The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer

In The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, James D. Hornfischer delivers a gripping, deeply human account of one of the most heroic naval battles in American history — the Battle off Samar, fought during the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Outgunned and outnumbered, a handful of small destroyers and destroyer escorts — the “tin cans” — faced off against a massive Japanese fleet to protect the American invasion of the Philippines. Through vivid storytelling and meticulous research, Hornfischer captures the courage, sacrifice, and brotherhood of ordinary sailors who defied impossible odds in defense of freedom.