"Destroyer Squadron
23, Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke's Gallant Force" 
By Ken Jones
This is a very well written as well as interesting book. It is
not just dull details, but attempts to give the reader a sense
of the character of the officers and men that manned the destroyers.
It covers in detail several of the major destroyer and cruiser
actions in the early part of WWII around the Solomon Islands.
Covered are the battles of Tassafaronga, Savo Island, Empress
Agusta Bay, and Cape St. George. Discussed in detail are the devastating
effects of the superior Japanese torpedo and the development of
tactics. The reader will discover all the things that went right
and wrong in the battles, either by chance or error, or in the
case of Destroyer Squadron 23, how good men, good tactics, and
good training combined to make good ships with superior crews
that were hard to beat.
Available From:
Blue Jacket Books
Naval Institute Press
Annapolis, Maryland
Reviewed by Ken Smith, 23 June, 1998
