Destroyer Captain: The Life of Ernest E. Evans

＂On the morning of October 25, 1944, in the waters off Samar, a small flotilla of US Navy ships encountered a Japanese fleet superior in both vessels and firepower. Aboard the USS Johnston, Capt. Ernest Evans seized the moment, ordering his destroyer to steam forward and attack. Heavily out-gunned, Evans and his sailors fired torpedo after torpedo, all the while maneuvering to dodge enemy shells, as two other American destroyers joined the fight. It was a valiant last stand for Capt. Evans, one of the toughest warriors in the Navy, but thanks to his bravery and steadiness under fire, these dogged Americans routed one of the most powerful naval forces that Tokyo had ever put to sea＂--

James D. Hornfischer was a writer, literary agent, and book editor. He was the author of the New York Times bestsellers Neptune’s Inferno, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Soldiers, Ship of Ghosts, and The Fleet at Flood Tide, all widely acclaimed accounts of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific during World War II, as well as Who Can Hold the Sea, which covers the U.S. Navy’s crucial role in the Cold War. His books have received numerous awards, including the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature and the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award. James D. Hornfischer died in 2021.

David James Hornfischer is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree from the Walton School of Business. David has had a lifelong interest in history, particular WWII history where he had a front row seat throughout his father’s military historian career. Since the age of 6 David has been his father’s office assistant and book box carrier. David was fond of book signings where he could be of extra help with setting up books for these signings. Through the years as David’s acumen and interest grew, he became an invaluable research assistant for various history projects. Destroyer Captain: The Life of Ernest E. Evans is his first book. Today David is leaning into his interest of history and is pursuing a career as a history teacher. David lives in Austin, Texas.