Reviewed by David F. Winkler, PhD One of the pleasures of being the staff historian at the Naval Historical Foundation is to look over the numerous books that arrive at 1306 Dahlgren, sent by publishers and authors with an aim to get some publicity through a book review in our “Naval History Book Review” section
Reviewed by Master Chief David Mattingly, USN (Ret.) One need only mention 9/11 and most people will recall the confusion that spilled from televisions and radios throughout the country. September 11, 2001 was a beautiful day with clear skies in New York when the world turned upside down as two planes careened into the World
Reviewed by LCDR Bryan Hayes, USN (Ret.) In the Claws of the Tomcat is a thoroughly researched and detailed book about U.S. Navy F-14 operations in the Middle East, including Operation Desert Storm and other less-known encounters between U.S. aircraft and Iranian and Iraqi adversaries. I highly recommend it to serious students of naval aviation
Reviewed by Joseph Moretz, PhD The story of the American War of Independence has oft been told but rather less has been said of the maritime portion of that story and less still has been told from the perspective of the Royal Navy. It is to this end that Quintin Barry, a retired solicitor and
Reviewed by LCDR Donald A. Baker, USN An ancient Jewish teacher once said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for their friends.” If risk to life and limb is any indication of an individual’s commitment to this ideal, then Coastguardsman Chris D’Amelio’s very personal and intimate account of
Reviewed By Jeff Schultz Mike Norman and Michael Jones’ The Falklands War: There and Back Again – The Story of Naval Party 8901 is a gripping memoir of the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War told from the perspective of the Royal Marine commander of Naval Party 8901 (NP-8901), the British troops assigned to defend the islands. NP-8901
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Mariano Sciaroni and Andy Smith’s “Go Find Him and Bring Me Back His Hat”: The Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Campaign in the Falklands/Malvinas War is an important look at the relatively obscure rivalry between a few Argentine diesel submarines and the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine defenses such as helicopters, warships and the Royal
Reviewed by Anton K. Smith Too little is written about the roles and sacrifices of professional women contributing to the war effort in World War II. An established author, renowned historian, and former British sailor, Peter Hore works to correct the deficit in this new book about Britain’s Women’s Royal Navy Service, whose members quickly became
Reviewed by Major Chris Ketcherside, USMC (Ret.) Guidelines for the Leader and the Commander is a collection of chapters, lectures, and manual excerpts General Clarke penned over the course of his career based on his hard-won experiences in positions of leadership in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, as well as
Reviewed by Dr. Joseph Moretz In Turret Versus Broadside, Howard J. Fuller, a Reader in War Studies at the University of Wolverhampton in Great Britain, relates the history of the Royal Navy’s struggle to retain maritime supremacy in the face of ironclad warships innovated by the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. The engagement between
Reviewed by CAPT Derek R. Fix, USN Unlike Anything That Ever Floated is one of the newest additions to the Savas Beattie Emerging Civil War Series, which offers compelling, easy-to-read overviews of some of the Civil War’s most important battles and stories. Author Dwight Sturtevant Hughes provides a captivating narrative of the Battle of Hampton
Reviewed by Major Chris Ketcherside, USMC (Ret.) The Ten Thousand-Day War at Sea is a companion book to the Hampton Roads Naval Museum’s exhibit of the same name, though it does hold up well enough on its own as a short summation of all U.S. Naval operations during the conflict in Vietnam. The book is
Reviewed by Mr. Tom Phillips, USN (Ret.) This 8.5×11.5-inch booklet of 64 pages is #26 of 30 in a series by Ship Craft. As such, it is less likely to appeal to historians than advanced scale modelers with a bent for customizing standard scale models into works of fascinating art. The author, Roger Branfill-Cook, has
Reviewed by Capt. Charles “Herb” Gilliland, USN (Ret.) Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Lafayette! Now keep it up if you’ve heard of Louis Duportail! I thought not. This reviewer knew nothing of Duportail either before reading this book, in which Prof. Norman Desmarais presents strong evidence that such obscurity is undeserved. As the
Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This unique volume is a compilation focusing on seven major naval engagements from ancient times to the modern era that illustrates the significance of controlling the Mediterranean Sea. The author, Quentin Russell, earned a doctorate in 19th Century Anglo-Greek relations from Royal Holloway, University of London, and co-authored Ali Pasha:
