The Cactus Air Force

Air War Over Guadalcanal

By: Eric Hammel, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Narrated by: Adam Henderson

Bloomsbury presents The Cactus Air Force by Eric Hammel and Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, read by Adam Henderson.

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.

The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation undertaken by the US and its allies in the Pacific War. 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. “Cactus,” the code name for the island, became a sinkhole for Japanese air and naval power, as they experienced losses that could never be made good.

For 40 years, 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, and thus provide a unique insight.

In The Cactus Air Force, Pacific War expert Thomas McKelvey Cleaver worked closely with Eric to build on his collection of diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts to create a vivid narrative of the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.

©2022 Eric Hammel and Thomas McKelvey Cleaver (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"Eric Hammel’s research, done when no one else was interested in learning these stories, has allowed a story we all think we know well to be told anew, through the words of those whose stories were never told before. The Cactus Air Force is a vital contribution that provides new information about this crucial battle." (Barrett Tillman, author of Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942–1945)

"Hammel and Cleaver have once more brought Guadalcanal front and center. Theirs is a harrowing tale of unpreparedness, intelligence and leadership failures, of learning hard lessons in the furious crucible of war, of sacrifice and loss, of great courage, and, ultimately, of a great victory secured at a fearsome cost." (Richard P. Hallion, former Historian of the US Air Force)

"Overstating Eric Hammel’s impact as a military historian is impossible. His focus on aviation—and Guadalcanal in particular—has seen few equals. Today, we benefit not only because Hammel had the foresight to capture the first-person accounts of thousands of veterans, but also because he possessed the knowledge to place them in the proper context." (Jay A. Stout, author of Jayhawk: Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror Over the Pacific)

Intense, detail oriented

I enjoyed this book. The sheer volume of details about the Guadalcanal land, air, and sea campaigns is impressive. The narration is very good.

Great Book!!!

After 25 years in the Navy, I thought I was a pretty good Naval historian. The details were were precise and gave a much greater understanding of the Solomon’s campaign.

The Fortuitous Inheritance

Early on in the forward we learn that Eric Hammel died of Parkinson’s disease in 2020. In a series of serendipitous events, Thomas McKelvy Cleaver inherited the baton. The metaphorical baton was five gigabytes of Eric Hammel’s research and drafts that dated back to the 1960s. Tom Cleaver, who is an excellent WWII historian and writer in his own right, has produced the consummate book on the Cactus Air Force. It is equivalent to what Shattered Sword did for the Battle of Midway. Adam Henderson’s narration is spot on, and his pronunciation of the myriad Japanese words, seem correct and effortless.

Very poor conclusions

Author took an 'Okay story' and made it painful to listen to. Writen to support an invalid conclusion. Of my 23 years listening to Audible, this is the one book that I had to say horse puckys.

A bit disappointed

It was disorganized and lacked much of the later history of the air war. Too much naval history which is covered in other books more completely.

Narrators mispronouncing was too distracting

This is some of my favorite history; the history of the battle for Guadalcanal. So that alone drew me to this book. The narrator however was a big disappointment. He doesn’t know any of the relevant terms for aviation or even how to pronounce the local geography. For example, Lae repeated mispronounced, and the metallic lead pronunciation used to describe leading (“leed”) a target in aircraft gunnery. Many mistakes like this, very distracting and dehumanizes the stories.

Extraordinary Effort by Americans

Appreciate and enjoyed the details presented in this book. I have read more than a dozen books about Guadalcanal but none, until this book have focused on the Cactus Air Force. I thought the narration was great. Thank you for writing/moving this book forward to completion. Had to be a challenging task in itself. Five Stars…Cheers.

Interesting perspective on this history!

I have read a number of stories about Guadalcanal, but this book presents an interesting perspective! Especially since the point of the battle were the airfields and their use.

Too many naval engagements

The book was a good read, and informative, but only about half of it was about the Cactus Air Force. Unfortunately the most engaging parts of the book were about the surface conflicts and much of the later air war over Guadalcanal was just skimmed over with absolutely no mention of Operation Vengeance or any of the P-38 sorties.

air and sea history

Really liked the air and sea battle narratives . The corresponding commander over sites were very informative.