It’s Oscar night in America. The biggest stars in Hollywood will gather in Hollywood as this past year’s best films are celebrated and highlighted. In honor of the event, we thought we could have our own awards show for the best and brightest stars in films in about the United States Navy. (Disclaimer – The opinions
By General Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz, Palgrave MacMillan, New York, NY (2014) Reviewed by Nathan D. Wells General Tony Zinni is one of the most respected senior officers alive today. A retired general in the United States Marine Corps and a former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), Zinni brings
By Gary J. Bass, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY (2013) Reviewed by LTJG J. Scott Shaffer USN With the U.S. Navy increasing their presence in the Asia theatre under Pacific Pivot, well-researched narratives covering the history of major regional powers remain in high demand. Gary Bass’s book The Blood Telegraph: Nixon, Kissinger, and a
By Rear Admiral Peter Dingemans CB DSO, Royal Navy, Brewin Books Ltd, Studley, Warwickshire, England (2013) Reviewed by Captain John A. Rodgaard, U.S. Navy (Retired) In his autobiography, Rear Admiral Peter Dingemans writes about his service in the Royal Navy from his days as a cadet at the Britannia Royal Navy College through his assignment
By Jon K. Hendrickson, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion Ph.D. Author Jon K. Hendrickson’s book Crisis in the Mediterranean is most timely, as its publication happily coincided with the beginning of commemorations of the centenary of the Great War. If, to the public mind, naval power in that war
By Chuck Veit, published through Lulu.com (2014) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess Forty years ago, I picked Commander Edward Ellsberg’s On the Bottom off the bookshelf of an elderly friend, a favorite from his own boyhood. The story of the raising of the submarine S-51 from 132 feet of seawater off Block Island in 1925
By Peter J. Holloway, Book Guild Publishing, Sussex, England (2014) Reviewed by Ed Calouro HMS Wasp is a work of historical fiction which largely mirrors the author’s own life experiences, especially his own time in the Royal Navy. The novel’s first chapter opens in the 1950s with Edward “Ted” Harris as a probationary teacher at
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 Captain Kevin P. Miller, U.S. Navy (Retired), Pelican Press, Pensacola, FL (2014) Reviewed by Jan Churchill The author, a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, is a former tactical naval aviator who flew the A-7E Corsair II and FA-18C Hornet operationally, logging over 1,000 carrier-arrested landings. Miller commanded a carrier-based strike-fighter squadron. Raven One
By John J Gobbell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by Commander George Wallace, U.S. Navy (Retired) If you have read the first four books in the Todd Ingram series, you will have followed Commander Ingram’s World War II exploits from the siege of Corregidor, through Guadalcanal and the Solomons to the Indian Ocean
By Scott Martelle, Chicago Review Press, Chicago, IL (2014) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA The Continental Navy had negligible impact on the American Revolution’s outcome. Its handful of little ships served almost entirely as commerce raiders, attacking and capturing defenseless merchantmen and occasionally engaging with small British warships of comparable or lesser capability. The
Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series Imperial Japanese Navy Minister Flag The Meiji Restoration saw an end to the Tokugawa shogunate rule of the Edo period in favor of imperial rule in Japan. The implementation of new political structures drastically changed the methods of military decisions and
By William H.J. Manthorpe, Jr, Cedar Tree Books, Ltd., Wilmington, DE (2014) Reviewed By Michael F. Solecki Protecting the entrance to the Delaware River and Bay has been of concern to its maritime communities since their early existence. Most of that protection was farther upstream at Forts Mott and Mifflin and Peapatch Island. But, it
By Norman Friedman, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by Mark Lardas The centennial of World War I has renewed focus on the conflict, including a slew of new books about the war. Norman Friedman’s Fighting the War at Sea: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology, examines the naval aspects of World War I. Friedman attacks
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
