By Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, Philadelphia: Casemate Publishers, 2014 Reviewed by Jason McHale While thousands of pilots served in the United States Navy during the Second World War, perhaps no group had as much luck at being in the right places at the right times than Carrier Air Group 15 (CAG-15). They first deployed on USS
By Rod Andrew Jr., Marine Corps University, History Division, Quantico, VA (2015) Reviewed by Timothy Heck Colonel Rod Andrew’s The First Fight is part of a larger official commemorative effort dedicated to the Marine Corps’ involvement in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s until 1975. This pamphlet history by Marine Corps University is a concise
Thomas J. Cutler, Series Ed., Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2016) Reviewed by: Robert P. Largess The U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings has been a pillar of intelligent discourse on naval science, events, technology and history since its first issue in 1874. Always imaginative, open, thoughtful, Proceedings is a goldmine of high-quality material for the naval
America’s entry into World War I had one interesting repercussion on the crew assigned to the USS Scorpion (PY 3), the U.S. Navy’s station ship at Constantinople. With America’s new status as a belligerent opposing Turkey’s ally Germany, the Turkish government was obligated to intern the ship which it did on April 11, 1917. One
SILENT AUCTION: You can participate in the Silent Auction and bid electronically for the many silent auction items including day sails, resort vacations, maritime collectibles, artwork, and much more. All items will be available to bid on the night of the event, Tuesday, April 4, 2017, so be sure to place your highest bid. Bidding
By Douglas Carl Peifer, Oxford University Press, New York, (2016) By Kenneth J. Hagan, Ph.D This remarkable book by a professor at the Air University was motivated by his concerns about how policymakers and strategists cope with the multifaceted aspects of contemporary naval incidents. He is convinced that the study of history is far more
By Rear Adm. William Thompson, USN, (Ret.), Self-Published (2010) Reviewed by Cdr. Eric Dietrich-Berryman, USN (Ret.) “Billy, you will never amount to anything unless you get some gumption and some business in your head,” Bill Thompson’s grandfather admonished the 13-year old boy. But the old man had utterly failed to read the true measure of
By Daniel Todman, Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2016) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This massive volume represents a unique piece of research and chronologically covers a period of history that is of great interest to your reviewer: the background to and initial stages of World War II. My own particular interests focus
By Rodney P. Carlisle, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2017) Reviewed by Nathan Albright I was very impressed with the new content the author brought to my attention coming into this book. The author takes a deep look into the often arcane aspects of maritime law and practice to uncover the largely unknown origin of
By Joel Ira Holwitt, A&M University Press, College Station, TX (2009) Reviewed by Richard Ector Joel Ira Holwitt’s Execute Against Japan adds to a growing body of scholarship on the development of U.S. naval doctrine between the First and Second World Wars. It joins Edward Miller’s War Plan Orange (1991) and Bankrupting the Enemy (2007),
By Dwight R. Messimer, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2016) Reviewed by Timothy Heck The 1915 escape of Fähnrich zur See (Midshipman) Erich Killinger from Imperial Russian captivity is a fascinating tale of survival, adventure, and luck. Dwight Messimer, a prolific author who has previously written on World War I aviation and prisoners of war,
By James Boschert, www.PenmorePress.com (2014) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This is a well-written work of adventure/mystery fiction that revolves around the oil and gas industry’s offshore operations in the North Sea. The author tells the story in straight and simple words. The heart of the story takes place on board the pipe dredging barge
That was the question posed to CIA Director Allen W. Dulles on March 30, 1961. At the time the CIA was heavily engaged in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. With a new president exhorting the nation two months earlier “that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
By Cdr. David D. Bruhn, USN (Ret.), Heritage Books, Inc. Berwyn Heights, MD (2016) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess Cdr. Bruhn is the historian of many of the Navy’s forgotten warships: ocean and coastal minesweepers, coastal transports (APc’s), tugs and salvage vessels, YP’s and converted yachts, as well as seaplane tenders – in WWII, Vietnam,
By Kevin Miller, Pelican Press, Pensacola, FL (2016) Reviewed by Charles Bogart Those who read Kevin Miller’s book Raven One will find that he has once again authored a fascinating and believable book. This time the story centers on a contemporary but fictitious U.S. Naval action in the Caribbean. The naval action within this book revolves around Cdr. Jim “Flip” Wilson who the reader
