The story of the USS Houston, FDR’s legendary lost cruiser, and the epic saga of her survivors


“Vivid and visceral…. Hornfischer masterfully shapes the narrative…. breathing life into an unforgettable epic of human endurance.” —USA Today

“Hornfischer has painted a compelling picture of one of the most gallant ships and one of the grimmest campaigns in American naval history. He has a positive genius for depicting the surface-warfare sailor in a tight spot. May he write long and give them more memorials.” —Booklist, starred review

WINNER, 2007 United States Maritime Literature Award

WINNER, 2004 Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature

An unprecedented account of the U.S. Navy’s impossible victory: the Battle off Samar, October 25, 1944


Chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of the “five best books describing war as soldiers know it” (April 2010).

Selected by the U.S. Naval Institute’s Naval History magazine as one of “a dozen Navy classics” (December 2008).

“One of the finest World War II naval action narratives in recent years.... Reads like a very good action novel.” —Publishers Weekly

NOW IN PAPERBACK

The untold story of the U.S. Navy’s bloodiest fight of World War II: the epic struggle for Guadalcanal


“Vivid and engaging . . . extremely readable, comprehensive and thoroughly researched.” —Ronald Spector, The Wall Street Journal


“Brilliant . . . a compelling narrative of naval combat . . . simply superb.”

—Washington Times


A New York Times, Publishers Weekly and Boston Globe bestseller


“Hornfischer is quickly establishing himself as doing for the Navy what popular historian Stephen Ambrose did for the Army.” —Rocky Mountain News

FORTHCOMING ON MAY 8, 2012

A powerful story of modern warfare and a

patriotic tribute to America’s elite warriors

Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in Afghanistan with shattered bones and a broken heart.

In Service, we follow him back to the crucible of war, in Anbar Province, Iraq. There, in six months of high-intensity urban combat, he was part of what has been called the greatest victory in U.S. Special Operations history. We also revisit Operation Redwing, where Luttrell offers powerful new details about his miraculous rescue.

A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute to the warrior brotherhood—and to the belief that nobody goes it alone and no one will be left behind.