Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-275) and index

Bull Halsey was a navy brat and a latecomer to naval aviation, although distinguished as a destroyer officer before the war. He successfully commanded the early carrier raids into Japanese waters, missed the Battle of Midway due to illness, then achieved his greatest distinction as commander in the South Pacific, beginning with turning Guadalcanal around. Moved into command of the Third Fleet, he was less successful, as his overwhelming aggressiveness led him astray twice. First was leaving the Leyte beaches unprotected while seeking the Japanese carriers, an effort that might have led to a major disaster; second was leading the Third Fleet into a typhoon while trying to keep in supporting range of General MacArthur. The author argues persuasively that these errors are not the sum of Halsey's career, however, and that his strategic and tactical judgments were more often sound than not. With his aggressiveness and charisma added in, he emerges as one of the great sea warriors in American history.

Not AR rated.,Not AR rated.