Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue (Google eBook)

Bob Drury, Tom Clavin

Grove Press, Dec 1, 2007 - History - 352 pages

"Halsey's Typhoon" is the story of World War II's most unexpected disaster at sea. In the final days of 1944, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey is the Pacific theater's most popular and colorful naval hero. After a string of victories, the "Fighting Admiral" and his thirty-thousand-man Third Fleet are charged with protecting General MacArthur's flank during the invasion of the Philippine island of Mindoro. But in the midst of the landings, Halsey attempts a complicated refueling maneuver and unwittingly drives his 170 ships into the teeth of a massive typhoon. Halsey's men find themselves battling 90-foot waves and 150 mph winds--amid the chaos, three ships are sunk and nearly nine hundred sailors and officers are swept into the Philippine Sea. For three days, small bands of survivors battle dehydration, exhaustion, sharks, and the elements awaiting rescue at the hands of the courageous lieutenant commander Henry Lee Plage, who, defying orders, sails his tiny destroyer escort, the USS "Tabberer," back into the storm to rescue drifting sailors. "Halsey's Typhoon" is a gripping true tale of courage and survival against impossible odds--and one of the finest untold World War II sagas of our time.

What people are saying

Review: Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue

User Review  - Chris - Goodreads

In December 1944 Admiral Halsey lost his mojo with his sailors. Weeks before he had taken the bait and gone after the Japanese ghost carriers and almost lost Leyte Gulf. He was so focused on the enemy ...

Review: Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue

User Review  - Steve - Goodreads

Good Book! Nothing like reading of an admiral's error and comeuppance to appreciate the human side of their leadership and the environmental enemy they were constantly at odds with. The magnitude of ...

Contents

• The Fleet: 1
• The Storm: 93
• The Rescue: 197
• Epilogue: 267
• Afterword 2006: 281
• Acknowledgments: 293
• Appendix: 297
• Selected Bibliography: 309
• Index: 313

About the author

Bob Drury is the author/co-author/editor of nine books, the last two in collaboration with Tom Clavin. His last solo book, "The Rescue Season", was adapted into a documentary by the History Channel. He has written for numerous publications, including "The New York Times", "Vanity Fair", "Men's Journal", and "GQ". He is currently a contributing editor and foreign correspondent for "Men's Health" magazine, and has reported from Iraq, Darfur, Liberia, Afghanistan, Sarajevo, and Belfast. He lives in Manasquan, New Jersey.

Tom Clavin is editor of the "East Hampton Independent " and the "South Hampton Independent " and a former chief environmental correspondent for the "New York Times".

Bibliographic information

• Title: Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue
• Authors: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
• Publisher: Grove Press, 2007
• ISBN: 1555846297, 9781555846299
• Length: 352 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / United States; History / Military / World War II; Nature / Weather; Transportation / Ships & Shipbuilding / General; Travel / Essays & Travelogues