By Matthew T. Eng “Every family has a history. Every family has a story. This helps explain why you are the way you are.” It’s fall here in Washington, D.C. The hot summer heat and brown grass are finally giving way to cooler temperatures and changing leaves. For some, this pleasant change in weather can
By Duncan Redford and Philip D. Grove, I. B. Tauris, London, England (2014) Reviewed by Charles Bogart The book under review is the fourteenth book within the A History of the Royal Navy series sponsored by The National Museum, Royal Navy Section. The authors of this large book attempt to do the impossible: tell the
By Carey Roberts, Self-Published, 2011 Reviewed by David K. Hildebrand, Ph.D. Historical fiction provides a compelling call for the reader to go well beyond traditional history. I for one have been long happy to absorb the facts, theories, and analyses often well crafted into secondary sources, such as Steve Vogel’s excellent telling of the near cataclysmic
By David Greentree, Osprey Publishing, New York, NY (2014) Reviewed by Sam Craghead With its dependency on merchant ship deliveries, the success of German U-Boats caused grave danger to Great Britain’s lifeline of food and supplies. Created as a countermeasure to the German submarines during World War I, service on a Q Ship became one of
By John J. Domagalski, Casemate Publishers, Havertown, PA 2014 Reviewed by: Tim McGrath Mention PT 109 to the “Greatest Generation” and “Baby Boomers” and you will conjure up a slew of memories: the tie-clips worn by men working for John F. Kennedy in the White House, the bestselling book by Robert J. Donovan, and the
By Peter Plowman, Rosenberg Publishing/Transpress, Australia (2013) Reviewed by Michael Wynd Just in time for the beginning of the First World War centennial commemoration in Australia and New Zealand, Peter Plowman has produced a work on the transports that took the Anzacs to Gallipoli. Although he has previously published a general work on troopships, Voyage
By Martin Robson, I. B. Tauris, London, England (2014) Reviewed by Mark Lardas Every century or so, the British write a quasi-official, multi-volume, comprehensive history of the Royal Navy. The turn of the twentieth century saw publication of the seven-volume The Royal Navy: A History from Earliest Times to the Present edited by the inimitable
By R. Kent Rasmussen, Chicago Review Press, Inc., Chicago, IL (2014) Reviewed by Jim McClelland Kent Rasmussen, a well-known author who has written or edited more than twenty books, recently produced World War I for Kids. He is best known for the award-winning book, The United States at War, as well as many volumes on
Before Commander Bond, there was an even more famous Scottish naval hero. Several weeks ago, a tiny museum along the Solway Firth received a most interesting visitor – a Russian Admiral. Former Russian submarine skipper Admiral Alexander Zhurkov visited the John Paul Jones Birthplace and Museum in Kirkbean, Scotland on 19 September. Admiral Zhurkov and
By George Stewart (This is the fourth and final installment in a series of blog posts covering the various operations conducted in Maine during WWII. Click to read Parts I, II, and III of George Stewart’s blog series about Casco Bay during WWII. To read all other post by George, go HERE.) PART IV This post
In 2006, during the 25th anniversary of the return home of the 52 American hostages in Iran, then Washington Post staff writer Les Carpenter wrote a wonderful piece about the generous gesture of MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to grant lifetime game passes to each of the detainees released in 1981. The article went on to
By Matthew Eng I thought my experience at this year’s 10th Maritime Heritage Conference would be like every other history conference. Most conferences roll by mechanically on autopilot. A variety of presentations and panels on historical subjects form the crux of discussion. Hotel food is eaten. Conversations are made. Cards are exchanged. Hands are shaken.
By Matthew T. Eng I have never been more happy to arrive early to an event in my entire life. There have been several great talks and panels at the 10th Maritime Heritage Conference this week in Norfolk. Too many, in fact, to mention in a single blog post. Being a fan and enthusiast of the
By Matthew T. Eng I wanted to be a bit spontaneous yesterday. I decided to skip the throng of crowds in Baltimore’s Bicentennial of the Star-Spangled Banner (Our friends at NHHC had it covered) and spent the day in Winchester, VA. The sleepy, historic town was just over an hour away. It would be the perfect
By Matthew Eng I was 17 years old in 2001. My worldview did not extend beyond the confines of my immediate friends and family. Although I was a Senior in high school, I still had a lot of growing up to do. A lot of that experience happened on the morning of September 11th. Like
