"The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

"Using diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts, this vivid narrative brings to life the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.
For 40 years from 1961, the late Eric Hammel interviewed more than 150 American participants in the air campaign at Guadalcanal, none of whom are still alive. These interviews are the most comprehensive first-person accounts of the battle assembled by any historian. More importantly, they involved the junior officers and enlisted men whose stories and memories were not part of the official history, thus providing a unique insight.
The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation undertaken by the US and its allies in the Pacific War. Cactus, the code name for the island, became a sinkhole for Japanese air and naval power, experienced forces whose losses could never be made good. The three months of air battles between August 20, 1942, when the first Marine air unit arrived on the island, and November 15, when the last enemy attempt to retake the island was defeated, were perhaps the most important of the Pacific War. After November 15, 1942, the US never looked back as its forces moved across the Pacific to the war's inevitable conclusion.
The Cactus Air Force is a joint project between the late Eric Hammel and Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, and is unlike any other of the many histories of this event that have been published over the years."

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1FPfhKZKbL.jpg

Expected for the 1st of September 2022 in Hardback, Audiobook and other electronic formats.

Source: https://ospreypublishing.com/the-cactus-air-force

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

There have been a number of books on this subject since 1969. Google the title for a list of the books. Makes ya' wonder what Hammond & Cleaver could dig up in 2022 to give fresh input to this well-covered subject?

Miller, Thomas G. (1969). Cactus Air Force. Admiral Nimitz Foundation. ISBN 0-934841-17-9.

L. deZ.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

The fact that they need to label one of the authors as a "Pacific War expert" immediately sows seeds of doubt.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Looking at the Amazon reviews of Mckeevey's book on the Korean Air War, made me dubious. As one guy in the review section pointed out, his rather uncritical 'acceptance' of the USSR Mig regiments' vic claims and other matters (like his personal political prejudices, leaking into the story; his 'mile wide, but inch deep understanding of matters military') makes it hard to accept the work.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

I've read a couple of Cleaver's books. I won't make that mistake again.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Sounds interesting! Care to elaborate--if even on a PM?

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Which ones? I'm also curious what you have against them/him.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

I truly do not care about and do not want to know about the political views of an author of a history book. Doesn't matter if I agree, disagree, or am indifferent to those views. If I'm reading history I want to read history, not an author's personal political opinions.

Making it worse, IMO, is when the author tries to present their subjective opinion about someone with whom they agree politically as if it is objective fact, usually through a massive amount of cherry-picking, gaslighting, ignoring things inconvenient to the political narrative they're espousing, and/or whataboutism. "He was just a freedom fighter!" "He didn't want to but those bad guys, who were bad for having different political ideas, forced him to." "But he did so many good things that those few accidental missteps, which totally aren't his fault, shouldn't be held against him!"

Finally, when an author makes alignment with his own political biases be the determining factor on whether or not source material is factual and credible, rather than letting those sources stand or fall on their merits, I'm done with that author.

Cleaver is very guilty of that last point in his books on Korea (I haven't, and won't bother, reading anything he's written on Viet Nam). As an example of what I mean, according to Cleaver, anything asserted in Russian, Chinese, or North Korean sources (like an aircraft being shot down at a given place, date, and time) is 100% true and factual even though there's no corroboration from American records, because American records are full of errors, lies, omissions, and gaps whereas communist records aren't because communists don't lie, they have no reason to, and they don't make errors.

Umm, at the most basic level humans are still humans and thus subject to the same errors and foibles before you start adding in other things/factors.

Never mind that the truth is often somewhere between what that side says and what the other side says in terms of objective facts.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Admittedly I have only one book by Cleaver, a WW 2 one which made at least me a bit disappointed.

Pacific Thunder was written in 2017 and by that time writing such a book without any acknowledgement
to any kind of Japanese sources is strange to say the least.
It contains no claims nor loss lists from any side meaning its value is very limited (to me)

That is even more strange since he obviously is referring to various "other side" data when writing about Korea.
I know nothing of his political views, but perhaps he is totally unaware of the revision now done by Russian
researchers with regard to the Soviet (communist) side of things in WW 2?

Why anyone today should still think claims made by any side, during any conflict is gospel, is
completely beyond me....

Cheers
Stig

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Yes! 100% agree!

You've touched on another thing about his WW II Pacific books (at least the ones I've read) that disappoints me - there's nothing new in them. No new info, no new perspectives or analysis, etc. Simply a regurgitation of the same stuff that's already been published many times in the past.

As an example, Cleaver's book on Rabaul - Under the Southern Cross I think it was called - offered nothing new at all on the subject. Very disappointing. Based on his track record I can't imagine this book on the Cactus Air Force will have anything new or anything from the Japanese side.

Now when the first book in the new series by Michael Claringbould on the Solomons comes out (not long now!) I'll get it immediately...

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Yes Steve
Michael's books are extremely good!! Have them all.
With regard to Cleaver and the Pacific War, I have to admit I have very few books at all on the topic,
meaning I am not very well "equipped" to make any judgement, but writing anything today without
showing the other side of the coin is very disappointing indeed, so I am doing just like you, pass this one
over!
Cheers
Stig

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Eric Hammel passed in August 2020. He did write a number of oral history based books regarding the aerial warfare in the ETO/PTO. Plus other conflicts. He is very well regarded in terms of presenting eyewitness experiences.
Never heard of the other fellow.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

I JUST saw it on Amazon & I can hardly wait for it to be released. On the other hand, it seem the ongoing series for Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific will see the next volumes take a bit longer to be completed with the new project seemingly taking the forefront.

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

Nick,
South Pacific Air War (which covers PNG and SW Pacific) has reached Volume 5, and has reach a conclusion point (well, at least for now).

The beauty of the project was the coverage of the air war in the South Pacific in a holistic manner. It viewed the battles over Port Moresby, along Kokoda Track and Milne Bay, not as individual incidents but covers the effect of each on the other, as a component of the eventual outcome.

One significant factor in the outcome of these battles, was the effect of Guadalcanal, and the way it shifted the Japanese focus and resources away from PNG. This is discussed in the South Pacific Air War volumes, and now a "spin-off"series will cover Guadalcanal in greater depth.

I'm also very much looking forward to it - book 1 is expected later this year.
Here's the link to the Avonmore Books website:
https://avonmorebooks.com.au/?page=2

(I'm not associated with Avonmore books, just a regular purchaser.)


Regards,
...geoff

Re: "The Cactus Air Force: Air War over Guadalcanal" by Eric Hammel & Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
 

OK; I was hoping that we'd get a volume 6 (and onwards) that would cover the takeover of responsibility by the Imperial Japanese Army Airforce, and their battles against the Allies.



And don't worry, I'm gonna grab those new books as soon as they come out, too!