By Aaron McDougal, 2014 NHF Summer Intern Today marks the annual Flag Day celebration commemorating the adoption of the Star Spangled Banner as the national flag in 1777. The importance of the flag as the symbol of our country cannot be stressed enough. In light of this, it seems appropriate to draw attention to a
By John Schork, Jupiter-Pixel Press, Jupiter, FL (2008) Reviewed by Paul W. Murphey, Ph.D., CDR, CHC, USN (Retired) I was utterly surprised by this novel of naval aviation in the Pacific during World War II. It was a radical departure from the way I knew the author to approach any task. His creativity astounded me.
By Youssef Aboul-Enein and Basil Aboul-Enein, Naval Institute Pree, Annapolis, MD (2013) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The Secret War for the Middle East: The Influence of Axis and Allied Intelligence Operations during World War II should not be confused with Andrew Rathmell’s Secret War in the Middle East: The Covert Struggle for Syria,
By Michael F. Dilley, Casemate, Philadelphia, PA and Oxford, England (2013) Reviewed by Stephen K. Stein, Ph.D. Since the 9/11 attacks, U.S. Special Forces have received a growing amount of media attention. Numerous books describe and analyze their recent operations. Michael F. Dilley, a writer and editor for Behind the Lines magazine, returns to the modern
By Thomas Wildenberg, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2013) Reviewed by Captain J. F. “Bookie” Boland, U.S. Navy (Retired) Colonel Billy Mitchell, an iconic and controversial figure in United States aviation history, is the subject of an important new book by independent historian Thomas Wildenberg. Although Mitchell’s life and military service is examined in innumerable
By Benjamin F. Armstrong, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2013) Reviewed by Capt. Scott Mobley, USN (Ret.) Despite Alfred Thayer Mahan‘s tremendous influence upon naval policy, national security affairs, and international politics during the early 20th century, many people today regard his ideas as curious artifacts of a bygone era. In his time, Mahan achieved
At the Crossroads Between Peace and War: The London Naval Conference of 1930 By John H. Maurer and Christopher M. Bell, Eds., Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. (2014) Reviewed by Joseph Moretz The naval conference that met in London from January to April 1930 is instructive to the modern observer for the light it shines
Race to the Top of the World: Richard Byrd and the First Flight to the North Pole By Sheldon Bart, Regnery History, Washington, DC (2013) Reviewed by Ingo Heidbrink, Ph.D. Race to the Top of the World, by Sheldon Bart, not only opens again the question if Richard E. Byrd reached the North Pole on
By Thomas F. Jaras, iUniverse, (2013). Reviewed by Thomas P. Ostrom This book drew my attention because of my time in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve in the 1960s. Between 1940 and 1980, the USCG had Ocean Station vessels in the Atlantic and Pacific performing a variety of national defense initiatives. These included search and
By Bill Ardolino, Naval Institute Press Annapolis, (2013). Reviewed by John Grady Bill Ardolino, associate editor of the Long War Journal, wrote a telling account of counterinsurgency warfare and its costs. In no place does he summarize this struggle better than his narrative of the yearlong struggle of a Marine Reserve unit and Sunni Iraqis
