The next in Osprey's Graphic History collection is this title on the Guadalcanal. While listed as "Battle of Guadalcanal" in reality it was more than a dozen major engagements on land and sea along with hundreds of other minor actions. In fact, trying to tell such a broad ranging series of events in 48 pages of illustrations is no mean feat. Events such as the battle of Savo Island are reduced to five panels and other battles are similarly abridged.

However, the book does manage to portray the difficulties of fighting the types of warfare found on Pacific islands and covers all the salient historical events.

Like the previous edition, there is a short introductory section that covers the main players, a bit about WWII itself and several pages on the the overall events of this subject. There is also an aftermath section that explains the importance of the Guadalcanal events and how they shaped the course of the war.

I do have to mention one seemingly small thing, and that is the portrayal of black soldiers on several pages of the book. To my knowledge, in 1942/43, the Marine Corps was segregated as was the Army and so there would have been no Americans of African descent directly involved in these battles. There were many island natives that helped and played some pivotal roles during the Guadalcanal campaign, and they are rightly portrayed, but not as US soldiers.

Regardless of this small twisting of history, the book is an excellent one for young and old alike and can be highly recommended.

March 2007

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