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“A Pitiful, Unholy Mess”: The History of Wheeler, Bellows, and Haleiwa Fields and the Attacks of 7 December 1941

By J. Michael Wenger, Robert J. Cressman, and John F. Di Virgilio, Naval Institute Press (2022) Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. This is the fourth volume in the Pearl Harbor Tactical Series published by the Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. The previous three volumes are No One Avoided Danger: NAS Kaneohe Bay and the

The Road to Pearl Harbor: Great Power War in Asia and the Pacific

John H. Maurer and Erik Goldstein (editors), Naval Institute Press, (2022). Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The editors are well-published senior scholars, well-equipped to undertake the organization and editing of this volume which focuses on the interwar years of two global conflicts. Professor John H. Maurer is the Alfred Thayer Mahan Professor of Sea

First to Go: The History of the USMC Combat Correspondents Association

Jack Paxton (Ed.), St Johann Press, Haworth, New Jersey, 2018. Reviewed by Chris Ketcherside First to Go is a collection of anecdotes from the USMC Combat Correspondents Association, with no specific author credited. It uses significant material from a previous publication, Last to Know, First to Go by Garry Cameron, the unofficial history of Marine

Carrier Killer: China’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the Early 21st Century

By Gerry Doyle and Blake Herzinger, Helion and Company (2022). Reviewed by Joseph F. Greco Much attention has been paid to the Chinese ASBM (Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile) program, a strategy that targets the U.S. Navy’s command over the East and South China Seas. As a consequence, the program brings into question the effectiveness of supercarriers

Soldier Parrott: The Incredible Story of America’s First Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

By J. North Conway. The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2021. Reviewed by Lt. Col. Stephen A. Tribble, Ph.D., U.S. Army The Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH), established in 1861, recognizes acts of valor by military members across the Joint Force and is coveted as the most prestigious United States (U.S.) military medal awarded. Soldier

West Point Admiral: Leadership Lessons From Four Decades of Military Service

By Michael W. Shelton, Morley, Missouri: Acclaim Press, (2022). Reviewed by John E. Fahey, Ph.D. Rear Admiral (ret) Michael W. Shelton took an unusual path to the Navy. In West Point Admiral: Leadership Lessons from Four Decades of Military Service he recounts his time at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Seabee

Unlike Anything that Ever Floated: The Monitor and Virginia and the Battle of Hampton Roads

By Dwight S. Hughes, Savas Beattie, Barnsley, El Dorado Hills, CA, (2021.) Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (RET).  Dwight Hughes’ Unlike Anything That Ever Floated is an excellent overview of the conception, hurried development, and brief (but spectacular) service of the ironclads Monitor and Virginia and the men who built, directed, commanded, and sailed in them. While not the definitive history of either ship, the book covers

To Provide And Maintain a Navy: 1775-1945

By Richard L. Wright, Xlibris (2022) Reviewed By: Michael Romero, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Following the end of the American Revolution, the fledgling United States immediately found itself in dire financial straits. With no funds available to maintain them, the handful of surviving Continental Navy vessels were sold, and the service disbanded. The ratification of the

The Darkest Hour, Volume 2: The Japanese Offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942 – The Attack against Ceylon and the Eastern Fleet

By Michał A. Piegzik Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. The initial volume in this two-part work, The Darkest Hour, Volume 1: The Japanese Naval Offensive in the Indian Ocean 1942 – The Opening Moves, was reviewed by me and published in Thursday Tidings on 1 September 2022: navyhistory.org/2022/08/the-darkest-hour-volume-1-the-japanese-naval-offensive-in-the-indian-ocean-1942-the-opening-moves/. The concluding volume became available on

To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth, The Epic Hunt for the South’s Most Feared Ship
– and the Greatest Sea Battle of the Civil War

By Phil Keith with Tom Clavin, Hanover Square Press [HarperCollins], (2022) Reviewed by John Grady “To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth” is one of the best works aimed at a general audience on the naval aspects of the Civil War. Phil Keith and Tom Clavin have brought back to life one of the most

Short Sunderland: the “Flying Porcupines” in the Second World War

By Andrew Hendrie; Pen and Sword, Barnsley, UK, (2022). (Reprint) Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (Ret.) Andrew Hendrie’s Short Sunderland is a comprehensive operational portrait of the most famous British World War II maritime patrol aircraft. The author’s impressive research briefly covers the aircraft’s development, entry into service, production, and modification, and particularly its