Victory Fever on Guadalcanal
Japan's First Land Defeat of World War II
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Narrated by:
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Bill Nevitt
About this listen
Following their rampage through Southeast Asia and the Pacific in the five months after Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces moved into the Solomon Islands, intending to cut off the critical American supply line to Australia. But when they began to construct an airfield on Guadalcanal in July 1942, the Americans captured the almost completed airfield for their own strategic use. The Japanese Army countered by sending to Guadalcanal a reinforced battalion under the command of Col. Kiyonao Ichiki. The attack that followed would prove to be the first of four attempts by the Japanese over six months to retake the airfield, resulting in some of the most vicious fighting of the Pacific War.
During the initial battle on the night of August 20-21, 1942, Marines wiped out Ichiki's men, who - imbued with "victory fever" - had expected a quick and easy victory. William H. Bartsch draws on correspondence, interviews, diaries, memoirs, and official war records, including those translated from Japanese sources, to offer an intensely human narrative of the failed attempt to recapture Guadalcanal's vital airfield.
The book is published by Texas A&M University Press.
©2014 William H. Bartsch (P)2016 Redwood AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Performance
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It was the bloodiest battle in Marine Corps history, claiming a third of all marines killed in World War II. The relentless fighting on Iwo Jima lasted for 36 days, but most of us only know the iconic photo of five soldiers raising the American flag on Mount Surabachi. For Fred Haynes, a young captain in Combat Team 28, Surabachi was one marker in a ferocious blood-letting against an enemy of 22,000 warriors who were dug into caves and tunnels.
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Excellent Account of the Battle
- By Jesse on 11-25-11
By: Major General Fred Haynes (USMC-Ret.), and others
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D-Day in the Pacific
- The Battle of Saipan
- By: Harold J. Goldberg
- Narrated by: Gary D. MacFadden
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In June 1944, the attention of the nation was riveted on the events unfolding in France. But in the Pacific, the Battle of Saipan was of extreme strategic importance. D-Day in the Pacific: The Battle of Saipan is a gripping account of one of the most dramatic engagements of World War II. The conquest of Saipan and the neighboring island of Tinian was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, making the American victory against Japan inevitable.
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Written like an amateur's account of his battle
- By jack on 12-18-13
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Dog Company
- The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc - the Rangers Who Landed at D-Day and Fought Across Europe
- By: Patrick K. O’Donnell
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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It is said that the right man in the right place at the right time can mean the difference between victory and defeat. This is the dramatic story of 68 soldiers in the US Army's Second Ranger Battalion, Company D - "Dog Company" - who made that difference, time and again. America had many heroes in World War II; however, few can say that, but for them, the course of the war would have been very different. The right men, the right place, the right time - Dog Company.
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On par with the best; Band of Brothers, etc
- By Addicted to Amazon on 04-30-14
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The Bloody Battle for Suribachi
- The Amazing Story of Iwo Jima that Inspired Flags of Our Fathers
- By: Richard Wheeler
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The classic first-hand WWII narrative that chronicles the Marines’ savage five-day struggle to wrest Mount Suribachi from its tenacious Japanese defenders during their 35-day battle for Iwo Jima in 1945. Revised with a new introduction by the author and recently discovered photos, this book served as invaluable source material both for James Bradley’s best-seller Flags of Our Fathers as well as Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed film of the same name.
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Incredible
- By Ed Hart on 06-09-22
By: Richard Wheeler
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The Americans at D-Day
- The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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June 6, 1944, was a pivotal moment in the history of World War II. On that day the climactic and decisive phase of the war in Europe began. Those who survived the intense fighting on the Normandy beaches found their lives irreversibly changed. That day ushered in a great change for the United States as well, because on D-day America began its march to the forefront of the Western world. By the end of the Battle of Normandy, almost one out of every two soldiers involved was an American.
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Great Book
- By Byron Sarchet on 01-15-21
By: John C. McManus
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The Darkest Summer
- Pusan and Inchon 1950: The Battles That Saved South Korea---and the Marines---from Extinction
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The outcome of the Korean War was decided in the first three months. The Darkest Summer is the hour-by-hour, casualty-by-casualty story of those months---a period that saw American and UN forces almost driven into the sea by the North Korean invaders, then stage an incredible turn-around that reversed the entire course of the war.
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Great intro to Korea
- By I Ate Your Pug For Lunch and It was Tasty on 01-14-11
By: Bill Sloan
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Strong Men Armed
- The United States Marines Against Japan
- By: Robert Leckie
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Written by Robert Leckie, whose wartime exploits are featured in the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific, Strong Men Armed is the perennial bestselling classic account of the U.S. Marines' relentless drive through the Pacific during World War II.
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The best book on the subject
- By j on 12-10-13
By: Robert Leckie
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Bloody Ridge and Beyond
- A World War II Marine's Memoir of Edson's Raiders inthe Pacific
- By: Marlin Groft, Larry Alexander
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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On the killing ground that was the island of Guadalcanal, a 2,000-yard-long ridge rose from the jungle canopy. Behind it lay the all-important air base of Henderson Field. And if Henderson Field fell, it would mean the almost certain death or capture of all 12,500 marines on the island. But the marines positioned on the ridge were no normal fighters - they were the hard-fighting men of Edson's Raiders, an elite fighting unit within an already elite Marine Corps.
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A Masterful Account
- By Arthur on 01-25-18
By: Marlin Groft, and others
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No Better Place to Die
- Ste-Mere Eglise, June 1944 - The Battle for la Fiere Bridge
- By: Robert Murphy
- Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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As part of the massive Allied invasion of Normandy, three airborne divisions were dropped behind enemy lines to sow confusion in the German rear and prevent panzer reinforcements from reaching the beaches. In the dark early hours of D-Day, this confusion was achieved well enough, as nearly every airborne unit missed its drop zone, creating a kaleidoscope of small-unit combat.
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Eeh, I'm luke warm about it.
- By Matthew on 11-07-14
By: Robert Murphy
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Utmost Savagery
- The Three Days of Tarawa
- By: Colonel Joseph H. Alexander United States Marine Corps (Ret.)
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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On November 20, 1943, in the first trial by fire of America’s fledgling amphibious assault doctrine, 5,000 men stormed the beaches of Tarawa, a seemingly invincible Japanese island fortress barely the size of the 300-acre Pentagon parking lots. Before the first day ended, one-third of the marines who had crossed Tarawa’s deadly reef under murderous fire were killed, wounded, or missing. In three days of fighting, four Americans would win the Medal of Honor and six thousand combatants would die.
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The Definitive Battle History of Tarawa
- By Iain on 02-23-11
By: Colonel Joseph H. Alexander United States Marine Corps (Ret.)
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Midnight in the Pacific
- Guadalcanal -- The World War II Battle That Turned the Tide of War
- By: Joseph Wheelan
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Published on the 75th anniversary of the battle and utilizing vivid accounts written by the combatants at Guadalcanal, along with marine corps and army archives and oral histories, Midnight in the Pacific is both a sweeping narrative and a compelling drama of individual marines, soldiers, and sailors caught in the crosshairs of history.
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Don't start here or you'll be confused.
- By Doctor Bob on 08-13-17
By: Joseph Wheelan
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The Ultimate Battle
- Okinawa 1945: The Last Epic Struggle of World War II
- By: Bill Sloan
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ultimate Battle is the full story of the largest land-sea-air battle ever waged by the United States, a battle whose staggering casualties and take-no-prisoners ferocity led Truman to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. From April through June 1945, more than 250,000 American and Japanese lives were lost, including those of nearly 150,000 civilians who either committed suicide or were caught in the crossfire. This book tells a gripping story of heroism, sacrifice, and death.
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Takes you into the mud and death
- By Ron on 02-02-08
By: Bill Sloan
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Shadows in the Jungle
- The Alamo Scouts Behind Japanese Lines in World War II
- By: Larry Alexander
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Set on retaking the Philippines ever since his ignominious flight from the islands in 1942, General Douglas MacArthur needed a first-rate intelligence-gathering unit. Out of thousands, only 138 men were chosen: the best, toughest, and most fit men the army had to offer. Their task: silently slip onto Japanese-held islands, stalk through the thick jungles, and assess enemy locations, conditions, morale, and troop strength, all while remaining undetected.
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Shadows In The Jungle.
- By Charles on 12-27-09
By: Larry Alexander
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Leyte 1944
- The Soldiers' Battle
- By: Nathan N. Prefer
- Narrated by: Jones Allen
- Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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When General Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia in March 1942, having successfully left the Philippines to organize a new American army, he vowed, "I shall return!" More than two years later he did return, at the head of a large U.S. army to retake the Philippines from the Japanese. The place of his re-invasion was the central Philippine Island of Leyte. Much has been written about the naval Battle of Leyte Gulf that his return provoked, but almost nothing has been written about the three-month long battle to seize Leyte itself.
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Very well Researched..
- By jbnimble on 04-19-14
By: Nathan N. Prefer
What listeners say about Victory Fever on Guadalcanal
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. H. Moore
- 11-19-19
This a great Guadalcanal book, with caveats.
**I was given this book for free in exchange for an unbiased review**
I have read and listened to several books on Guadalcanal and Operation Watchtower. This one stands out in some areas, however, it must be noted that it only covers infantry combat. There is no coverage of the sea battles in Iron Bottom Sound or mention of the doings over the Cactus Air force except for when their doings directly impacted the action already being covered.
There also is no operational coverage. You will not be taught about the strategic goals or there application in the greater war effort.
What you do get, and I particularly liked this, is visceral minute by minute descriptions of the action at the Tenaru. The first chapter does cover ship life in route to the Solomons. You will get a plethora of first hand accounts. Many of them are from notable people that have their own books. Robert Leckie, Sid Phillips, Eugene Sledge, ect.
So in short if you want an over view of Guadalcanal, don’t get this book. If you want vivid, excellent combat action and lots of it, this is for you and I highly recommend it.
This was also my first book narrated by Bill Nevitt, he is an excellent choice for the genre and I hope he does more military/history work. He also has a prefect pace for listening to 1x and 1.25x as well. Very well read in my opinion.
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- xenduro
- 12-13-20
Another great Nevitt narration
I love LISTENING to military history books. Reading them would be hard for me, but listening is perfect. The details and names and times are perfect for Nevitt's voice. This one is spot on, great writer. Their is so much to learn.
I got a free coy of this book.
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- G. Eggleston
- 05-12-20
"Enjoy the last few minutes of your life!"
I requested and received a complimentary review copy of "VICTORY FEVER". My review of it is voluntary, without favor toward the author (whom I have never met nor read the work of) nor am I under any compulsion to write it. I'm writing this review because I really like this book and I heartily recommend it.
I increased the speed (to 1.25) as I often do with audiobooks, since narrators tend to read slow in order to avoid making mistakes, which are not allowed. This is a case, however, where even listening at normal speed is fine. The narrator himself (Bill Nevitt) has a pleasant voice to listen to for the 9 hours of the audiobook and does a great job.
I've always been interested in World War 2, but most of my attention was focused on the European theater. In "Victory Fever on Guadalcanal" I was able to expand my understanding of the war as a whole by learning, in this fascinating account, about the Pacific theater. I like how both sides of the war were presented rather than a one-sided overview. I also like how the personal touch from soldier diaries/memoirs added humor, such as how seasoned Marines would laugh at the new recruits training and say "Enjoy the last few minutes of your life". It makes me wonder how much humor helped them cope with the harrowing times they lived through. I wondered, toward the end of the book, if some of those heroes who died heroically in battle were some of those seasoned Marines who'd laughed about death. Regardless, they were all heroes and I enjoyed hearing their story.
If my review here has been helpful to you, please click "Helpful" below.
It was my pleasure reviewing this book and I thank you so much for reading my review of it!
My rating scale:
1 = Junk! (dumpster worthy) // 2 = Poor // 3 = Good (average) // 4 = Great // 5 = Excellent! (award worthy)
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- Christine Newton
- 12-19-18
Detailed account of a specific wartime event
I'm thinking that this book will either be very satisfying to you as a reader, or somewhat frustrating. It will satisfy readers who are looking for lots of details about Guadalcanal and it will satisfy readers who have previous knowledge of the topic and are curious about learning additional information to add layers to their mental pictures of this Battle. On the other hand, I can definitely see how this book might be frustrating for other types of readers, who will have 'trouble seeing the forest for all the trees'. They might have wanted to develop a general understanding of what Guadalcanal was all about, why it happened, the consequences, and so on, without all of the dizzying facts and statistics. Also, these readers might have been looking for more of an emotional-based immersive narrative, perhaps focusing on fewer specific individuals, but giving us a stronger sense of how these guys were feeling during their experience. Different types of expectations from readers, requiring very different writing styles. I honestly think that it would be very challenging for a writer to satisfy the needs of both of these types of audiences in a single book...but.... if you're mindful of this, then this audiobook is worthwhile to listen to.
I'm a newbie on this topic (motivated by a recent episode of Dan Carlin's 'Hardcore History' podcast), so I'm one of the ones who initially felt overwhelmed by the details. However, I realized that if I didn't concentrate on trying to remember or contextualize each new detail, then it freed my mind to listen more broadly to the overall story. With repeat listens of this audiobook, I'm confident that more and more details will fall into place with less effort.
I have two laments about the book. First, especially for newbies like me, I wish I had a map or two to refer to while listening to the story. It's a trade-off with audiobooks - flexibility to listen anytime/anywhere but.... it's only audio, no other supporting medium. I really would like to see the industry address this somehow in the future. In the meantime, no map of Guadalcanal to help me figure out how the chess pieces were moving on the board. Second, it becomes evident early in the audiobook that the personnel on the ground were using faulty maps themselves, so they often thought they were at River A when in fact they were at River B (and so on). My second lament is about the distraction every time the narrator would name a place where the soldiers thought they were, and every single time he would immediately indicate where the soldiers actually were. Perhaps in print format it's less distracting but I found it to be somewhat distracting in audiobook format as the narrator made the continual parenthetical corrections to their geographic orientation.
The narrator was effective. His voice was mostly dispassionate, doing a serviceable job of getting through the details (and there are a lot, particularly in the first two hours of the audiobook!). (I just had a spontaneous mental image of the Professor from Gilligan's Island, for some reason - understated and competent...).
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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- Private
- 05-10-20
Detailed and Well Researched... Great Narration
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."
It is clear that an extensive amount of research went into this book. The level of detail was impressive, I felt immersed in the story almost from the start. As a history buff, particularly of WW2, I thoroughly enjoyed listening. It is graphic, but I would assume that readers would be aware of that given the subject matter.
Narration was strong, with clear sound quality and great inflection. He really brought the book to life.
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- Susann
- 04-24-20
WW2 is one f my favorite subject
Being a favorite subject of mine . Mr. Nevitt made this very interesting. My father a fighter pilot first or the RCAF then with the USAAC. He never spoke of anything until after he was in his 70's. My family whole family have fought for this country with courage and honor I think everyone should get this book and audiable. It's just great
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- MolllyT
- 11-21-18
Excellent study
USMC, military-history, World-War-ll, Pacific-Theater-of-Operations, historical-research, historical-places-events
Eight months after the declaration of war on Japan by the United States, USMC green recruits, capable NCOs, and few officers were able to best determined Japanese forces on Guadalcanal in the Battle of Tenaru. This book is a detailed account of the events leading up to the battle and accounts obtained from records from each side and from survivors who were still alive at the time of research. The in depth meticulous research done by the author is clearly in evidence, and the value of the body of work to active duty military is clearly apparent.
Will I get in trouble if I mention its value to history buffs and RPG players?
I had to get an audio copy because my print copy was liberated by USMC grandson.
Bill Nevitt continues to be excellent as narrator for study subjects.
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- Elizabeth Meyers
- 12-20-18
Both very well-written and very well-researched
I truly enjoyed this audiobook. The author has done a great job in not only his writing but in his research of the battle of Guadalcanal which followed the Pearl Harbor attack.
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- KD
- 01-16-19
Interesting piece of human history
Interesting piece of history
Knowledge is power. I would never think i would be interested in this, but you know it’s nice when discover something you wouldn’t bother with before and end up finding really interesting. It’s nice to strike gold like this sometimes
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- Gillian
- 11-25-18
Action Punctuated By The Dry, The Drudge
I suppose I expected more in the way of humanity and the experiences of the men who lived the combat of this, the first several weeks of Guadalcanal, seeing as the Publisher's Summary cites so many resources, especially diaries and memoirs. And while it does have the memories of many men, Victory Fever on Guadalcanal doesn't have many of them.
For instance, a line will tell us about gnats swarming into eyes, suggesting hell to walk through, but we don't get anything about what the men actually experienced, how it felt to be walking through that.
And there are many men. Many, many men. So many that I found it somewhat confusing at times. And there's planning for battles and engagements. Much, much planning. So much that I'd get somewhat bored at times (especially since hey! when has something ever gone according to plan?).
Still, when the listener gets to the actual engagements, there's plenty of action to carry you through and Victory Fever on Guadalcanal delivers. It's really good there.
Bill Nevitt does an admirable job, especially gamely running through the many Japanese names (tho' I'm no expert on Japanese, so I can't 100 per cent guarantee that it's all correct). And he does well in griping when someone gripes, elevating his voice when someone else shouts. I can't tell you how key this is if you're keeping a listener hooked in a book that could be considered dry at points.
A good listen, enough to make me wonder about seeking out Guadalcanal Diary to find out the rest of the history.
I received this audiobook free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
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3 people found this helpful