Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island

The World War II Battle That Saved Marine Corps Aviation

By: John R Bruning

Narrated by: Brian Troxell

The pivotal true story of the first fifty-three days of the standoff between Imperial Japanese and a handful of Marine aviators defending the Americans dug in at Guadalcanal, from the New York Times bestselling author of Indestructible and Race of Aces.

On August 20, 1942, twelve Marine dive-bombers and nineteen Marine fighters landed at Guadalcanal. Their mission: defeat the Japanese navy and prevent it from sending more men and supplies to "Starvation Island," as Guadalcanal was nicknamed. The Japanese were turning the remote, jungle-covered mountain in the south Solomon Islands into an air base from which they could attack the supply lines between the U.S. and Australia. The night after the Marines landed and captured the partially completed airfield, the Imperial Navy launched a surprise night attack on the Allied fleet offshore, resulting in the worst defeat the U.S. Navy suffered in the 20th century, which prompted the abandonment of the Marines on Guadalcanal.

The Marines dug in, and waited for help, as those thirty-one pilots and twelve gunners flew against the Japanese, shooting down eighty-three planes in less than two months, while the dive bombers, carried out over thirty attacks on the Japanese fleet. Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island follows Major John L. Smith, a magnetic leader who became America’s top fighter ace for the time; Captain Marion Carl, the Marine Corps’ first ace, and one of the few survivors of his squadron at the Battle of Midway. He would be shot down and forced to make his way back to base through twenty-five miles of Japanese-held jungle. And Major Richard Mangrum, the lawyer-turned-dive-bomber commander whose inexperienced men wrought havoc on the Japanese Navy.

New York Times bestselling author John R. Bruning depicts the desperate effort to stop the Japanese long enough for America to muster reinforcements and turn the tide at Guadalcanal. Not just the story of an incredible stand on a distant jungle island, Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island also explores the consequences of victory to the men who secured it at a time when America had been at war for less than a year and its public had yet to fully understand what that meant. The home front they returned to after their jungle ordeal was a surreal montage of football games, nightclubs, fine dining with America’s elites, and inside looks at dysfunctional defense industries more interested in fleecing the government than properly equipping the military. Bruning tells the story of how one battle reshaped the Marine Corps and propelled its veterans into the highest positions of power just in time to lead the service into a new war in Southeast Asia.

©2023 John R Bruning (P)2023 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

"Intricately researched but intimately written, Fifty-Three Days on Starvation Island takes us into the cockpits and muddy foxholes of the aviators that fought the Japanese in the skies over Guadalcanal. Bruning writes like the best war reporters of that generation, delivering a gripping personal account of survival during the very darkest period of World War II."—Jon Parshall, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

Even if you think you know about WW2

You will learn something new in this book. Many accounts of the war leave out this important important part

A unique perspective

The author did an excellent job of staying with the key story and individuals of the Marine air squadrons fighting on Guadalcanal.
He included just the right amount of details outside the story to enrich it. Much like the right amount of seasoning makes food taste better.
Details of the Marines aerial war over Guadalcanal were new to me and much appreciated. I recommend this book.

Heroism Defined

This is a gritty, detailed and gripping account of a group of determined, incredibly brave, and devoted men in a lynchpin battle much like Midway. School kids should read this to know how they came to live in the greatest country in the world.

What a great story of the Marine aviators of Guadalcanal and their efforts to keep Henderson field in US hands.

I have read many books on the history of the war in the Pacific about WWII and have to rate this as one of the best if not the best in the telling of how impactful this group of Marine aviators were in the battle to keep Henderson Field in American hands. It is told in a manner that has made me appreciate how impactful these men with so little support were in saving and protecting the air field on the island from the Japanese efforts to retake it. Well worth the read or listen

Excellent story telling

Great story telling. Very detailed. Possibly the best Guadalcanal book I’ve read regarding cactus. Thank you

The deep insite of the aviation I the Pacfic theater

The entire book kept my attention throughout its entirety. Well done to all involved in its development

Great

Wonderful work. Amazing history of Marine Corps Aviation. The reality of war during the Guadalcanal campaign is richly told.

Outstanding Narrative

Many aviation buffs know the names Carl, Mangrum and Smith in regards to the Cactus Air Force. However, what their fates were post Guadalcanal was till this book hidden in shadow. Bruning does these men a great service by telling their entire biographies, the good and the bad. The hidden demon of PTSD is a common denominator that ties these men together and exposes the faults of letting REMF's and naive politicians determine post combat outcomes.

This was an exceptionally well research and history lesson of World War II. The first front United States.

I really enjoyed learning all that was going on in the South Pacific as we were fighting Japanese. These marines truly heroes! The nation here is as good as it gets. But the author did an excellent job detailing all that was happening during those 53 days

Fantastic book.

This is a great story. Definitely more of a personal account of the early days on Guadalcanal. I found it to be captivating and engaging story.