Blazing Star, Setting Sun
The Guadalcanal-Solomons Campaign November 1942-March 1943
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Narrated by:
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Lance C Fuller
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By:
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Jeffrey Cox
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents Blazing Star, Setting Sun by Jeffrey Cox, read by Lance C Fuller.
From popular Pacific Theatre expert Jeffrey R. Cox comes this insightful new history of the critical Guadalcanal and Solomons campaign at the height of World War II.
Cox's previous book, Morning Star, Rising Sun, had found the US Navy at its absolute nadir and the fate of the Enterprise, the last operational US aircraft carrier at this point in the war, unknown. This second volume completes the history of this crucial campaign, combining detailed research with a novelist’s flair for the dramatic to reveal exactly how, despite missteps and misfortunes, the tide of war finally turned.
By the end of February 1944, thanks to hard-fought and costly American victories in the first and second naval battles of Guadalcanal, the battle of Empress Augusta Bay, and the battle of Cape St George, the Japanese would no longer hold the materiel or skilled manpower advantage. From this point on, although the war was still a long way from being won, the American star was unquestionably on the ascendant, slowly, but surely, edging Japanese imperialism towards its sunset.
Jeffrey Cox’s analysis and attention to detail of even the smallest events are second to none. But what truly sets this book apart is how he combines this microscopic attention to detail, often unearthing new facts along the way, with an engaging style that transports the reader to the heart of the story, bringing the events on the deep blue of the Pacific vividly to life.
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-
Story
In many popular histories of the Pacific War, the period from the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor to the US victory at Midway is often passed over because it is seen as a period of darkness. Indeed, it is easy to see the period as one of unmitigated disaster for the Allies, with the fall of the Philippines, Malaya, Burma and the Dutch East Indies and the wholesale retreat and humiliation at the hands of Japan throughout Southeast Asia.
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Very informative
- By dexter on 09-20-20
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The Cactus Air Force
- Air War Over Guadalcanal
- By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Adam Henderson
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
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Excellent Book!
- By Eric Peterson on 09-16-22
By: Eric Hammel, and others
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Leyte Gulf
- A New History of the World's Largest Sea Battle
- By: Mark E. Stille
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Pacific War expert Mark Stille examines the key aspects of battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval encounter in history and probably the most decisive naval battle of the entire Pacific War, with new and insightful analysis and dismantles the myths surrounding the respective actions and overall performances of the two most important commanders in the battle, and the “lost victory” of the Japanese advance into Leyte Gulf that never happened.
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Perhaps a little scholarly
- By Michael Kiehn on 11-14-24
By: Mark E. Stille
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War Beneath the Sea
- Submarine Conflict During World War II
- By: Peter Padfield
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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This riveting chronicle of submarine warfare is the first to cover all the major submarine campaigns of the war, describing, in detail, the operations of the British, American, Japanese, Italian, and German submarine and anti-submarine forces. Beginning with a vivid re-creation of the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a German U-boat in September 1939, critically acclaimed military historian Peter Padfield's compelling narrative casts an unflinching eye on the devastating consequences of maritime warfare.
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Fills in the gaps of other submarine books
- By Ben on 05-19-21
By: Peter Padfield
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Neptune's Inferno
- The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal
- By: James D. Hornfischer
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 18 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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With The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Ship of Ghosts, James D. Hornfischer created essential and enduring narratives about America’s World War II Navy, works of unique immediacy distinguished by rich portraits of ordinary men in extremis and exclusive new information. Now he does the same for the deadliest, most pivotal naval campaign of the Pacific war: Guadalcanal. Neptune’s Inferno is at once the most epic and the most intimate account ever written of the contest for control of the seaways of the Solomon Islands.
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The WWII Pacific Theater Explodes In My Lazy Chair
- By Rum Runner on 03-01-11
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Clash of the Carriers
- The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II
- By: Barrett Tillman, Stephen Coonts
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The incredible true story of the most spectacular aircraft-carrier battle in history - World War II's Great Marianas Turkey Shoot. Here is the true account of those great and terrible days - by those who were there, in the thick of the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Drawing upon numerous interviews with American and Japanese veterans as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers is an unforgettable testimonial to the bravery of those who fought and those who died in a battle that will never be forgotten.
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OUTSTANDING BOOK!!
- By Bill on 10-30-18
By: Barrett Tillman, and others
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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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Undersea Warrior
- The World War II Story of "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo
- By: Don Keith
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Mush Morton was a warrior without peer. At the helm of the USS Wahoo he completely changed the way the submarines fought in the Pacific War. He would relentlessly attack the Japanese at every opportunity, burning through his supply of torpedoes in record time on every patrol. Over the course of only nine months and five patrols, Morton racked up an astounding list of achievements, including being the first American skipper to wipe out an entire enemy convoy single-handedly.
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Enter Text Here
- By Lady Pamela on 06-04-24
By: Don Keith
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The Wehrmacht's Last Stand: The German Campaigns of 1944-1945
- Modern War Studies
- By: Robert M. Citino
- Narrated by: Tom Beyer
- Length: 25 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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By 1943, the war was lost, and most German officers knew it. What kept the German army going in an increasingly hopeless situation? Where some historians have found explanations in the power of Hitler or the role of ideology, Robert M. Citino, the world's leading scholar on the subject, posits a more straightforward solution: Bewegungskrieg, the way of war cultivated by the Germans over the course of history. In this book, Citino charts the path by which Bewegungskrieg, or a "war of movement," inexorably led to Nazi Germany's defeat.
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The fake English with a pseudo German accent,
- By Neil on 11-29-24
By: Robert M. Citino
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Tin Can Titans
- The Heroic Men and Ships of World War II's Most Decorated Navy Destroyer Squadron
- By: John Wukovits
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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When Admiral William Halsey selected Destroyer Squadron 21 to lead his victorious ships into Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese surrender, it was the most battle-hardened US naval squadron of the war. But it was not the squadron of ships that had accumulated such an inspiring résumé; it was the people serving aboard them. Through diaries, personal interviews with survivors, and letters written to and by the crews during the war, preeminent historian of the Pacific theater John Wukovits brings to life the human story of the squadron and its men.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 09-23-17
By: John Wukovits
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Turning the Tide
- The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Using first-hand accounts from pilots and other aircrew, Tom Cleaver describes how the USAAF units that landed in Morocco were forced to learn their own lessons in combat with veteran Luftwaffe units, and how the experience gained in the skies over North Africa and Sicily was invaluable in developing the air forces that would dominate the skies over Europe in the latter years of the war.
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Pacific Thunder
- The US Navy's Central Pacific Campaign, August 1943–October 1944
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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On 27 October 1942, four "Long Lance" torpedoes fired by the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo exploded in the hull of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Minutes later, the ship that had launched the Doolitte Raid six months earlier slipped beneath the waves of the Coral Sea 100 miles northeast of the island of Guadalcanal and just north of the Santa Cruz Islands, taking with her 140 of her sailors. With the loss of Hornet, the United States Navy now had one aircraft carrier left in the South Pacific.
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Good for what it is, but not what it claims to be
- By David Maher on 12-18-17
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Tidal Wave
- From Leyte Gulf to Tokyo Bay
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The United States Navy won such overwhelming victories in 1944 that had the Navy faced a different enemy the war would have been over at the conclusion of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. However, in the moment of victory on October 25, 1944, the US Navy found itself confronting an enemy that had been inconceivable until it appeared. The kamikaze, meaning 'divine wind' in Japanese, was something Americans were totally unprepared for; a violation of every belief held in the West.
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Horrible writing
- By DearMrDear on 06-02-18
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Operation Typhoon
- Hitler's March on Moscow, October 1941
- By: David Stahel
- Narrated by: Philip Battley
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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David Stahel's groundbreaking new account of Operation Typhoon captures the perspectives of both the German high command and individual soldiers, revealing that despite success on the battlefield the wider German war effort was in far greater trouble than is often acknowledged.
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The German POV of difficulty
- By Olaf on 11-28-24
By: David Stahel
What listeners say about Blazing Star, Setting Sun
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David C. Miller
- 02-03-21
Great Narrator, but book gets lost in details.
The narration is spot on, and I thought I knew everything about Guadalcanal, but this book. goes way beyond, Very interesting read.
However, the author gets bogged down in too many details..
Cox seems to feel the need to name every destroyer, ( several times ) every squadron, every pilot ( both sides ), every torpedo
For me, the book looses it continuity, the book does not flow. To be constantly interrupted by every minutiae
of the battle was extremely frustrating...
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3 people found this helpful
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- J J
- 02-05-23
Great book
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history. Pleasant in tone and informative.
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- Jeff G
- 03-11-23
Great Story Narration So So
This is a great story but the narrator mispronunciation of words is bothersome. This narrator is better than the first volume’s narrator though.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-15-21
Enjoyed the story but not the narration
A continuation of the author's story of the Guadalcanal Campaign in 1942 and '43. The story is pretty good and well known. This time it is for someone looking to become more familiar with the operations around Guadalcanal in 1942 and '43. The narration was substandard. One recurring theme was the mis-pronunciatan of the ship's name, USS HELENA, named for the City of Helena Montana not the womans name. There are odd mid sentence breaks or breaks within words. Overall the book does a good job of presenting a story of the tribulations and frustrations for both sides during the Guadalcanal Campaig Get a map handy to be familiar with all of the unique named.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Hunter Ferguson
- 04-24-23
great book, frustrating narrator.
the narrator is constantly mispronouncing names and locations throughout the book. it'd quite jarring and sometimes confusing to hear the names of places, people, and ships butchered throughout a historical work.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-15-23
Outstanding !
Ii thoroughly enjoy how this author takes this particular slice of time during WW2 and presents the reader with details & facts that practically put you in the moment(s). This was such a pivotal series of battles in the Pacific theater that, in my humble opinion, completely deserves to be told in depth. This is actually my second time through ! I truly appreciate this style of historic non-fiction !
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- russell foster
- 04-27-23
I enjoyed it and would listen to it again.
it was easy to listen to and enjoy. A lot of good history.
thank you
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- dr john e brunner
- 11-11-22
HBO needs to do a multi year series on Guadalcanal
This is the 20 th book I’ve listened to on WW2. I am totally intrigued by the story Guadalcanal. Some books I have listened to are more ground based or ship based. This one is more oriented to the air war. However it is very balanced with details of land sea and air details. It also gives insight into the Japanese view. I heard story lines that were not in other books. The battle of the Bismarck Sea is one example . What this book really made clear to me was the desperate nearly existential battle that Guadalcanal was. We know who won but this book really brings home the doubt many people must of had about its outcome. This campaign was not a forgone conclusion: so many times the IJN and IJA stuck it to the US.
The Americans Brits and Aussies who fought were all heroes. I fear we would not have the grit and tenacity that these brave souls had.
This book could be used for a HBO series with a cast of thousands. How about it Steven and Tom. “The Pacific”was great but we need more!!!!
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- D cap
- 01-17-24
Fine addition to my library
Not much else to say other than it is a fine book by Mr. Cox
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- Lavinia
- 08-15-24
Details
Lots and lots of details. Maybe better read. Narrator was very good with all the Japanese.
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