If the employment of destroyers during peace time and war time is of interest to you, this is a must-read book. The authors have crafted one of the finest ship histories this reviewer has encountered. HMS Venomous was one of the 67 V and W class destroyers built by the Royal Navy during the last
The story of the Royal Navy during World War II often centers around one of the five battleships of the King George V Class (KGV): HMS King George V, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Duke of York, HMS Anson, and HMS Howe. The author of this book has crafted a tour de force that examines
Imagine chaos raging from France through Germany that surrounded the end of the slaughter on the Western Front in the fall of 1918. Or the new rounds of killings that accompanied the revolution in Russia through 1924 and engulfed the Baltic States, ravaged Poland and ripped East Prussia from Berlin. As well, the privation of
James P. Delgado is a maritime archaeologist, explorer, story-teller, acclaimed author, television host, and explorer who spent nearly four decades in underwater exploration. A native of California, he earned his doctorate in Archaeology from Simon Fraser University, has an M.A. in Maritime Studies from East Carolina University, and took his B.A. in History from San
Immediately before and after the outbreak of the First World War, Britain seriously considered sending its fleet into Heligoland Bight and seizing an island base off the German coast – Borkum perhaps. The goal was to force the German fleet out to fight, or bottle it up with mines, submarines and destroyer flotillas, instituting a
The First World War stands as the one of the great turning points in history. At its time, the most destructive human conflict ever experienced, the world before and after the war were distinctly different. Great empires fell, while others receded, new powers rose and ideas about patriotism, nationality, the role of class in society,
The Millionaires’ Unit tells the story of several Yale undergraduates in the early 1900s whose foresight helped open the United States Navy up to the utility of aerial operations. American military aviation was woefully behind that of the European militaries when the US entered World War I. The Yale Unit was one of the critical
Earlier this month, we were thrilled to receive an enormous donation of used books on naval history from donor Cynthia Doyle. The books were from the collection of her brother Philip, who passed away recently. For a full week, boxes arrived at our offices, loaded with several hundred books, ranging from small paperbacks to
By Keith Dovkants, Matador, Troubador Publishing, Ltd. Leicestershire, UK (2012) Reviewed by James C. Quinn A Combat of Devils takes place during the First World War in the English Channel between a Royal Navy officer and his crew and a German U-boat, but I find it hard to call it a war novel. It opens
By Thomas Boghardt, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2012) Reviewed by Capt. Winn Price USNR (Ret.) I thoroughly enjoyed this tale from the black world of cryptology. Espionage novels replete with the ‘shaken-not-stirred’ womanizers and drivers of fast cars, abound in fiction and non-fiction. Codebreakers have not received glorification in a similar genre of novels.
11-12 April 2014 Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich Global War Studies and the Greenwich Maritime Institute are pleased to announce an international conference on the naval and maritime history of the First and Second World Wars. On the centenary of the First World War, the conference seeks to promote an international and interdisciplinary dialogue
By Thomas P. Ostrom., McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC. (2012). Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart Anyone interested in the United States Coast Guard will want to read this well-written and researched book. The book consists of fifteen chapters and three appendices. Each chapter and appendices is a stand-alone article on the history of the Coast
By R. Neil Scott, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, MD. (2012.) Reviewed by Alan M. Anderson During World War I, over two million American servicemen were successfully transported across the Atlantic Ocean to England and France. Of the many troopships traveling eastward, German U-boats torpedoed three. The only other troopship lost, Otranto, sank on 6
By John Protasio, Casemate Publishing, Havertown, PA (2011),239 pp. Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart The author has crafted a well-written book that covers the sinking of the British flagged passenger liner Lusitania on 7 May 1914, by the German submarine U-20. The book is divided into three sections that consider 1) the events leading up
