Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Halsey's Typhoon by Tom Clavin - Available

Halsey's Typhoon

The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue

by Tom Clavin
Bob Drury
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
A gripping true account of courage and survival at sea against impossible odds-and one of the finest untold World War II sagas of our time. In December 1944, while on a mission to support MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey unwittingly steered his fleet of 170 ships into the teeth of a massive typhoon. The storm ultimately inflicted twice as much destruction and loss of life as the Battle of Midway, but Navy brass suppressed the scope of the disaster so as not to compromise the American advance on Tokyo. After the ensuing Court of Inquiry, Halsey never spoke again of the disaster. It is only now, thanks to documents declassified sixty years after the events and scores of firsthand accounts from survivors, that the story finally has been told.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 18, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781598873535
      • File size: 309476 KB
      • Duration: 10:44:44

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Typhoon Cobra devastated Admiral William "Bull" Halsey's Pacific Fleet in December 1944, sinking ships, smashing airplanes, and throwing sailors to the sharks. Presenting the story as if it were a TV documentary, Eric Conger uses his voice as a portal to allow the story to tell itself. The narration succeeds at becoming invisible, adding no unnecessary drama to the already compelling tale. Conger adopts a professorial style in passages explaining the physics of tropical storm development and relaxes into informality for first-person accounts retrieved from interviews and historical records. The book's only dry moments come from the text's occasional forays into assessing blame for the disaster, and these are blessedly few. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 9, 2006
      At the height of the Second World War in 1944, the U.S. Pacific Fleet was struck by a typhoon that sank three destroyers and drowned 800 sailors. Drury (The Rescue Season
      ) and Clavin (Dark Noon: The Final Voyage of the Fishing Boat Pelican
      ) draw on proceedings of a navy board of inquiry and eyewitness recollections to recreate the catastrophe. On the one hand, this is an absorbing if disjointed maritime disaster saga in which shrieking winds and monstrous waves batter warships to pieces. It's also a study in judgment under pressure, as hard-charging Adm. William "Bull" Halsey (motto: "Kill Japs") keeps his fleet positioned in the storm's path because of faulty weather reports, accusations that he improperly left his station during the earlier Battle of Leyte Gulf and general overaggressiveness. Closer to the waterline, the authors contrast the fecklessness of Capt. James Marks of the U.S.S. Hull
      , which sank, to the steadiness of Capt. Henry Plage of the U.S.S. Tabberer
      , which braved mountainous seas to rescue survivors. The trumped-up leadership parable is perhaps unfair to Halsey and Marks. Still, the authors make their account a vivid tale of tragedy and gallantry at sea. Photos.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now