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BOOK REVIEW – The Royal Navy in the Age of Austerity 1919-22: Naval and Foreign Policy under Lloyd George

By G. H. Bennett, Bloomsbury, London, UK (2016) Reviewed by Joseph Moretz, Ph.D. Having successfully met the greatest threat to British maritime dominance since the Napoleonic era, the Royal Navy emerging victorious from the World War still faced an uncertain future. The building programs of formal and informal allies, Japan and the United States, respectively,

BOOK REVIEW – End of Empire – 100 Days in 1945 that Changed Asia and the World

By David P. Chandler, Robert Cribb and Li Narangoa, NIAS Press, Copenhagen, Denmark (2016) Reviewed by Charles H Bogart The hundred days that this book is concerned with are the days between 5 August and 12 November 1945. The book begins on 5 August 1945, as this is the day the U.S. dropped the A-bomb

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 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 – 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

Noted Historian Weighs in on Recent Naval History Scholarship

This past September, our Digital Content Developer posted a recap of the McMullen Naval History Symposium, which included his own personal thoughts on the state of naval history. The post elicited this essay by long-time NHF member Dr. Christopher McKee. We welcome such dialog on a subject so important to the nation. Please consider joining

BOOK REVIEW – The Supercarriers: The Forrestal and Kitty Hawk Classes

By Andrew Faltum, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by Mark Lardas They were the first aircraft carriers designed from the keel up to operate jet aircraft. When they appeared, they were so big a jump over their World War II predecessors; they were considered not just aircraft carriers, but rather supercarriers. And now

BOOK REVIEW – Oil, Ice, and Bone: Arctic Whaler Nathaniel Ransom

By Helen Hiller Frink, Peter E. Randall Publisher, Portsmouth, NH (2015) Reviewed by Ingo Heidbrink, Ph.D. In her book Oil, Ice and Bone, Helen Hiller Frink describes the whaling voyages of Nathaniel Ransom. She begins with his first journey as a fourteen year old boy in 1860 and culminates with the 1871 disaster in which

BOOK REVIEW – They Were Heroes – A Sergeant Major’s Tribute to the Combat Marines of Iraq and Afghanistan

By Sergeant Major David K. Devaney, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired). Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2015) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book is not for the fainthearted to read. Within this book, we encounter fifty-one men, who with the exception of one individual, are all enlisted. The title of the book, however, is slightly

BOOK REVIEW – A Common Virtue: A Novel

By James A. Hawkins, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2014) Reviewed by Colonel Curt Marsh, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (Retired) A Common Virtue is the first novel by author James Hawkins, a former Marine who served during the Vietnam War. The story is about a Marine officer and a young enlisted Marine who lead in