“Cactus Air Force” is published today. This is the last book by my best friend, the late Eric Hammel. It is the product of 30 years of interviews he did with the guys who were there, starting back in the days when no one else was talking to them. Eric was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2018, and decided that now was the time to get on with what he hoped would be his Magnum Opus. By 2019, he told me he was having trouble with his concentration to do the writing. I told him if he’d organize the research, I would do the “scutwork” of putting it on the page. He thought that was a good idea, and my publisher did too. But by January 2020, I had to remind him what we had talked about the call before, within a month, it was what we had talked about earlier in the conversation, and by April 2020 he told me he couldn’t remember what he had just said to me, and ended the project. His wife was forced to put him in a care home in June and he died at the end of August. I still miss the phone ringing and him being on the other end of the line to take up an hour of my time.
Dear Tom, The extraordinary collaboration between you and your best friend, Eric Hammel, along with his son Daniel, will live on. All the best to you and to the book, The Cactus Air Force, which you both created. Well done, Fern
Tom, I'll order it, as a tribute to your friend Eric and to you, for being such a good friend to him and his son. But I'll be honest: I have something in the neighborhood of 150 books sitting on the carpet and shelves in my bedroom, waiting to be read, so I likely won't get to read your new one for a while.
As with others, I thank you for your devotion to your friend and your devotion to ensuring that the stories and histories of WW II are available to the present and future generations.
I hate to tell you, but as an author, I dislike Barnes and Noble even more. When they told Osprey they wanted to do a "special promotion" of one of my books, I went to the local B&N and offered to do a signing for them. They said that was great, could I invite all my friends to come buy books at the event?
And unlike Amazon, which sells everything they order and pays on time, B&N finances their scam they call a "business" on "returns" - which get charged to the authors.
They're the ones who bought up the good bookstores, like Borders. Fuck'm.
"The original Borders bookstore was located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, where it was founded in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders during their undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Michigan. The first Borders bookshop opened at 209 South State Street, Ann Arbor in 1971." 😔
Thank you for honoring Eric with this work. I am looking forward to reading it, as I have always been curious about this group of fliers thrown together to defend the foothold on Guadalcanal in the dark days of fall 1942.
Congratulations! What a tribute to your friend, not only to acknowledge him in this way, but to finish his great book and give recognition to all those who would otherwise never have been remembered in an important book of history! I will amplify this on FB and Twitter and hope for great sales!
Geez TC. You are the “Danielle Steele” of historic military nonfiction storytelling. As prolific! Another book while one is still warm on the bookshelf.
I so love how this book came about and the tale of you and the co author. Especially when his calls would come in and take an hour of your day. Just fabulous. To think how many people you honor by sharing the interviews. What a journalist Eric was.
Dear Tom, The extraordinary collaboration between you and your best friend, Eric Hammel, along with his son Daniel, will live on. All the best to you and to the book, The Cactus Air Force, which you both created. Well done, Fern
Thanks for your support of Eric as your friend faded and for your successful efforts to preserve his hours of labor and other work. Will read.
Thank you for your commitment to preserving knowledge of our Pacific wars.
As soon as I'm back from Going Downtown, this is the next history book on the list.
Tom, I'll order it, as a tribute to your friend Eric and to you, for being such a good friend to him and his son. But I'll be honest: I have something in the neighborhood of 150 books sitting on the carpet and shelves in my bedroom, waiting to be read, so I likely won't get to read your new one for a while.
The review will be nice when it comes.
Because I avoid using Amazon whenever possible, I just checked Barnes and Noble. They also have it. $30/hardcover. It's also available as an e-book for $15.99. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cactus-air-force-eric-hammel/1140372376?ean=9781472851079
As with others, I thank you for your devotion to your friend and your devotion to ensuring that the stories and histories of WW II are available to the present and future generations.
I hate to tell you, but as an author, I dislike Barnes and Noble even more. When they told Osprey they wanted to do a "special promotion" of one of my books, I went to the local B&N and offered to do a signing for them. They said that was great, could I invite all my friends to come buy books at the event?
And unlike Amazon, which sells everything they order and pays on time, B&N finances their scam they call a "business" on "returns" - which get charged to the authors.
They're the ones who bought up the good bookstores, like Borders. Fuck'm.
"The original Borders bookstore was located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, where it was founded in 1971 by brothers Tom and Louis Borders during their undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Michigan. The first Borders bookshop opened at 209 South State Street, Ann Arbor in 1971." 😔
(Although in '71 I had to hitchhilke there from Michigan State Univ.)
Ordered. Thank You.
We had a Borders bookstore in South Portland (ME) and I LOVED that place! Now I must order through my local indie bookstore!
Thanks for the feedback.
Thank you for honoring Eric with this work. I am looking forward to reading it, as I have always been curious about this group of fliers thrown together to defend the foothold on Guadalcanal in the dark days of fall 1942.
Congratulations! What a tribute to your friend, not only to acknowledge him in this way, but to finish his great book and give recognition to all those who would otherwise never have been remembered in an important book of history! I will amplify this on FB and Twitter and hope for great sales!
Just received my copy today - hope to start it this week. A quick thumb-through looks very interesting and I look forward to reading this.
Ordering this when I get home.
Geez TC. You are the “Danielle Steele” of historic military nonfiction storytelling. As prolific! Another book while one is still warm on the bookshelf.
I so love how this book came about and the tale of you and the co author. Especially when his calls would come in and take an hour of your day. Just fabulous. To think how many people you honor by sharing the interviews. What a journalist Eric was.
Thank you for good news today.
Salud! 🥂📠📚