Lot 717

"The Battle for Hell's Island" by Stephen Moore 2016 TPB Guadalcanal's Cactus Air Force 1st/1st

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Lot 717
"The Battle for Hell's Island" by Stephen Moore 2016 TPB Guadalcanal's Cactus Air Force 1st/1st

"The Battle for Hell's Island" by Stephen Moore 2016 TPB Guadalcanal's Cactus Air Force 1st/1st

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Estimate: $25 - $50

Starting Bid: $6

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by The Book Barn
August 13, 2026 5:00 PM EDT
Timed Auction
353 Indian Village Road
Shapliegh, ME, US 07076

VINTAGE 2016 Trade Paperback The Cactus Air Force On Guadalcanal In WWII 1st Paperback Edition 1st Printing. "The Battle for Hell's Island: How a Small Band of Carrier Dive-Bombers Helped Save Guadalcanal" by Stephen Moore. TRADE PAPERBACK 2016 E. P. Dutton/Calber Books 1st paperback Edition 1st Printing with numbers 1-10 on copyright page. Nice Collectible 1st paperback Edition 1st Trade paperback. Exactly as shown in listing scan(s).

"The gripping true story of the "Cactus Air Forc"e and how this rugged crew of Dive-Bombers helped save Guadalcanal and helped win the war. November 1942: Japanese and American forces have been fighting for control of Guadalcanal, a small but pivotal island in Japan's expansion through the South Pacific. Both sides have endured months of grueling battle under the worst circumstances: hellish jungles, meager rations, and tropical diseases, which have taken a severe mental and physical toll on the combatants. The Japanese call Guadalcanal "Jigoku no Jima"—Hell's Island. Amid a seeming stalemate, a small group of U.S. Navy dive bombers are called upon to help determine the island's fate. The men have until recently been serving in their respective squadrons aboard the USS Lexington and the USS Yorktown, fighting in the thick of the Pacific War's aerial battles. Their skills have been honed to a fine edge, even as injury and death inexorably have depleted their ranks. When their carriers are lost, many of the men end up on the USS Enterprise. Battle damage to that carrier then forces them from their home at sea to operating from Henderson Field, a small dirt-and-gravel airstrip on Guadalcanal. With some Marine and Army Air Force planes, they help form the Cactus Air Force, a motley assemblage of fliers tasked with holding the line while making dangerous flights from their jungle airfield. Pounded by daily Japanese air assaults, nightly warship bombardments, and sniper attacks from the jungle, pilots and gunners rarely last more than a few weeks before succumbing to tropical ailments, injury, exhaustion, and death. But when the Japanese launch a final offensive to take the island once and for all, these dive-bomber jocks answer the call of duty—and try to perform miracles in turning back an enemy warship armada, a host of fighter planes, and a convoy of troop transports. A remarkable story of grit, guts, and heroism, "The Battle for Hell's Island" reveals how command of the South Pacific, and the outcome of the Pacific War, depended on control of a single dirt airstrip—and the small group of battle-weary aviators sent to protect it with their lives."

Illustrated with maps & photos. Internally tight and unmarked. Binding Exterior; handling wear/bumped corners/faint spine reading crease; no book slant. Short red line on bottom outside fore edge of text block. NOT X-LIBRARY. ALL ITEMS ARE GUARANTEED TO BE ACCURATELY DESCRIBED, NOT DEFECTIVE, & GENUINE.

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  • Condition: Good Plus Condition

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We do all our own shipping. Shipping will be added to winning bidder's invoice for item(s) won. Media Mail postage from USPS will be used for shipping in the United States for those items allowed. Lowest alternative cost shipping will be billed for items not allowed by USPS to be shipped by Media Mail. Foreign winning bidders will pay postage based on their countries small/medium/large Flat Rate box postage rates & weight of the package. Other types of postage are available at added expense at the bidders request. You also agree to pay any applicable taxes and/or customs/import duties. A Tracking Number will be provided to buyer. Insurance is mandatory on packages over $100 USD and will be added to postage charges when applicable.

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$0 $19 $1
$20 $49 $2
$50 $99 $5
$100 $249 $10
$250 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 + $100