SILENT AUCTION: You can participate in the Silent Auction and bid electronically for the many silent auction items including day sails, resort vacations, maritime collectibles, artwork, and much more. All items will be available to bid on the night of the event, Tuesday, April 4, 2017, so be sure to place your highest bid. Bidding
BOOK REVIEW – Britain’s War: Into Battle, 1937-1941
By Daniel Todman, Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2016) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This massive volume represents a unique piece of research and chronologically covers a period of history that is of great interest to your reviewer: the background to and initial stages of World War II. My own particular interests focus
BOOK REVIEW – Rough Waters: Sovereignty and the American Merchant Flag
By Rodney P. Carlisle, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2017) Reviewed by Nathan Albright I was very impressed with the new content the author brought to my attention coming into this book. The author takes a deep look into the often arcane aspects of maritime law and practice to uncover the largely unknown origin of
NHF Sink or Swim 2017
Every year, the Naval Historical Foundation likes to blend a little naval history into the spirit of NCAA March Madness. During the tournament, we have carefully selected thematic events, ships, and planes of the United States Navy for our fans on social media to vote as their favorite. This year, you will help us decide
BOOK REVIEW – Eleven Months to Freedom: A German POW’s Unlikely Escape from Siberia in 1915
By Dwight R. Messimer, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2016) Reviewed by Timothy Heck The 1915 escape of Fähnrich zur See (Midshipman) Erich Killinger from Imperial Russian captivity is a fascinating tale of survival, adventure, and luck. Dwight Messimer, a prolific author who has previously written on World War I aviation and prisoners of war,
BOOK REVIEW – Force 12 in German Bight
By James Boschert, www.PenmorePress.com (2014) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This is a well-written work of adventure/mystery fiction that revolves around the oil and gas industry’s offshore operations in the North Sea. The author tells the story in straight and simple words. The heart of the story takes place on board the pipe dredging barge
Dulles and the Naval Historical Foundation: To Join Or Not to Join?
That was the question posed to CIA Director Allen W. Dulles on March 30, 1961. At the time the CIA was heavily engaged in the Cold War against the Soviet Union. With a new president exhorting the nation two months earlier “that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any
BOOK REVIEW – Declared Hostile
By Kevin Miller, Pelican Press, Pensacola, FL (2016) Reviewed by Charles Bogart Those who read Kevin Miller’s book Raven One will find that he has once again authored a fascinating and believable book. This time the story centers on a contemporary but fictitious U.S. Naval action in the Caribbean. The naval action within this book revolves around Cdr. Jim “Flip” Wilson who the reader
BOOK REVIEW – Nazi Saboteurs on the Bayou
By Steven Burgauer, Battleground Press, Oxford, FL, (2016) Reviewed by John Bud Cunnally, Chief Electronics Technician Submarines, U.S. Navy (Retired) In 1941, the United States was in a “let’s stay out of the European and Asia Wars” mindset; Fortress America will protect us from conflicts continents away. This attitude changed on 7 December 1941. The
BOOK REVIEW – China’s Quest For Great Power: Ships, Oil, and Foreign Policy
By Bernard D. Cole, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2016) Reviewed by Nathan Albright China’s Quest for Great Power, the latest from Bernard D. Cole, is a combination of a high degree of knowledge about Chinese military and political strategy with some implicit recommendations for how the United States can deal with China’s ambitions. As
Save the Date: 2017 National Maritime Awards Dinner
Tuesday, April 4, 2017, at 6 p.m. Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC Dr. Jack P. London, executive chairman and former CEO of CACI International, will receive the Naval Historical Foundation’s 2017 Distinguished Service Award, and Conservation International/Peter A. Seligmann and National Geographic Society will receive the National Maritime Historical Society’s Distinguished Service Award at the 2017
BOOK REVIEW – Gulf Security and the U.S. Military: Regime Survival and the Politics of Basing
By Geoffrey F. Gresh, Stanford Security Press, Stanford, CA (2015) Reviewed by Junyuan Rao To aid the understanding of the security of the Gulf region, Geoffrey F. Gresh published Gulf Security and the U.S. Military: Regime Survival and the Politics of Basing. In this book, he explores the reasons that contribute to the giving or
BOOK REVIEW – Defenseless Under the Night: The Roosevelt Years and the Origins of Homeland Security
By Matthew Dallek, Oxford, New York, NY (2016) Reviewed by Capt. Jourden Travis Moger, CHC, USN Matthew Dallek tells the fascinating story of the rise and fall of the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD), America’s first federal office of homeland security. FDR created the OCD less than six months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
BOOK REVIEW – Brewers Luck: Hornblower’s Legacy
By James Keffer, Penmore Press, Tucson, AZ (2015) Reviewed by Rick Elkin When reading fiction, I tend to enjoy science fiction more than any genre. My taste in maritime and naval books tends to lean heavily toward non-fiction books. I enjoy “real” history. That said, I remember as a young boy watching “Horatio Hornblower” with
BOOK REVIEW – Battleships: WWII Evolution of the Big Guns
By Philip Kaplan, Pen & Sword Maritime, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England (2015) Reviewed by Ed Calouro Devotees of big-gun battleships apparently cannot get their fill. In Battleships: WWII Evolution of the Big Guns, prolific author Philip Kaplan has completed his third volume in the “Images of War” series about these warships. In 2004, Kaplan wrote
