Mr. Hornfischer talked about his book, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour, published by Bantam. In the book, the author examines the Battle off Samar, fought in the Philippine Sea on October 25, 1944. A group of U.S. Navy ships was surprised and engaged by a superior Japanese battleship force. The outgunned American warships, some facing Japanese vessels 35 to 60 times their size, were all that stood between the Japanese battleships and General Douglas MacArthur’s invasion fleet. In spite of the odds against them, the Americans fought gamely and ultimately won the day. A number of veterans of the Battle off Samar were present in the audience for this presentation. Mr. Hornfischer answered questions from members of the audience.