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
By Capt. Barry Nelson Kaye USN (Ret.), Self-published, Miami, FL (2016) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart Captain Kaye provides an excellent account on his service in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War in the first volume of his memoir. He states that the reason he wrote this self-published book is that almost all of
By Gary Slaughter, Fletcher House, Nashville, TN (2016) Reviewed by Charles Bogart Gary Slaughter has crafted a fascinating book about his service in the U.S. Navy. The narrative starts with his life as a small town boy seeking greater opportunity than his surrounding area offers. His method of choice to escape his small town is
By David P. Chandler, Robert Cribb and Li Narangoa, NIAS Press, Copenhagen, Denmark (2016) Reviewed by Charles H Bogart The hundred days that this book is concerned with are the days between 5 August and 12 November 1945. The book begins on 5 August 1945, as this is the day the U.S. dropped the A-bomb
By Lt.Col. Seth W. B., Folsom USMC., Naval Institute Press Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Charles Bogart This is the third book by Lt. Col. Folsom concerning his experiences fighting the War on Terror. In 2006, he published The Highway War: A Marine Company Commander in Iraq. In 2010, he wrote In The Gray Area:
By Michael Sturma, Annapolis, MD, Naval Institute Press (2015) Reviewed by Charles Bogart This book is a joy to read. The author, using a variety of primary sources, has compiled a social and administrative history of the U.S. Navy’s World War II submarine base at Fremantle, Australia. With the loss in December 1941 of the
By Paul Wood, Woods Maritime, Kamuela, HI (2015) Reviewed by Charles Bogart Paul Wood has written an excellent biographical account of naval architect Melbourne Smith who is the President of the International Historical Watercraft Society, and serves as Advisory Board Chairman for the National Maritime Historical Society and trustee of the American Ship Trust. Born
By Erik Jurgen-Karl Dietrich, Self-Published (2015) Reviewed by Charles Bogart This self-published autobiography tells the story of Erik Jurgen-Karl Districh who was born in Germany in 1940. After the war, he lived in England until 1957, when he immigrated to the United States at age 17. After arriving in the United States, the author served
By Thomas P. Ostrom and John J. Galluzo, McFarland, Jefferson, NC (2015) Reviewed by Charles H Bogart This is the third in an excellent series of books written by Thomas Ostrom on the United States Coast Guard. The first two books of the series, The United States Coast Guard and National Defense and The United
By Sergeant Major David K. Devaney, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired). Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book is not for the fainthearted to read. Within this book, we encounter fifty-one men, who with the exception of one individual, are all enlisted. The title of the book, however, is slightly
By Admiral Kinnear as told to James Carter, Dog Ear Publishing, Indianapolis, IN (2014) Reviewed by Charles Bogart The heart of this autographical book centers around four topics the Admiral feels are important for success: have a vision of what you want to achieve, take advantage of continuing education opportunities, spend time developing personal networks,
By Wayne O’Neil, Midway Printery, Long Beach, WA (2013) Reviewed by Charles Bogart The author uses a broad-brush definition of what constitutes a shipwreck vessel. The book covers not only ships lost from grounding, touching bottom, effects of weather, fire, and collision, but also ships that suffered non fatal hull damage from grounding and touching
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 Marc Liebman, Fireship Press Tucson, (2014) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This is the second book in the author’s Lt. Josh Haman USN series. The first book, Big Mother 40, was set in Vietnam. In that book, Lt. Haman was a USN helicopter pilot. Lt Haman is once again the central character in Render
