Reviewed by Dr. John. R. Satterfield. In the early evening on July 19, 1545, as she turned away from a French fleet gathered in the Solent, the narrow channel between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland harbors of Portsmouth and Southampton, the Mary Rose, one of Henry VIII‘s largest and most powerful warships,
By Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Penguin Press, New York (2017) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans is a companion to The Accidental Admiral, Admiral Stavridis’ earlier best seller that provided many Americans with a basic education in national and global security. Stavridis, the first
By Reed Robert Bonadonna, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2017) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA No one disputes that the growth and development of warfare have been functions of the advance of civilization, but the contributions of war to human progress may be less obvious. Many argue that violent conflict reflects little more than
By John J. Domagalski, Casemate Publishers, Philadelphia, PA (2016) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three (MTB-3) joined the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines just three months before Japan attacked the islands on December 8, 1941. Six boats and 82 sailors under Lt. John D. Bulkeley’s command performed remarkably
By Christopher P. Magra, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK (2016) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA Although impressment, or the taking men by force into military or naval service, has been widely practiced throughout history, the British Royal Navy (RN) is most often associated with its use. For about 150 years, from the late 17th
By Martin Robson. I.B. Tauris, London, (2016) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA Martin Robson, a lecturer in Strategic Studies at the University of Exeter, has written a fine book that summarizes the Royal Navy’s role in the Seven Years War with balanced treatment of the British government’s strategic framework for the conduct of the
By Vincent P. O’Hara, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA America entered World War II after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The nation focused on war in the Pacific through most of 1942. However, the U.S. had established its “Germany First” strategy by 1940. Defeating the Axis
By James M. Scott, W.W. Norton & Company, New York (2015) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA In the spring of 1992 at my local airport, two B-25 bombers landed and taxied to the FBO to refuel. I found out that they were headed to Washington, DC, for a low-level flight down the Mall to
By Donald A. Tortorice, Author House, Bloomington, IN (2014) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA I, Horatio is a fictional autobiography about Horatio Nelson, clearly a subject of note for those who care about naval history. Nelson’s titles were read out loud to an assemblage of mourners at his funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral in
By Jack Cheevers. NAL Caliber, New York (2013) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA This excellent history, drawn from 11,000 pages of previously classified or unexamined documents as well as memoirs and other more contemporaneous accounts, is an omnibus review of the 1968 Pueblo incident. This volume is the culmination of more than a decade
By Alan Rems, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA Although an amateur historian, author Rems has produced a very professional volume. His book is the only recent one-volume account of World War II’s Southwest Pacific Theater that treats its numerous campaigns, both comprehensively and chronologically. This is valuable for
By Captain Alexander “Sandy” G. Monroe, USN (Ret.), Pleasant Living Books, Richmond, VA (2014) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA This commemorative volume focuses on graduates of a small private school who served in the U.S. armed forces. Author Alexander Monroe argues that Christchurch School has imbued its students with an outlook that mirrors military
By Mark Huffman, RH Rositzke & Associates, LLC, Washington, DC (2013) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA This brief volume tells the story of a distinguished Marine Corps veteran, BGen. William B. Weise, whose career spanned 1952 to 1982 and included service in Korea and Vietnam. BGen. Weise served with more than six months of
