Progressives in Navy Blue: Maritime Strategy, American Empire, and the Transformation of U.S. Naval Identity, 1873-1898 By Scott Mobley, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. (2017). Reviewed by CDR John T. Kuehn, USN (Ret.) This book is part of a series edited by historians Chris Bell and Jim Bradford published by the Naval Institute. It
New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the 18th McMullen Naval Symposium Edited by Lori Lyn Bogle and James C. Rentfrow, Naval War College, (2018). Reviewed by Stephen D. Regan, Ed.D. This collection of papers is a wonderful surprise. Usually scholarly historical symposium papers are pedantic, boring, poorly written treatises about obscure and
The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn: An Untold Story of the American Revolution By Robert P. Watson, Da Capo Press, (2017). Reviewed by Chief Warrant Officer Darien J. Garland, United States Marine Corps Under dark and gray skies, the HMS Jersey sits ominously off the coast of Brooklyn in the calm waters of Wallabout Bay.
US Flush-Deck Destroyers 1916-45: Caldwell, Wickes and Clemson Classes (New Vanguard #259) By Mark Lardas, illustrated by Johnny Shumate & Julian Baker, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, (2018). Reviewed by Jeffrey Schultz Mark Lardas’s US Flush-Deck Destroyers 1916-45 sheds light on the typically overlooked story of the WWI-era US Navy distinctive four funnel (or “four-piper”) destroyers.
Navy Greenshirt: A Leader Made, Not Born By Diane J. Diekman, Altruria Publishing Company, Clear Lake, South Dakota. (2001). Reviewed by Captain Lee Duckworth, USN (Ret.) Captain Diane J. Diekman’s Navy Greenshirt: A Leader Made, Not Born, is a short book that delivers a message well beyond the expectations of the typical military member’s
Gunboats on the Great Lakes 1866-68, The British Navy’s show of force at the time of Confederation By Cheryl MacDonald, James Lorimer and Company, Toronto, (2017). Reviewed by John Grady Gunboats of the Great Lakes is a “what if” book; and the “if” is directly connected to the untimely death of the author, Cheryl
Learning War: The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine in the U.S. Navy, 1898-1945 By Trent Hone, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2018) Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Admiral John Harvey always opened talks with naval audiences by stacking a small pile of recently published books on the podium and urging his listeners to acquire
Target America – Hitler’s Plan to Attack the United States By James P. Duffy, The Lyons Press, Guilford, CT, (2012) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. Over the past quarter century, James P. Duffy has written nearly two dozen books, mostly about military history with the majority of these focusing on the European Theater
The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India By Raoul McLaughlin, Pen and Sword Maritime Books, Yorkshire and Philadelphia, (2018) Reviewed by Janet Nolan, Ph. D. A graduate of Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s first Integrated School, Raoul McLaughlin has written a remarkable book
White Water Red Hot Lead: On Board U.S. Navy Swift Boats in Vietnam By Dan Daly, Casemate Publishers, Philadelphia, (2017) Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad, Ph.D., Missouri University of Science and Technology Approximately 3,500 men served in the Swift Boat units during the Vietnam War over a period of six years. Dan Daly’s excellent
Graf Zeppelin: The Only German Aircraft Carrier By Jürgen Prommersberger, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, (2017) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess “Graf Zeppelin” is a name to conjure with. Most people know it as the name of the pioneering passenger dirigible which made 143 Atlantic crossings, most on commercial service. Less know of her successor,
Warship 2018 John Jordan, Ed., Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK and New York, NY, (2018) Reviewed by Capt. Howard R. Portnoy USN (Ret.) The first hardcover volume in the Warship series appeared in 1977. It was the follow-on to a successful quarterly magazine with the same title. New volumes would be issued annually and would
