Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of reviewing The Silver Waterfall: A Novel of the Battle of Midway by retired Captain Kevin Miller, I praised the value of well researched historical fiction as an effective means to convey past events to the reader. In The Expendable, author John
Reviewed by Dr. Richard H. Gribling Leyte 1944: The Soldiers’ Battle was written by Nathan N. Prefer, a military historian with graduate degrees in military history. His prior books include The Battle for Tinian: Vital Stepping Stone in America’s War Against Japan, Eisenhower’s Thorn on the Rhine: The Battles for the Colmar Pocket, 1944-45 and
Reviewed by Tyler Robinson “In the whole range of human activities, war most closely resembles a game of cards.”-Carl Von Clausewitz, On War The Shores of Tripoli was named one of the best two-player games of 2020 by New York magazine, and it has recently been favorably reviewed on the website of the Center for
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Kerry Jang’s Large Scale Warship Models: From Kits to Scratch Building fills an important gap in the literature meant for the ship modeling enthusiast, whether novice or intermediate. This short but lavishly illustrated book provides valuable instruction on how to conceptualize, construct, paint and finish large-scale ship models for display and
Reviewed by Ingo Heidbrink Sometimes there are books that feel special from the very first moment you receive them. Glasgow Museums The Ship Models – A History and Complete Illustrated Catalogue is without any doubt such a book. First of all, catalogues of museum collections have become to a certain degree a rare species, and
Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book consists of two sections, a 52-page introduction written by Norman Friedman and 173 pages of line drawings executed by the late John Lambert. These line drawings show both the profiles of World War II Royal Navy destroyers and the weapon systems they carried. With the death of John
Reviewed by Major Chris Ketcherside, USMC (Ret.) Lucian Read is a photojournalist who was embedded with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit during the fighting for An Najaf and then later with 3rd Bn, 1st Marines during the assault on Fallujah. All of Which I Saw is a selection of photographs and journal entries he made during
Reviewed by RADM Edward Masso, USN (Ret.) Ambassador J William Middendorf II has written a clarion call to attention for all policy makers in his recently published book, “The Great Nightfall” How We Win the New Cold War. Drawing from his substantial career in public service where he served as a Naval Officer in World
Reviewed by LCDR David K. Sturges, USNR (Ret.) “Experience keeps a dear school.” Retired RADM Tom Jurkowsky’s new book gives fresh and useful meaning to that old saying of Benjamin Franklin. His “Secret Sauce for Organizational Success.” recounts his 45 years of exceptional communication and public affairs leadership within a rare, three-way panoply of military,
Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is one of the most written about military events in the history of the United States. For example, WorldCat lists 11,700 items in various formats, among these, as of February 2021, are 8,821 books and e-books, 2,604,articles and book chapters, and 1,759 videos
Reviewed by LCDR Brian Hayes, USNR In 2017, New York Times sports reporter Victor Mather wrote an article entitled “The Best College Football Team You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.” He was referring to Iowa Pre-Flight, one of dozens of armed forces football programs that competed against collegiate teams (and each other) during the world wars and
Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart Anyone who has studied the United States’ Antebellum period has, during the course of one’s reading, encountered snippets or lengthy excerpts from the Diary of Anton Reiff. Until now, if you wanted to read Reiff’s complete diary, you had to travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and make arrangements to visit
Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Abraham Rabinovich’s The Boats of Cherbourg: The Navy That Stole Its Own Boats and Revolutionized Naval Warfare takes the reader on a rollicking ride through an early Cold War techno-thriller which does not disappoint. A mixture of diplomacy, desperation, rank skullduggery, and above all clever statecraft; this timely nonfiction account sheds
Reviewed by Tyler Robinson In the decades since he worked as a consultant at the Historical Evaluation Research Organization under the esteemed military historian and theorist Colonel Trevor Dupuy (author of The Encyclopedia of Military History), James Bloom has contributed hundreds of shorter works to journals, encyclopedias, and books focused on ancient, maritime, and military
Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. During World War II, Hamburg, Germany’s second largest city – an industrial center with oil refineries, extensive shipyards, and U-boat pens — endured 115 British Royal Air Force strategic bombing raids (1939-1945), one of which in July 1943, code named Operation Gomorrah, created a huge firestorm killing an estimated
