About this item
A close-up, action-filled narrative about the crucial role the U.S. Navy played in the early years of the Cold War, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Fleet at Flood Tide"James D. Hornfischer, the dean of American naval historians, has written a book of dizzying sweep and uncommon ambition." - Hampton Sides, author of Ghost SoldiersThis landmark account of the U.S. Navy in the Cold War, Who Can Hold the Sea combines narrative history with scenes of stirring adventure on - and under - the high seas. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the victorious Navy sends its sailors home and decommissions most of its warships. But this peaceful interlude is short-lived, as Stalin, America's former ally, makes aggressive moves in Europe and the Far East.
About the Author
James D. Hornfischer's books have led reviewers to rate him as one of the most commanding naval historians writing today. His awards include the 2018 Samuel Eliot Morison Award, given by the Board of Trustees of the USS Constitution Museum for work that "reflects the best of Admiral Morison: artful scholarship, patriotic pride, an eclectic interest in the sea and things maritime, and a desire to preserve the best of our past for future generations."His most recent book is "The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945". Recipient of the Navy League's 2017 Commodore John Barry Book Award, it is a major narrative of the U.S. Navy's Central Pacific drive in World War II, covering the air, land and sea operations that seized the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Guam, as well as the strategic air operations conducted from the Marianas that ended the war."Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal" (2011) , a New York Times bestseller, was chosen as a best book of the year by numerous book reviews. "Ship of Ghosts" (2006) told the story of the cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) and the odyssey of its crew in Japanese captivity. "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" (2004) , a combat narrative about the Battle off Samar, received the Samuel Eliot Morison Award from the Naval Order of the United States and was chosen by the Wall Street Journal as one of the five best books on "war as soldiers know it" and by Naval History magazine as one of "a dozen Navy classics." Hornfischer has also collaborated with Marcus Luttrell, the bestselling author of "Lone Survivor," on Luttrell's second autobiography, "Service: A Navy SEAL at War" (2012) .All of Hornfischer's books have been selections of the Navy Professional Reading program, managed by the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) . He is a regular contributor for the Wall Street Journal and has written for Smithsonian, Naval History, Naval Institute Proceedings, and other periodicals. He has lectured at the U.S. Naval Academy, Marine Corps University at Quantico, the National WWII Museum, the National Museum of the Pacific War, and other venues.Hornfischer's motivation to write about the U.S. military reaches back to his childhood, from his explorations of the school library's 940.54 Dewey Decimal section, building Monogram and Revell model ships and aircraft, watching "Black Sheep Squadron" on NBC (sublimely ahistorical but redeemed by Robert Conrad's portrayal of Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington of VMF-214) , and absorbing the epic intonations of Laurence Olivier in "The World at War" on PBS. A native of Massachusetts and a graduate of Colgate University and the University of Texas School of Law, Hornfischer lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and their children.Author photo: Mark Matson, www.matsonphoto.net
