James D. Hornfischer’s gripping account of the battle, based on declassified documents as well as extensive interviews with veterans, is acclaimed as one of the most compelling works of naval history ever published. Hornfischer’s awards include the 2018 Samuel Eliot Morison Award, given by the Board of Trustees of the USS Constitution Museum.

Articles by James Hornfischer

Street Fight in Sunda Strait

By James D. Hornfischer
December 2006
During the opening months of the war in the Pacific, the crew of the USS Houston defiantly nicknamed their cruiser the “Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast” for the enemy’s ...
Hornfischer hero

Torpedo on Target!

By James D. Hornfischer, adapted by Doug Murray, drawn by Steven Sanders
December 2021
An excerpt from the graphic-novel adaptation of the naval bestseller The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, published by Dead Reckoning.
U.S. Naval Institute Photo Archive

The Washington Wins the Draw

By James D. Hornfischer
January 2011
In an exclusive excerpt from the new book Neptune’s Inferno, Rear Admiral Willis Lee coolly directs the big guns in a nighttime showdown at Guadalcanal.
Shell splashes surround the USS Johnston in Jack Fellows' painting "Into Harms Way"

A Warrior's Destiny

By James D. Hornfischer
October 2009
After barely surviving the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, Robert Hagen endured an even worse ordeal: the USS Johnston’s death ride off Samar.

Books by James Hornfischer