Ginter, Steve with Joe Weathers, Jr. Vought SB2U Vindicator. 2018. 249 pp. Ill. $52.95. Number 106 in the successful Naval Fighters series, this new book is one of a few dedicated to Vought’s dive-bomber that saw very little combat but flew under at least three colors—U.S., French and British. Perhaps best known for
The Armament Tide: Rearming America By RADM Stuart Franklin Platt (Ret.), Granville Island Publishing, Vancouver, Canada, (2002). Reviewed by Jon S. Middaugh, Ph.D When published in 2002, The Armament Tide envisioned a Pentagon soon to be awash in the waves of procurement dollars that typically flow during times of war. Such large amounts
Incidents at Sea: American Confrontations and Cooperation with Russia and China 1945-2016 by David F. Winkler, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2017). Reviewed by Charles Bogart The Cold War was exceptionally “cold” on land, as there were very few confrontations between Soviet and American ground forces along the land border between NATO and
In the Shadow of Greatness: The Voices of Leadership, Sacrifice, and Service from America’s Longest War By Joshua Welle, John Ennis, Katherine Kranz, and Graham Plaster, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. (2012). Reviewed by Capt. Lee Duckworth, USN (Ret.) In the Shadow of Greatness: Voices of Leadership, Sacrifice, and Service from America’s Longest
By Craig L. Symonds, Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2016) Reviewed by Jason W. Smith, PhD It is often a pleasure to read short books, and Craig Symonds’ The U.S. Navy: A Concise History does not disappoint. Symonds, professor emeritus at the United States Naval Academy, is an eminent scholar of naval history whose
By Joseph Moretz, Helion & Company, West Midlands, UK (2014) Reviewed by CDR Benjamin Armstrong, PhD The years following the Great War have become something of a favorite of modern day military analysts in search of historical analogy. The development of innovative doctrine, the introduction and assimilation of new technologies, and struggles with fluctuating fiscal
By Mark Stille, New Vanguard Series, Osprey Publishing, New York, NY (2017) Reviewed by Michael F. Solecki There were three major types of aircraft carriers in World War II (WWII). The first, very expensive “fleet” carriers, were large, fast, heavily armored, and armed for self-defense, carried over 80 planes designed with major strike and long-range
By Thomas J. Cutler, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2017) Reviewed by Nathan Albright In an era where service in the United States military or reserves is no longer a general expectation of a large body of citizens, there can be a vast gulf of ignorance and misunderstanding between the military and the families of
By Timothy C. Winegard, University of Toronto Press; Toronto, Buffalo, and London, UK (2016) Reviewed by Phillip G. Pattee In his latest book, The First World Oil War, Oxford Ph.D. and Colorado Mesa University professor Timothy C. Winegard argues that the Great War was the first time in history that territory was conquered and occupied
Edited by Pamela Ackerson. Self-published, (2016) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This self-published monograph was compiled by Ms. Ackerson to preserve the family history of Aviation Chief Radioman Henry Lawrence’s service in World War II. The audience at which the book is directed is family and friends. Henry Lawrence, in June 1940 at the age
By Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Penguin Press, New York (2017) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans is a companion to The Accidental Admiral, Admiral Stavridis’ earlier best seller that provided many Americans with a basic education in national and global security. Stavridis, the first
By Jan Rüger. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK (2017) Reviewed by Alan M. Anderson, Ph.D. Heligoland rises abruptly and unexpectedly in the southeastern corner of the North Sea. Featuring dramatic cliffs rising more than 160 feet, it is a small, triangular island less than four-tenths of a square mile in area. Along with the nearby
By Ronald J. Drez, Pelican Press, New York, NY (2017) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. In my assessment of Attack on Pearl Harbor: Strategy, Combat, Myths, Deceptions (Alan D. Zimm, Philadelphia and Oxford: Casemate Publishers, 2014), I pointed out that “WorldCat (an international library catalog) listed 18,353 publications and other media on the Japanese
By Reed Robert Bonadonna, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2017) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA No one disputes that the growth and development of warfare have been functions of the advance of civilization, but the contributions of war to human progress may be less obvious. Many argue that violent conflict reflects little more than
By Bruce A. Castleman, State University Press, Albany, NY (2016) Reviewed by Charles Bogart The reviewer doubts that today even one in a million Americans could identify Commodore John David Sloat; however, there was a time when he was well-known across the country. Depending on one’s political views, Commodore Sloat was praised or damned. This
