In 2016, the Naval Historical Foundation will celebrate its 90th year as a non-profit institution. As a testament to our Foundation’s principle to preserve, educate, and commemorate, we want to highlight stories where we are actively seeking out ways to keep naval history alive for generations to come. As the United States begins to commemorate
By Brian Kilmeade, Sentinel, Random House, New York, NY (2015) Reviewed by Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn, U.S. Navy (Retired) Written in lively style this book is both informative and a quick read. For most readers of Pull Together it will be a review of episodes in the early Navy, important to the history but
By Steve Kime, Authorhouse, Bloomington, IN (2015) Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. One of the benefits of managing Naval History Book Reviews is that I get first dibs on incoming titles. Two decades ago, I interviewed Captain Steve Kime regarding his involvement with the Incidents at Sea Agreement negotiations and execution. He shared some
By Vincent P. O’Hara, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA America entered World War II after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The nation focused on war in the Pacific through most of 1942. However, the U.S. had established its “Germany First” strategy by 1940. Defeating the Axis
By Renata Eley Long, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. Built and launched at the Laird shipyard in 1862, CSS Alabama became the most notorious of the Confederacy’s commerce raiders, devastating Union merchant shipping and contributing to an irreversible “flight from the flag.” Her career ended two years later
By John Johnson-Allen, Pen & Sword Military, South Yorkshire, England (2015) Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad, Ph.D. Thoughts about World War I often bring up images of trench warfare, Big Bertha, and the battles at Liège and Flanders Fields, but rarely does the conflict to protect the Suez Canal enter into the reader’s mind. John
By Philip Kaplan, Pen & Sword, London, UK (2015) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart Over the years, Pen & Sword have issued a number of Images of War books. This book is sub-titled Merchant Ships at War 1943 – 1945: Beating the U-Boats. The book consists of eight chapters, with each chapter introduced by three
By Hans Christian Bjerg, The Royal Danish Navy, Copenhagen, Denmark (2015) Reviewed by Mark Lardas Hans Christian Berg’s A History of the Royal Danish Navy 1510-2010 offers a brief yet comprehensive account of the Royal Danish Navy’s rich heritage in a new English language translation. The Royal Danish Navy, as it was formally established in
Edited by Bruce A. Elleman and S.C.M. Paine, Naval War College Press, Newport, RI (2016) Reviewed by Nathan Albright Although each paper in this collection contains a disclaimer that the “thoughts and opinions expressed [. . .] are not necessarily those of the U.S. Government, the U.S. Navy Department, or the Naval War College (198),”
In case you haven’t heard, our friends at the Hampton Roads Naval Museums are set to host their fifth annual “Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding Event.” It is their yearly signature event. The Naval Historical Foundation is once again partnering with HRNM for this event. This is the third year that NHF has been involved
The Naval Historical Foundation recently donated a painting to the Navy Art Gallery by celebrated marine artist Bernard F. Gribble. The small watercolor painting (10.5in x 16in) appears to be an early study of The Return of the Mayflower, one of Gribble’s most notable works. Before NHF acquired the piece for donation, the watercolor was
A Blog Series by Matthew T. Eng With base access at the Washington Navy Yard restricted, I wanted to give readers a sneak peak behind the process of producing the Winter 2015 (Vol 54, no. 4) issue of Pull Together. Disclaimer: The comments included in these posts are my own, and represent an “unfiltered” approach to writing
By Peter D. Haynes, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2015) Reviewed by John T. Kuehn, Ph.D. Captain Peter Haynes’ study on maritime strategy builds a narrative around two questions. First, how did the United States Navy come to publish “A Cooperative Maritime Strategy for the 21st Century” (CS-21): and, more importantly, why did it take
By Jenny Macleod, Oxford University Press, Oxford: England (2015) Reviewed by Joseph Moretz, Ph.D. The campaign fought on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915 has not suffered from a want of telling. With the centenary of its occurrence now at hand, yet another entry faces the immediate hurdle of offering perspective where others have not. This
By Edward B. McCaul, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN (2014) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess Seldom has a naval campaign been more critical to the future of the United States than the drive to control the Mississippi River and split the South in two during the Civil War. Along with the naval blockade,
