Kyle Harrison
to-read
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
- Author
- James D. Hornfischer
- Published
- 2004
- Pages
- 499
- Recommended
- Once
Why it’s on the list: The Battle off Samar, October 1944 — a handful of destroyers and escort carriers turning into a Japanese battleship force they had no business surviving — reconstructed from survivor interviews. The standard modern account of the engagement, and one of the most-cited narrative naval histories.
Where I heard about it
- A reply to @typesfast — in the thread under his question “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 2025). The full set of replies is on What’s the best history book… (tweet).
Connections
- What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
- World War II — the setting.