Choice - J. C. Rentfrow
Hughes uses this expertly researched and well-written biography to look underneath the layers of popular culture and try to understand the man behind some of the US Navy's biggest WW II successes as well as its biggest controversies.
Ronald H. Spector
Hughes’s biography of Halsey replaces the generalities about ‘the greatest generation’ with a hard-hitting, thoroughly researched, and very persuasive account of Halsey’s command in the Pacific War at a time when the success or failure of the whole effort against Japan hung in the balance. His is an essential and very readable revisionist portrait of one of America’s most famous naval leaders.
Phil Haun
In this remarkable work, Tom Hughes masterfully portrays the maturation of the U.S. Navy through the life and times of Admiral Bill Halsey, from the sailing of the Great White Fleet to the Japanese surrender aboard his flagship, the USS Missouri. A must-read for anyone interested in World War II naval strategy and the colossal challenges encountered in conducting joint maritime warfare in the Pacific as experienced by one of the most audacious and controversial commanders in naval history.
HistoryNet - Robert Guttman
This new biography presents a fascinating reappraisal of one of the most important, yet subsequently neglected, military commanders of World War II.
Military History - Keith Robinson
[An] impeccably researched, objective, and eminently readable biography of the fighting admiral…[Hughes] has succeeded, magnificently, in this well-written, fascinating biography.
Weekly Standard - Joseph F. Callo
A complex, thought-provoking, and profoundly illuminating story.
Wall Street Journal - James D. Hornfischer
Smartly written…[It] deserves to supplant E. B. Potter’s 21-year-old Bull Halsey as the standard life of its subject…Hughes is an entertaining writer and an incisive observer.
World War II - Richard B. Frank
During World War II, Americans showered adulation on Douglas MacArthur, George S. Patton—and upon William F. Halsey Jr. Afterward, biographers flocked to chronicle the generals’ lives; less so the admiral’s. Now this stellar work, which seamlessly blends deep research and shrewd analysis, emerges as the most complete and sophisticated Halsey portrait.
From the Publisher
"Smartly written . . . [It] deserves to supplant E. B. Potter's 21-year-old Bull Halsey as the standard life of its subject . . . Hughes is an entertaining writer and an incisive observer." ---Wall Street Journal
From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY
"Smartly written . . . [It] deserves to supplant E. B. Potter's 21-year-old Bull Halsey as the standard life of its subject . . . Hughes is an entertaining writer and an incisive observer." —Wall Street Journal
