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MWSA Review
A Hoot in Hell's Island is more than one man's experiences as a Navy dive bomber pilot. It is an emotionally moving account of history as it was being made in the South Pacific theater of World War II. The credibility of the book is extremely high due to the author's excellent blending of one man's account with newspaper and public
media accounts and official war records.
I learned new things from this book about the growth of a weak American military presence to a world leading presence. That growth occurred in an incredibly short time, notably due to the civilian war effort and the gallantry of the American fighting personnel. I appreciate my own father, a WWII U.S. Navy veteran, more now than ever.
This book will be enlightening to any reader, whether a "war buff" or not. It would be particularly relative to prospective members of the military. Not only was this book informative and credible, it was enjoyable.
Review by Jerry Burton (April 2022)
Author's Synopsis
In the dark days of 1942, the battle for the Solomon Islands was very much in doubt. When carrier dive bomber Robert D. "Hoot" Gibson sighted the Japanese fleet heading for "Hell's Island," he attacked the vanguard ships, sinking the heavy cruiser Kinugasa and two loaded Japanese troop transports in a battle royal that earned him the Navy Cross. He was also credited with the sinking of an I-Class submarine and shooting down two Zeroes, after going toe-to-toe with Japan's premier ace pilot, and he alone accounted for the deaths of thousands of Japanese soldiers and sailors.
Hoot was a hero when America needed heroes and when America needed to turn the tide of the war from defense to offense. He was on the Yorktown at Midway and the Enterprise at Guadalcanal. Hoot was in three of the five carrier battles of the war, the first and last amphibious invasions of WWII, and thirteen major battles. A Hoot in Hell's Island tells Hoot's dramatic story and that of the American navy in the crucial battles of the Pacific War.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 240