By Pacific Turning Point: The Solomons Campaign, 1942-1943

Koburger argues that the many battles that constituted the campaign for the Solomons were the key to victory in the Pacific for the U.S. Navy—not the battle of the Coral Sea or the Battle of Midway. Segments of the campaign—Guadalcanal, New Georgia, and Bougainville—have been written about extensively. But never before has the entire campaign been put together so lucidly and interpreted so well. The descriptions of the naval battles make for compelling reading. Even in World War II, Koburger argues, the important naval struggles took place in the narrow seas.