The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
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The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour Audible Audiobook – Abridged

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 4,499 ratings
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Told from the point of view of the men who waged this steel-shattering battle, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors captures Navy pilots attacking enemy battleships with makeshift weapons and sacrificial valor, a veteran commander improvising tactics never taught in Annapolis, and young crews from across America rising to an impossible challenge. It takes us into the heart and mind of an iron-willed, self-made executive officer leading his men throughout a sea of carnage and two hellish days and nights clinging to survival amid oil, blood, sharks, and madness. And it dramatizes how the overmatched U.S. force, enduring the loss of five gallant ships and nearly a thousand brave men, turned a certain crashing defeat into a momentous victory that would lead to the final surrender of America's ruthless imperial foe.

Filled with riveting detail and based on the author's extensive interviews and correspondence with veterans, unpublished eyewitness accounts, declassified documents, and rare Japanese sources, this is war at sea as it has seldom been presented before. It is an unforgettable narrative that captures the essence of heroism, the power of loyalty, and the way in which the unadorned truth is more stirring than legend itself.

Also, this audio program contains excerpts of exclusive interviews with Navy veterans conducted by the author.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    6 hours and 7 minutes
  2. Author
    James D. Hornfischer
  3. Narrator
    Grover Gardner
  4. Audible release date
    February 12, 2004
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B0001KHV8S
  8. Version
    Abridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 6 hours and 7 minutes
Author James D. Hornfischer
Narrator Grover Gardner
Audible.com Release Date February 12, 2004
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Abridged
Language English
ASIN B0001KHV8S
Best Sellers Rank #113,419 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#108 in Naval Forces Military History
#413 in 20th Century History
#689 in World War II History (Audible Books & Originals)

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Michael D Marcus
5.0 out of 5 stars A Saga of True Heroism
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2023
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James Hornfischer presents a moving description of the Battle off Samar, part of the battle of Leyte Gulf. It portrays American spirit at its finest and is well detailed by an excellent author. This is a book that belongs as standard issue on every DD in the US Navy. In fact, I recently purchased a second copy of "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" and will be donating it to the DDG 64, USS Gonzalez, along with two other Hornfischer books, "Neptune's Inferno" (Guadalcanal campaign) and "The Fleet at Flood Tide" ( (US Navy 1944-45). While not a comprehensive history, these three books provide a reasonable chronology of the US Navy operations in the Pacific. I highly recommend them.

As an aside, it is tragic that this fine author died so young from cancer. I had been looking forward to his future endeavors.
3 people found this helpful
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Nelson L. Underwood
5.0 out of 5 stars Great History lesson
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2024
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I picked this book up and did not set it down for a week. If you are someone that is into naval history during World War II then this book goes into the details of the Battle of Leyte Gulf off the Island of Samar from the commanders engaged in the battle. It goes to show how a few good and brave men and ships turned back an overwhelming force with courage and tenacity. Very good read. another book to recommend is Neptunes Inferno which is about the battles off Guadalcanal.
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MJE
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent author
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2024
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This is the 2nd book and I will read all of his books.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A tale of incredible valor and sacrifice in the Phillipine Sea during WW2 resulting in a stunning reversal of fortune
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2014
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This is a well- researched and told story of American Naval leadership, teamwork, courage, and willingness to pay the ultimate price when faced with impossible odds during the strategic attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy known as Sho- Go 1 in October, 1944. The attacking IJN Center Force under Admiral Takeo Kurita comprised of 3 battleships, 2 super- battleships, 10 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers and 2 squadrons of destroyers intent on attacking and destroying MacArthur's transports and beach landing force at Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. What is now known as the "Battle off Samar" is the story of how three US Navy destroyers, a Destroyer Escort, and the pilots of the various air squadrons attached to Taffy 2 and 3 screened six vulnerable light carriers led by Rear Admiral Clifton "Ziggy" Sprague, initiating near- suicidal torpedo attacks against a vastly superior force. Author and historian James Hornfischer describes the action in a compelling, yet understandable and personal way. The reader connects with many of the officers and crew members of the USS Hoel, USS Heerman, USS Johnston, USS Samuel B. Roberts, and the airmen of the VPN's as they counter- attack the rapidly advancing Japanese main line ships despite overwhelming odds. Taffy 3 faced near- certain annihilation from this aggressive and powerful attack, yet five of six carriers survived the gunnery of the Japanese during the morning of October 25. The stories of personal valor, dedication to duty, the heartbreaking suffering and loss of Navy seamen and fliers and their ultimate victory is an under- told story well worth reading. It is also noteworthy that this is the final naval engagement where surface warships fought with main gun batteries salvo- to- salvo, including the massive 18- inch batteries of the Japanese super- battleship Yamato. It is unlikely that this type of engagement will ever be fought again when one considers the stand- off combat tactics employed today by modern navies. This is a book well worth reading!
2 people found this helpful
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rob saint claire
5.0 out of 5 stars Epic book
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2024
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I can’t recommend this book enough. Truly amazing story of the US Navy’s finest hour. We are about to engage a superior enemy force from which survival is not likely. We’ll do what we can. A paraphrase I’m afraid. Features the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship. Highly, highly recommended!
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Jason M. Atkin
5.0 out of 5 stars Heroes all
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2010
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I'd like to start off by thanking the History Channel for introducing me to this fantastic story. I first learned about the Battle off Samar via an episode of the show "Dogfights" titled "The Death of the Japanese Navy". My mouth was agape while watching the story unfold, as I had never previously heard of the gallant actions of the men of Taffy 3. Quite shameful, because I consider myself a student of history, not to mention a former anchor-clanker in the USN. Why my teachers never thought it prudent to mention this chapter in history is beyond me. This story is more incredible and fascinating than the most fanciful work of fiction. It's replete with twists, turns, irony and lessons for the ages. It's beyond amazing.
I'd like to thank Mr. Hornfischer for bringing the story to life in my mind's eye with exceptional detail, and a more complete rendering of the story. Most importantly, this book, as are all of Mr. Hornfischer's works, is historically accurate, yet incredibly well told. It was not boring, dry or slow at any point. I could not put this book down. Now I'm no fussy-pants, sissy-britches emotional type, but on more than one occasion, I caught myself wiping tears away from my eyes while reading about the brave actions of the men on the Hoel, Heermann, Johnston, and Samuel B. Roberts. Talk about true grit! What patriotic American wouldn't be moved to tears reading about the brave actions of medal of honor winner Lcdr. Ernest Evans defiantly swinging his tiny, hopelessly outgunned ship around to face a looming enemy armada threatening his shipmates. Like an angry, enraged grizzly bear, his tiny little ship issued a severe mauling to the Japanese heavy cruiser Kumano, blowing a huge section of her bow clean off, and effectively taking her out of the fight. Talk about David slaying Goliath, holy cow! This book should be required reading in schools. Instead, kids have drivel like "The Catcher in the Rye" foisted on them. I think acquainting youth with the selfless actions of men like this would go a long way towards making people think more about others. Honor, duty, selflessness and commitment. These guys had it in abundant supply.

My final word on this book...get it...read it, and keep the kleenex nearby. There will be tears!
9 people found this helpful
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D. Crow
5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written.
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024
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Hard to put down, a great read.
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Larry Sigfusson
5.0 out of 5 stars A naval battle in WW2 with heroic efforts
Reviewed in Canada on July 13, 2023
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Extremely well written account of the battle of Leyte Gulf, specifically the heroic defence of Taffy 3 by three Destroyers and four Destroyer escorts off Samar island. This almost reads like a novel it’s so well written.
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Mike
5.0 out of 5 stars Sehr gut geschriebenes Buch in einem anspruchsvollen Englisch
Reviewed in Germany on September 8, 2021
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Das Buch ist wirklich sehr gut geschrieben! Man kann sich wirklich gut vorstellen wie die Crews an Bord gelebt und gekämpft haben. Man sieht geradezu vor sich was gerade passiert. Die Dinge werden oft sehr bildlich beschrieben, und das spart nicht die Grauen des Krieges aus.

Wenn man aber wie ich Englisch nur als Zweitsprache spricht, dann braucht man definitiv ein Wörterbuch oder ähnliches. Denn das Englisch ist selbst für mich (der sonst keine Übersetzungen benötigt) schon sehr anspruchsvoll. Das liegt nicht nur an dem großzügig verwendeten Marine-Jargon sondern auch an der Wortwahl von Wörtern die auch alltägliche Dinge beschreiben. Andere dazu synonyme englische Worte sind einem schon eher bekannt wahrscheinlich kaum.

Sowohl sprachlich als auch inhaltlich ist es anpruchsvoll aber auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen!

Hinweis: Das Buch enthält nicht nur die Erzählung selbst sondern auch noch zum Schluss rund 80 Seiten Literaturhinweise.
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Matteo
5.0 out of 5 stars Interessante
Reviewed in Italy on May 2, 2020
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Nonostante non sia un romanzo ma un saggio storico ne sono rimasto altamente soddisfatto. Il libro narra la battaglia navale di Samar senza dare molto spazio ai pensieri delle varie parti coinvolte ma nonostante ciò la narrazione risulta ben dettagliata dal punto di vista tecnico.
Consiglio questo libro per poter approfondire uno degli episodi e una parte del servizio militare statunitense meno conosciuto ai più.
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Juan P
4.0 out of 5 stars Emocionante
Reviewed in Mexico on July 18, 2017
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Muy buen libro, aunque tiende a dedicar mas tiempo a emocionar al lector que a explicar claramente algunos de los puntos de la batalla, por lo que considero que se debe de leer junto con otros libros de referencia
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Reviewed in Australia on April 6, 2024
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This is a fantastic, very moving read about a pivotal naval battle at the concluding stages of WW2 in the Pacific theatre. Combines 30,000 ft type overviews with deeply personal accounts from those who were there at the time.
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