Guadacanal

Hammel has written the most comprehensive popular account to date of what was essentially the first major counteroffensive against the Japanese in World War II and exposes controversial aspects often passed over. He discusses at length, for example, the poor intelligence-gathering efforts of the Marines before the Guadalcanal landing, the temporary abandonment of the First Marine Division by the Navy, and the meddling of Admiral Kelly Turner in the tactical deliberations of Marine Gen. A. A. Vandergrift. Although Hammel vividly describes the air and naval battlesequal in importance to the ground operationshe focuses on the hard-pressed Marine infantrymen and gives a good account of the heroics of individuals now regarded as legendary in the Corps, such men as ""Manila John'' Basilone, ``Red Mike'' Edson and ``Chesty'' Puller. Hammel is author of The Root: The Marines in Beirut. Photos. Military Book Club main selection. (March)