By Michael W. Shelton, Morley, Missouri: Acclaim Press, (2022). Reviewed by John E. Fahey, Ph.D. Rear Admiral (ret) Michael W. Shelton took an unusual path to the Navy. In West Point Admiral: Leadership Lessons from Four Decades of Military Service he recounts his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Seabee
By Capt. James R. “Ros” Poplar, USN (Ret) As we approach Veteran’s Day many members of America’s Greatest Generation are no longer with us and in the not-too-distant future there will be none as 2025 will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. One of those silent warriors was my father
By David F. Winkler, Ph.D.Staff Historian Today marks the centennial of the first “Navy Day” existence. With the belief that a naval arms race had been a leading cause for World War I, general public sentiment supported President Warren G. Harding’s call in June 1921 to convene a Washington Naval Arms Conference. As documented in
By David F. Winkler, Ph.D.Staff Historian Just over a century ago, on October 26, Langley, departed from a York River anchorage at 7:15 a.m., and steamed into the Chesapeake Bay off the “Tail of the Shoe” shoal just inside Cape Henry. Having taken over as the officer of the deck for the 8 till noon
By Rear Adm. Sam Cox USN (Ret.) With deep sadness the NHF reports the loss of another strong champion of naval history – Vice Adm.William H. Rowden, USN (Ret.) who passed on 15 October 2022 at age 92. Vice Adm. Rowden served as a Director on our Board of Directors for two decades from 1995
By Dwight S. Hughes, Savas Beattie, Barnsley, El Dorado Hills, CA, (2021.) Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (RET). Dwight Hughes’ Unlike Anything That Ever Floated is an excellent overview of the conception, hurried development, and brief (but spectacular) service of the ironclads Monitor and Virginia and the men who built, directed, commanded, and sailed in them. While not the definitive history of either ship, the book covers
By Richard L. Wright, Xlibris (2022) Reviewed By: Michael Romero, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Following the end of the American Revolution, the fledgling United States immediately found itself in dire financial straits. With no funds available to maintain them, the handful of surviving Continental Navy vessels were sold, and the service disbanded. The ratification of the
By David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Staff Historian On October 17, 1922, America’s first carrier, USS Langley held a fixed position in the York River as preparations proceeded for a historic milestone. Naval Aviator No. 41, Lt. Virgil “Squash” Griffin, climbed into a cockpit of a VE-7SF biplane (BuNo. A-5932). As Griffin prepared for takeoff, winches
By Michał A. Piegzik Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The initial volume in this two-part work, The Darkest Hour, Volume 1: The Japanese Naval Offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942 – The Opening Moves, was reviewed by me and published in Thursday Tidings on 1 September 2022: navyhistory.org/2022/08/the-darkest-hour-volume-1-the-japanese-naval-offensive-in-the-indian-ocean-1942-the-opening-moves/. The concluding volume became available on
By Phil Keith with Tom Clavin, Hanover Square Press [HarperCollins], (2022) Reviewed by John Grady “To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth” is one of the best works aimed at a general audience on the naval aspects of the Civil War. Phil Keith and Tom Clavin have brought back to life one of the most
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar, author, analyst, and consultant in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Soon after I went to work for Navy Times in late 1959, the editor-in-chief, John Slinkman, came over to my desk and
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the seventeenth in a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) In July 1983 a friend asked my wife, Beverly, and me to attend a bar-b-q at his home. Among the few others
By Andrew Hendrie; Pen and Sword, Barnsley, UK, (2022). (Reprint) Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (Ret.) Andrew Hendrie’s Short Sunderland is a comprehensive operational portrait of the most famous British World War II maritime patrol aircraft. The author’s impressive research briefly covers the aircraft’s development, entry into service, production, and modification, and particularly its
By Barrett Tillman, Osprey (2022) Reviewed by: Capt. Chuck Good, USN (Ret.) Much ink has been spilled over the years on how wars begin, and almost as much on the treaties and negotiations which formally signal their end and dictate their terms. At Dawn We Slept and The Guns of August remain classics on how
By Michał A. Piegzik Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. Readers won’t confuse this book, just published in the Asia @ War Series No. 31 (Warwick, England: Hellion and Company Limited, 2022) with similar titles: The Darkest Hour by Caroline Tung Richmond (New York: Scholastic Press, 2016) is an espionage novel about women in World
