Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole By Sheldon Bart, Regnery History, Washington, DC (2013) Reviewed by Ingo Heidbrink, Ph.D. Race to the Top of the World, by Sheldon Bart, not only opens again the question if Richard E. Byrd reached the North Pole on
Captain Bulloch: The Life of James Dunwoody Bulloch, Naval Agent of the Confederacy By Stephen Chapin Kinnaman, Dog Ear Publishing, Indianapolis, IN. (2013) Reviewed by Mark Lardas James Dunwoody Bulloch is best known as the man behind the Civil War’s Confederate raiders. He organized the construction and outfitting of Florida, Alabama, and Stonewall, among others.
Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, Vol. 1 By Arthur Marder, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. (2013) (reprint) Reviewed by Winn Price Of the first of five volumes that compose Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, this review addresses Volume I, titled “the Road to War 1904-1914.” These books, which address the naval affairs in World War I, were
American Sniper: Memorial Edition By Chris Kyle, with Jim Defelice and Scott McEwen, William Morrow, New York, NY, (2013) Reviewed by Stephen Phillips The war on terrorism will be the source of many memoirs. All of them will undoubtedly provide valuable and important insight. Historians and military enthusiasts will always particularly enjoy books that are
Gun Bay: A Tale of Shipwreck on Grand Cayman — An Edward Ballantyne Novel By William H. White, Sea Fiction Press, Red Bank, NJ. (2013) Reviewed by Capt. Roger Jones, USN (Ret.) Gun Bay is a sea-going novel that incorporates the historic and powerful Caribbean hurricanes of October 1793 and January 1794. These caused significant
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 26th a series of blogs by Norman Polmar—author, analyst, and consultant specializing in the naval, aviation, and intelligence fields. Follow the full series here.) Being a “character” is a very positive description of a person. To me, a character is one who thinks for himself or herself,
Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr., Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and his staff visited the National Museum of the U.S. Navy’s Cold War Gallery last Thursday. Admiral Harris was in town for official business, but managed to swing by and visit the gallery and admire the P-3A Orion aircraft he sponsored in honor of Rear Admiral G. W.
By George Stewart This paper was originally intended to be a follow on my experiences as an engineer aboard commercial tankers. The original intent was to provide a description of World War II-built turboelectric Destroyer Escorts and to illustrate the commonality they shared with commercial T-2 Tanker power plants. In the process of preparing this
“With rare exceptions Alfred disapproves of everything he sees when on shore leave, although he does not object to others enjoying themselves.” The Naval Historical Foundation received a few “rare editions” from a box of donated books last month. Included in the list of usual naval history titles were two compendiums of World War II-era
The 2013 winter storm is one of the most interesting weather anomalies in recent memory. Most Americans are by now familiar with terms like “polar vortex” and “snow squalls.” Winter Storm Titan is currently wreaking havoc on the mid-Atlantic state causing thousands of flight delays and closures. This current is not, however, the only time
By Norman Polmar (Editor’s note: This is the 25th 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.) During the summer of 1965, when I was assistant editor of the Naval Institute Proceedings, a young man came into my Annapolis
In Death Unafraid is a two part blog miniseries chronicling the history and memory of the USS Maine from 1898 to present. Read PART I here. Part II: Worse Than Hell When riots broke out in Havana at the beginning of 1898, the McKinley government sent the battleship Maine there to protect American interests
On May 6, 1947, a party was held in Washington, D.C. Among the honored guests there: A president, a few politicians, and a majority of the most important and influential officers in United States military history. They all came to the “stag party” (according to President Truman’s presidential diary entry) to honor General George Marshall,
The Naval Historical Foundation recently received some very interesting pieces of naval aviation memorabilia from the descendants of Ensign Dudley C. Lunt, USNRF. Lunt enlisted in the Naval Reserve in March 1918 and was called into active service shortly thereafter. He found himself at a ground school for aviation cadets at the Massachusetts Institute of
By George J. Hill, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, (2013) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. George J. Hill, a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Medical School, served in the Marines Corps and U.S. Public Health Service until he retired as a Captain, Medical Corps, USNR, in 1992. He is the son-in-law of Albert W.
