South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf By Russell Sydnor Crenshaw, Jr. (304 pages, photos, drawings, maps) Reviewer:  Terry Miller Overall Rating: Four Stars: Highly recommended. An excellent book. Much has been written about the United States Navy’s operations during the WWII battles for the Solomon Islands but none to surpass the in-depth analysis that Captain Crenshaw who was executive officer in one of the destroyers that took part in many if not most of these battles. Crenshaw, then a 22-year old gunnery officer-turned XO was in a position to oversee every aspect of the operation of USS MAURY (DD-401) from his battle station in the newly created Combat Information Center and he uses those experiences to tell the stories of destroyer operations in 1943, whether the routine or the extreme stress of battle.  More importantly, Crenshaw exposes some major flaws in U.S. Naval thinking of the time, pointing out the arrogance which allowed us to naïvely believe anything we made was inherently superior to that made by an enemy. This was most especially true of torpedoes and five- and six-inch naval artillery where the lack of funding and testing could not be overcome in the fleet by training and maintenance. He shows us the immediate effects of the new destroyer doctrine, written and implemented by then Commander Arleigh Burke and put into action by his replacement as ComDesDiv 12, Commander Frederick Moosbrugger. The success of utilizing destroyers independent of larger warships can’t be taken lightly. It had never been done before and destroyers had previously been limited to a role as adjuncts to cruiser warfare, then thought to be the major surface-engagement fighting force. Crenshaw reviews for the reader how thinking changed. He also discusses the creation of the notion of the Combat Information Center or CIC during the Solomons Campaign and how it related to this new destroyer doctrine. Whether read for its historical significance or for pleasure, South Pacific Destroyer is sure to please everyone interested in destroyers, the Pacific War, or naval history. Availability: Tin Can Sailors Ship's Store