The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors - by James D Hornfischer (Paperback)

About the Book

Desperately fought on the morning of October 25, 1944, the Battle of Samar was an upset victory won by American warships fighting a battle they were never supposed to fight. Filled with riveting details, this is war at sea as it has seldom been presented before.

Book Synopsis

"This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."

With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur' s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.

In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S. history--and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a legendary victory.

Praise for The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

"One of the finest WWII naval action narratives in recent years, this book follows in the footsteps of Flags of Our Fathers. . . . Exalting American sailors and pilots as they richly deserve. . . . Reads like a very good action novel."--Publishers Weekly

"Reads as fresh as tomorrow's headlines. . . . Hornfischer's captivating narrative uses previously classified documents to reconstruct the epic battle and eyewitness accounts to bring the officers and sailors to life."--Texas Monthly

"Hornfischer is a powerful stylist whose explanations are clear as well as memorable. . . . A dire survival-at-sea saga."--Denver Post

"In The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, James Hornfischer drops you right into the middle of this raging battle, with 5-inch guns blazing, torpedoes detonating and Navy fliers dive-bombing. . . . The overall story of the battle is one of American guts, glory and heroic sacrifice."--Omaha World Herald

Review Quotes

Praise for James D. Hornfischer and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors

"One of the finest World War II naval action narratives in recent years, this book follows in the footsteps of Flags of Our Fathers, creating a microcosm of the war's American Navy destroyers. Reads like a very good action novel."--Publishers Weekly

"Reads as fresh as tomorrow's headlines. . . . Hornfischer's captivating narrative uses previously classified documents to reconstruct the epic battle and eyewitness accounts to bring the officers and sailors to life."--Texas Monthly

"Hornfischer is a powerful stylist whose explanations are clear as well as memorable. . . . A dire survival-at-sea saga."--Denver Post

"In The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, James Hornfischer drops you right into the middle of this raging battle, with 5-inch guns blazing, torpedoes detonating and Navy fliers dive-bombing. . . . The overall story of the battle is one of American guts, glory and heroic sacrifice."--Omaha World Herald

"It will take its place amidst the great literature of World War II."--Ron Powers, co-author of Flags of Our Fathers

"A rousing story of heroism on the high seas--unbelievable, unforgettable, and all true. Hornfischer brings to life one of the most harrowing sea battles ever fought."--Evan Thomas, author of John Paul Jones

"The best military book buy of the new year . . . lives and breathes the unforgettable intensity of commanders and sailors--their strategies, ships, ultimate sacrifices and a victory that has become legendary. Riveting details commingle with emotionally eloquent narratives that place the reader in the thick of the greatest upset in American naval warfare."--Navy Times

"This is a book for every reader who wonders about the true nature of heroism and sacrifice in times of war. Hornfischer has written a driving narrative so vivid, you can nearly smell the sulfurous stink of battle. When I finished this book, I gently closed it and silently thanked those brave citizens who once went and still go to sea to protect our nation. May it ever be so."--Homer Hickam, author of October Sky

"A critically acclaimed, blow-by-blow look at a small American force counterattacking into the teeth of hopeless odds."--Miami Herald

"An instant and enduring classic of naval warfare and World War II literature."--Flint Journal

"Samar is a grand American epic and in Hornfischer it has finally found a narrator to match its scale. This is an exemplary combination of 'old style' naval history narrative deeply enriched and elevated by a carefully woven collage of 'new style' individual testimonies that hammer home the human experience. . . . A vivid and brutal portrait of naval surface warfare. No existing work can touch Last Stand in conveying the realities of gunfire and torpedo warfare on vessels powered by superheated steam."--Richard B. Frank, author of Guadalcanal

"What a treat it was to read this work. Hornfischer paints a portrait so remarkable he should at least be made an honorary tin can sailor. [His] skillful description makes the old salt reader, as well as the landlubber, feel right there on board those little tin cans, alongside the sailors whose lives become real. The naval historian and amateur alike can learn from this fascinating book."--Vice Adm. Ron Eytchison, USN (Ret.), Chattanooga Times Free Press

About the Author

James D. Hornfischer was a writer, literary agent, and book editor. He was the author of the New York Times bestsellers Neptune's Inferno, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers, Ship of Ghosts, and The Fleet at Flood Tide, all widely acclaimed accounts of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, as well as the upcoming Who Can Hold the Sea. His books have received numerous awards, including the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Distinguished Service and the Naval Historical Foundation Distinguished Service Award. James D. Hornfischer died in 2021.