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
Ditty Bag: Collections of the Naval Historical Foundation An Artifact and Collections Blog Series From Dock to Deck: Vanguard Shoulder Boards Bernard Gershen, a Polish tailor, immigrated to the United States in 1903. Settling in New York City, the tailor stayed in southern Manhattan as he sought work in his trade. Gershen furthered his stitching
“I go along with somebody who says that when Samoa heard that the US government was at war with Japan, the call came around and they offered their hands to help.” Tuala Sevaaetasi, Former Fitafita Guardsman By Matthew T. Eng The proud history of the American Samoan people traces back over 3,000 years, long before
Cracking Gibraltar is a blog series from the Naval Historical Foundation that will discuss the Army-Navy relationship involved in taking Fort Fisher, the last remaining Confederate stronghold in the Atlantic. READ PART I and PARTII. PART III: Cracking Gibraltar Following the embarrassing show of force at Fort Fisher in December, General Grant and other wartime
Cracking Gibraltar is a blog series from the Naval Historical Foundation that will discuss the Army-Navy relationship involved in taking Fort Fisher, the last remaining Confederate stronghold in the Atlantic. READ PART I. PART II: Butler’s “Singular and Interesting Disclosures” Porter’s distaste for Butler was no secret. Political generals like Butler received regular harassment from career men
The image above shows a gold freedom box presented to Commodore Daniel T. Patterson by the Common Council of New York City in July 1832 (NHF Accession #1960-043). Commodore Patterson was the senior American naval officer at the Battle of New Orleans, which reached its conclusion 200 years ago today. Gold freedom boxes are extremely
