By Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by Stephen Phillips Admiral James Stavridis is a prolific writer who is known for countless journal articles and several books that should be in every naval officer’s collection, such as Division Officer’s Guide, Destroyer Captain, and Command at Sea. Fans and followers
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 Mark A. Chambers, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC (2014) Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion, Ph.D. This pictorial history is a useful and appealing introduction to what naval aviators—specifically, test pilots, flight test engineers, test crews, and technical support staff—have accomplished over the last seventy years at one of the world’s finest and most historic flight
By Sheila Nickerson, University of Alaska Press, Anchorage (2014) Reviewed by Jan Churchill The North Pole was the ultimate prize. Before aviation, ships could only go so far thanks to polar ice. The best way to travel, with supplies and food, was by dog sledge. However, the British Royal Navy made men, not dogs, haul
By Emily Pearce, NHF Middendorf Curator The Navy has not always done its due diligence in preserving its material heritage. The practice of collecting naval artifacts dates to the early nineteenth century under patrons such as Thomas Tingey, but these objects were not always handled with preservation practices in mind. It was not until 1961
Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series Thai Sterling Silver Cigarette Set The travels of Admiral Arleigh Burke are the topic of fascination and awe for many United States Navy enthusiasts. Some of our exotic and unique collection items were products of his travels. This silver cigarette set
Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series American Eagle Finial This American Eagle finial, or decoration which tops a flagstaff, dates to the early twentieth century. Eagle finials are used by the Executive Office, and occasionally by the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. This finial is
By Matthew T. Eng Today marks the centennial anniversary of the creation of the Office of Chief of Naval Operations. Congressed established the office under the Naval Appropriation Act on 3 March 1915 (10 U.S.C. § 5033). There were two main predecessors to the Chief of Naval Operations. One series of positions known as the General Board
Tomorrow marks the centennial of Congressional legislation that created the Navy Reserve component of today’s United States Navy. While a hundred years is a significant milestone, bear in mind that 2015 also marks the 240th anniversary of the creation of the United States Navy. Given this context, the question needs to be asked: What took
The Henry N. Barkhausen Award For Original Research in Great Lakes Maritime History For consideration in the current calendar year, entries for must be postmarked no later than May 15 Guidelines for Entrants Since 2001, the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History has sponsored the Henry N. Barkhausen Award program to recognize and encourage new
By Matthew T. Eng Battleship guns helped win the Second World War. What about the race to the moon? Bob Fish, author and USS Hornet Museum trustee, recently visited NASA’s AMES Research Center in Sunnyvale, CA, to investigate the possibility of cooperation and collaboration of STEM-related programming. While there, Bob visited the Hypervelocity Flight Test Facility
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
Violent Skies: The Air War Over Vietnam A Symposium Proposed for October 2015 Four military service historical foundations—the Air Force Historical Foundation, the Army Historical Foundation, the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, and the Naval Historical Foundation—recognize that a half century has passed since the United States became militarily engaged in Southeast Asia, and hope to
By Matthew T. Eng This past weekend’s annual Brick by Brick: LEGO Shipbuilding Event at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum (HRNM) was another resounding success. More than 2,000 people attended this year’s competition, making it the biggest and best one yet. It was the second year that the Naval Historical Foundation joined the event as
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
