfests using guns and torpedoes.I was struck once again by how poorly prepared the US military was mentally for total war in the early parts of WW2. As in the Battle of Kasserine Pass on the other side of the world, the US forces were complacent and overconfident prior to the Battle of Savo Island. There, an unprepared allied force met a very sharp samurai sword with disastrous results for the allied ships. After that, the US navy proved that it could learn very fast by rapidly instituting new training and operational doctrines and by moving true fighting men into important command slots.The losses were very heavy on both the Japanese and Allied sides, with both displaying plenty of courage and skill in the hell of battle. The deeper resources of the US finally prevailed.Good book.