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“A Pitiful, Unholy Mess”: The History of Wheeler, Bellows, and Haleiwa Fields and the Attacks of 7 December 1941

By J. Michael Wenger, Robert J. Cressman, and John F. Di Virgilio, Naval Institute Press (2022) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This is the fourth volume in the Pearl Harbor Tactical Series published by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. The previous three volumes are No One Avoided Danger: NAS Kaneohe Bay and the

The Road to Pearl Harbor: Great Power War in Asia and the Pacific

John H. Maurer and Erik Goldstein (editors), Naval Institute Press, (2022). Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The editors are well-published senior scholars, well-equipped to undertake the organization and editing of this volume which focuses on the interwar years of two global conflicts. Professor John H. Maurer is the Alfred Thayer Mahan Professor of Sea

A Memorable Five Star Mess Night

With Covid restrictions finally lifted, the Naval Historical Foundation hosted its third annual Mess Night on Saturday, November 5 at the National Museum of the United States Navy. As with previous Five Star Mess Nights, the event was built around a theme and this year’s centennial of U.S. naval aircraft carriers provided the appropriate occasion

First to Go: The History of the USMC Combat Correspondents Association

Jack Paxton (Ed.), St Johann Press, Haworth, New Jersey, 2018. Reviewed by Chris Ketcherside First to Go is a collection of anecdotes from the USMC Combat Correspondents Association, with no specific author credited. It uses significant material from a previous publication, Last to Know, First to Go by Garry Cameron, the unofficial history of Marine

Carrier Killer: China’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the Early 21st Century

By Gerry Doyle and Blake Herzinger, Helion and Company (2022). Reviewed by Joseph F. Greco Much attention has been paid to the Chinese ASBM (Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile) program, a strategy that targets the U.S. Navy’s command over the East and South China Seas. As a consequence, the program brings into question the effectiveness of supercarriers

Soldier Parrott: The Incredible Story of America’s First Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

By J. North Conway. The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2021. Reviewed by Lt. Col. Stephen A. Tribble, Ph.D., U.S. Army The Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH), established in 1861, recognizes acts of valor by military members across the Joint Force and is coveted as the most prestigious United States (U.S.) military medal awarded. Soldier

West Point Admiral: Leadership Lessons From Four Decades of Military Service

By Michael W. Shelton, Morley, Missouri: Acclaim Press, (2022). Reviewed by John E. Fahey, Ph.D. Rear Admiral (ret) Michael W. Shelton took an unusual path to the Navy. In West Point Admiral: Leadership Lessons from Four Decades of Military Service he recounts his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Seabee

Unlike Anything that Ever Floated: The Monitor and Virginia and the Battle of Hampton Roads

By Dwight S. Hughes, Savas Beattie, Barnsley, El Dorado Hills, CA, (2021.) Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (RET).  Dwight Hughes’ Unlike Anything That Ever Floated is an excellent overview of the conception, hurried development, and brief (but spectacular) service of the ironclads Monitor and Virginia and the men who built, directed, commanded, and sailed in them. While not the definitive history of either ship, the book covers

To Provide And Maintain a Navy: 1775-1945

By Richard L. Wright, Xlibris (2022) Reviewed By: Michael Romero, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Following the end of the American Revolution, the fledgling United States immediately found itself in dire financial straits. With no funds available to maintain them, the handful of surviving Continental Navy vessels were sold, and the service disbanded. The ratification of the