Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle is an extremely well-researched and balanced history of Guadalcanal.

First and foremost, I'd describe this book as a first-class history book. It is unique in it's account of Guadalcanal in it's balance and depth of research. By balance, I mean the book covers the naval, land, and air battles -- as well as from both the American and Japanese perspecive. And the book is exceptionally well-researched from newly declassified primary sources. So when I say this is a "history" book, I mean a serious history book.

In particular, I liked the insight and interplay of the American commanders -- particularly King -- as well as Roosevelt, Chruchill,Nimitz and McArthur, and all the way down the chain of command to the Marine commanders. There is signifcantly more politics, maneuvering, debate, and confusion than I would have previously thought.

The book did not elicit the strong emotional response of Bradley's "Flags of Our Fathers", a book I thoroughly enjoyed. Nor did it match the Flags in its detailed accounts of struggle, bravery, and heroism. But this book may exceed Flags in it's overall excellent historical account of a landmark battle. If you're a WWII history buff, I recommend both books for different reasons.

Thoroughly researched, and utilizing both American and Japanese field reports, Frank has written the definitive account of America's first offensive struggle of WW II. The seven naval engagements are given the same detail attention as are the multiple land clashes. Most vivid among the latter were the days and nights along Edson's ridge and the Battle for Henderson's Field. Of particular interest were the accounts of the taking of Gavutu, Tanambogo and Tulagi, adjacent islands that several works overlook altogether. This invasion should never have succeeded; we lacked both air and naval superiority, two prerequisites for any amphibious assault. In those first few months, when the enemy could have swatted us like an annoying bug, he hesitated and committed resources piecemeal, a mistake the Japanese would make over and over. The monumental strategic importance of the Solomons seems to gradually dawn on each side as the campaign progressed. Unusual for a book of such detail, from the Tenaru to Edson's Ridge to the final escape of the decimated remnants of the Japanese defenders sixth months later, the action never slows. A liberal sprinkling of front line troops' reflections would have made this a truly remarkable read. Admittedly, I've been spoiled by Ambrose.

Most references to World War Two in the Pacific cite the decisive American victory at the Battle of Midway as the turning point in that conflict - the high tide of Japanese aggression. This book carefully refutes that position. The Japanese were still on the offensive after Midway (in part because the Japanese Navy neglected to inform the Japanese Army of the loss of four front line fleet carriers in that battle). The Japanese were still fully capable of seizing and severing American lines of communication with Australia - depriving the U.S. of a required base for future offensive operations. The dual campaigns in New Guinea and Guadalcanal from August 1942 to January 1943 (both resulting in successful Allied counter-offensives) represented the critical shift from the strategic defensive to the offensive for the Allies for the balance of the war. As Frank so ably demonstrates, there was nothing inevitable about the six-month struggle in the southern Solomons that started when the First Marine Division went ashore August 7, 1942. Both sides suffered significant setbacks and suffered from leadership lapses at critical junctures. In the end, it was the U.S. superiority in high command decisions and material that seemed to tilt the balance. The Japanese were surprised and very slow to believe that the U.S. was committing itself to an offensive campaign so early in the war. An objective analysis reveals that the Japanese had every reason to be surprised and U.S. leaders had every reason to be pessimistic as to the final outcome, especially after the early disaster at the Battle of Savo Island revealed relative U.S. weakness in surface ship actions. Guadalcanal came to be known as Starvation Island for the Japanese and the U.S. also came to recognize the conflict as a battle for logistics supremacy - which equated to air and sea supremacy, while soldiers and marines suffered tropical deprivations and hard fighting against a fanatical foe on the ground. Frank's work attempts to tell the complete story - air, sea and land - and he is successful. No mean feat. His research casts new light on an aging but important subject. As the World War Two generation fades into the past, it is all the more important to to reassess the history and importance of these events. Guadalcanal the history by Frank is a landmark study on perhaps the critical campaign of the entire cataclysm that was the War in the Pacific.

As some of the other reviews here indicate, this book would probably be more helpful to the reader whose personal coloring is a seasonal blend, rather than to the reader who can easily identify herself as a Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter. If you don't seem to fit a seasonal type, you might find the expanded classifications in this book helpful. That said, I must agree with the reviewers here who complain about the shoddy color palettes and inconsistencies in the text. Considering the fact that the original COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL gave rise to the international CMB industry, one would think they could have allotted a budget for a book as esthetically appealing, not to mention as well written and edited, as Carole Jackson's books.

But wait -- there's plenty more to this book than the section on color classifications, including a genuine improvement over the chapter on style in the original COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL (the most dated chapter in that book). Like Jackson, the authors of this book identify different body types, offering recommendations for each on fabric and design, but Spillane and Sherlock don't link body types to specific styles as Jackson does. This book does have a section on styles (e.g. Classic, Natural, Dramatic, Romantic, Creative), but it has a separate section on body types, which I've found especially helpful. (I was never sure what my body type was until I found it clearly described and illustrated here.) On the whole, the book does not replace Carole Jackson's, but with the above-mentioned reservations I do recommend it.

This is a pretty good overall guide to color, style, and makeup, but it doesn't have the simplicity and timeless appeal that made the original Color Me Beautiful so useful. The expansion from 4 color "palettes" to 12 is not especially helpful; it just leads to more confusion. I also think the authors' cavalier advice that anyone can wear black is harmful to those women who simply will never look their best in black and need to learn how to look formal without relying on that color crutch. I bought Carole Jackson's Color Me Beautiful in 1987 and kept it until the covers were falling off; I bought this version, read it, and gave it away to a friend. Another thing that ticked me off about this version was its bias toward career women; much of its advice (like "honestly, can you really afford to be seen in just a scrubbed face and a touch of lipstick?") doesn't pertain to students, stay-at-home moms, blue-collar workers, home-office workers, or even people with a casual office environment.

Bottom line: if you can still find the original, get it instead; some of the styles shown are a little dated, but most of the advice is as sound today as it was ten years ago. But if you can't find it, or if you really need something with a focus on dressing for success in the business world, then this version is a decent substitute.

This book has some really great advice, and innovative use of color, but the season types are somewhat ambiguous. Too career-oriented for some. (What if you're not an office worker?) It's probably a fantastic book for the career woman who wants to make her wardrobe a tool in her work, and her life. It's got good *basic* advice on style.

It's got great advice on helping you look your best, and apply it to your job to project a competent image. It's an image consultant - just one that won't give you one-on-one personal feedback. For women who are not career women, like me, it's not as useful. (Do stay at home moms need image consultants? Why the heck not!? We want to look good, too!) Even though the focus is on careers in this book, there's good advice, and I recommend it.