Reviewed by David F, Winkler, Ph.D. Since its inception, the Naval Historical Foundation book review program has welcomed historical fiction submissions, recognizing that fictional writers, released from the constraints of demonstrating documented sources, can sometimes convey a better sense of what actually happened to a broader audience. Such is the case with The Silver Waterfall,
Reviewed by C. Herbert Gilliland. How could a splendid 100-gun ship of the line, quietly anchored while preparing to deploy as flagship of one of Britain’s most admired admirals, suddenly capsize and go down? Yet that happened on August 29, 1782 at Spithead, the great roadstead of the British navy near Portsmouth. In 1782 Great
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz. Michael Green’s United States Navy Submarines 1900-2019 provides a succinct look at the evolution of American submarines from early to modern designs, heavily supported with images, particularly wartime archival sources. It spans designs from the turn of the 20th century across the World Wars, the Cold War and the post-Cold War
Reviewed by Joseph Moretz, PhD. Members of this forum will know and appreciate the many previous offerings of Dr. Norman Friedman in the field of naval technology and strategy. With several serving as standard reference works, readers of Friedman are invariably treated to a reasoned discourse anchored in primary research that never fails to inform.
Reviewed by John Grady. If it’s a clear day and you stand on Fort Monroe’s ramparts, you can see the edge of the “carrier piers” at the Norfolk Naval Station. There, a few miles away across Hampton Roads, are usually two of the nation’s largest warships — either ready for deployment or just returned. If
Reviewed by Ed Calouro. LCDR Thomas J. Cutler, USN (Ret.) is perhaps the leading authority on the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He has been reading, analyzing, and writing about this epic encounter for many decades. In 1994, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary, he authored The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 23-26 October 1944. During his
Review By Lynne Marie Marx A kidney specialist and author, Jon Diamond penned Images of War: MacArthur’s Papua New Guinea Offensive 1942-1943, and he has had several military history books published, such as Stilwell and the Chindits, War in the South Pacific, and The Rhine River Valley Crossing. His love of history and collection of
Reviewed by Chuck Steele, PhD. Lars Wedin, an accomplished author on strategic studies and retired surface warfare officer of the Royal Swedish Navy, has composed a noteworthy encyclopedia of military thought and strategy that, in some regards, might also be considered a series of personal meditations on those subjects. Citing heightening tensions between great powers
Reviewed by LTC Victor O. McGee, USA. In October 2014, NATO and the U.S ended combat operations in Afghanistan; however the insurgency reformed and malign forces again were mounting stronger insurrections. Marines redeployed to Afghanistan to continue training Afghan Soldiers and Police Forces to counter act the rebellion. This 6-part collection of 21 commentaries and
Reviewed by Captain William H. Peerenboom, USN (Ret.) Many Americans, perhaps including the authors, look back on the Viet Nam war as a misguided and mis managed effort. Not only that, these Americans believe that the disdain for the war caused those who fought there – ordinary soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen to suffer loss
Reviewed by CAPT Charles “Herb” Gilliland, USN (Ret.) For any artist—perhaps for any human being–life and art are inseparable. That was certainly the case for Natale (“Nat”) Bellantoni. This strikingly attractive book filled with fine watercolors offers his story as a young artist serving in the 78th Naval Construction Battalion in World War II. Two
Reviewed by Captain Lee Duckworth, USN (Ret.) Captain Diane Diekman’s latest book, “Mommy! Watch Me” is the sequel to her 2001 memoir, “Navy Greenshirt: A Leader Made, Not Born.” I reviewed the latter two years ago and expected her latest book to be similar in content to the previous one. However, as the title implies,
Reviewed by LTC Heiva H. Kelley, USA. In Chosin: Heroic Ordeal of the Korean War, Eric Hammel, a meticulous military historian and accomplished writer of over 50 books and 70 articles, revisits the Battle of Chosin based on extensive primary source material collected by the author through hundreds of personal interviews with survivors. This book,
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz. Marc Gallicchio’s Unconditional: The Japanese Surrender in World War II focuses on the late-war period leading up to the September 1945 Japanese surrender. This important monograph digs deeper than most into the complicated chain of events which resulted in the memorable Tokyo Bay ceremony, using American and Japanese archival sources to
