Guadalcanal Diary

War reporter Richard Tregaskis volunteered to go to Guadalcanal with the United States Marines, one of only two correspondents on the island, and his memoir covers the first seven weeks of the campaign, from the August 7, 1942 landings until he left the island. Writing for the International News Service, he slept on the ground, ate the same rations and came under enemy fire more than once. He kept notes in small numbered notebooks and names each Marine with rank and hometown. The manuscript was written in Honolulu under Navy supervision and cut by naval censors. Published in 1943, it became the first Random House title to pass 100,000 copies and was soon made into a film.

Tyler Cowen listed it among the books that had a hidden influence on him, saying it and the sports memoirs he read got him thinking about how character, work habits and teamwork relate to success.