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BOOK REVIEW – Very Special Intelligence: The Story of the Admiralty’s Operational Intelligence Centre, 1939-1945

By Patrick Beesly, Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, UK (2015) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. In June 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Patrick Beesly joined the Royal Navy as a Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) officer, became a Sub-Lieutenant (Special Branch), and was appointed to the Naval Intelligence Division (NID 2) in

BOOK REVIEW – THE PIRATE KING: The Incredible Story of the Real Captain Morgan

By Graham A. Thomas, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY (2015) Reviewed by William H. White Henry Morgan was a “pirate” (the author used “pirate,” “buccaneer,” and “privateer” virtually interchangeably) whose rampages in the Caribbean and on the Spanish Main were the stuff of legends. Many authors, both contemporary to Morgan and modern, have written copious

BOOK REVIEW – The Path to War – U.S. Marine Corps Operations in Southeast Asia 1961 to 1965

By Col. George R. Hofmann Jr. USMC (Ret.), Marine Corps History Division, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC (2014) Reviewed by Charles Bogart The title of this publication is somewhat misleading, as the author actually covers the period 1954 to 1965 within the pages of this book. It covers both political and military matters of that

BOOK REVIEW – The Great Siege of Malta: The Epic Battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John

By Bruce Ware Allen, ForeEdge: An Imprint of the University Press of New England, NH, (2015) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess On May 18, 1565, a Turkish fleet of 193 ships arrived off the arid, searing hot island of Malta, at the crossroads of the Mediterranean between Africa and Sicily. Its target was the Knights

BOOK REVIEW – The Battle of Lake Champlain: A “Brilliant and Extraordinary Victory”

By John H. Schroeder, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK (2015) Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad, Ph.D. Like the Korean Conflict, the War of 1812 is often glanced over in many American history survey courses, which is too bad because one of the most significant naval battles in American history occurred near the end of

BOOK REVIEW – Operation Neptune

By Craig L. Symonds, Oxford University Press, New York (2014) Reviewed by Rear Admiral William J. Holland, Jr. USN (Ret.) Professor Symonds has done it again! This splendid book starts with the assertion, “During World War II, a dearth of shipping was the key logistical constraint in Allied decision making and because of it, the

BOOK REVIEW – Into the Lion’s Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov: World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond

By Larry Loftus, Penquin, New York, NY, (2016) Reviewed by Martin J. Bollinger Lawyer and author Larry Loftis accomplishes three things in his new book Into the Lion’s Mouth: The True Story of Dusko Popov: World War II Spy, Patriot, and the Real-Life Inspiration for James Bond. He does an excellent job in documenting –

BOOK REVIEW – Discovering the North-West Passage: The Four-Year Arctic Odyssey of H.M.S. Investigator and the McClure Expedition

By Glenn M. Stein, McFarland, Jefferson, NC (2015) Reviewed by Ingo Heidbrink, Ph.D. Most people who are only slightly familiar with the history of the high-latitudes will know the story of John Franklin’s Lost Expedition searching for the North-West Passage (1845), as well as of Roald Amundsen’s first transit through the passage during his 1903-1906

BOOK REVIEW – Medieval Maritime Warfare

By Charles D.  Stanton, Pen & Sword Maritime, Barnsley, UK (2015) Reviewed by Nathan Albright As a former US naval officer and airline pilot whose research has been in medieval Mediterranean history, Charles Stanton is well equipped to undertake the task of writing a comprehensive introduction to medieval naval warfare. With several well-received articles in

BOOK REVIEW – Confederate Saboteurs: Building the Other Secret Weapons of the Civil War

By Mark K. Ragan, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX (2015) Reviewed by John Grady Mark Ragan’s Confederate Saboteurs does a wonderful job of shining new light on the extraordinary steps that the government in Richmond, and more importantly the inventive men from all over the seceded states, were willing to take to win

BOOK REVIEW – From Imperial Splendor to Internment

By Nicolas Wolz, Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, England (2015) Reviewed by Winn Price The students of seapower who follows the Naval Historical Foundation’s Naval History Book Reviews have probably read several books about the First World War at sea. There are, after all, hundreds of titles, ranging from the memoirs of the participants published in the

BOOK REVIEW – Privateers of the Americas: Spanish American Privateering from the United States in the Early Republic

By David Head, The University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA (2015) Reviewed by Joseph-James Ahern David Head’s Privateers of the Americas: Spanish American Privateering from the United States in the Early Republic provides a wonderfully researched and written study into the issues faced by American merchants and sailors who participated in Spanish American privateering, as

BOOK REVIEW – Sea Miner: Major E. B. Hunt’s Civil War Rocket Torpedo 1862-1863

Chuck Veit, Self Published (2016) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess Chuck Veit is something of a master in recreating the world of Civil War America and the personality of real individuals of that time through contemporary newspapers, letters, speeches, and diaries. In The Yankee Expedition to Sevastopol, he did a remarkable job of bringing salvor,

BOOK REVIEW – Where Youth and Laughter Go – With “The Cutting Edge” in Afghanistan

By Lt.Col. Seth W. B., Folsom USMC., Naval Institute Press Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Charles Bogart This is the third book by Lt. Col. Folsom concerning his experiences fighting the War on Terror. In 2006, he published The Highway War: A Marine Company Commander in Iraq. In 2010, he wrote In The Gray Area:

BOOK REVIEW – Before Jutland: The Naval War in Northern European Waters, August 1914—February 1915

By James Goldrick, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD (2015) Reviewed by Phillip G. Pattee. Ph.D. James Goldrick, the author of several books and articles on topics of naval and defense interest, including naval history, is a retired Rear Admiral in the Royal Australian Navy. In 1984, as a Lieutenant, Goldrick published his first book, The