Combined, the two initial volumes of the Solomons Air War series offer a detailed and richly illustrated look at the August-October 1942 campaign in the air over Guadalcanal and the seas around the island. Readers can find my review here.
From December 7, 1941 through the spring of 1942 the armed forces of Japan enjoyed overwhelming success in not only locking up control over much of Southeast Asia and the Central and Southwest Pacific, but also defeating Allied military forces at nearly every turn. That said, this did not mean that, at times, these victories were not hard earned.
