Guadalcanal Diary

Archival Summary & Scope

Richard Tregaskis's #1 New York Times Bestseller, *Guadalcanal Diary*, offers a "superb" eyewitness account of World War II's pivotal Guadalcanal campaign (Mark Bowden, author of *Black Hawk Down*). On August 7, 1942, eleven thousand US Marines launched the first major Allied offensive on Guadalcanal. This pioneering combined air, land, and sea assault against Japanese forces evolved into a brutal six-month turning point in the Pacific War, culminating in a crushing defeat for Japan. As one of only two journalists present, combat correspondent Richard Tregaskis risked his life to provide an intimate "soldier's experience" of the initial two months. His understated yet graceful prose details the harrowing conditions, courage, and camaraderie of marines facing devastating casualties in the suffocating jungle. An instant bestseller in 1943 and the basis for a popular film, *Guadalcanal Diary* defined WWII reportage. Hailed by the *New York Times* as "one of the literary events of its time," this masterpiece of war journalism influenced iconic works like John Hersey's *Hiroshima* and Michael Herr's *Dispatches*. This ebook edition includes an illustrated biography of Tregaskis featuring rare images.