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Gunboats on the Great Lakes

Gunboats on the Great Lakes 1866-68, The British Navy’s show of force at the time of Confederation By Cheryl MacDonald, James Lorimer and Company, Toronto, (2017). Reviewed by John Grady   Gunboats of the Great Lakes is a “what if” book; and the “if” is directly connected to the untimely death of the author, Cheryl

The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean

The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India By Raoul McLaughlin, Pen and Sword Maritime Books, Yorkshire and Philadelphia, (2018) Reviewed by Janet Nolan, Ph. D.   A graduate of Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s first Integrated School, Raoul McLaughlin has written a remarkable book

White Water, Red Hot Lead

White Water Red Hot Lead: On Board U.S. Navy Swift Boats in Vietnam By Dan Daly, Casemate Publishers, Philadelphia, (2017) Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad, Ph.D., Missouri University of Science and Technology   Approximately 3,500 men served in the Swift Boat units during the Vietnam War over a period of six years. Dan Daly’s excellent

Graf Zeppelin: The Only German Aircraft Carrier

Graf Zeppelin: The Only German Aircraft Carrier By Jürgen Prommersberger, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, (2017) Reviewed by Robert P. Largess   “Graf Zeppelin” is a name to conjure with. Most people know it as the name of the pioneering passenger dirigible which made 143 Atlantic crossings, most on commercial service. Less know of her successor,

Soviet Destroyers of World War II

Osprey’s Soviet Destroyers of World War II (New Vanguard #256) by Alexander Hill; illustrated by Felipe Rodriguez Reviewed by Jeff Schultz   Alexander Hill’s Soviet Destroyers of World War II fills an important gap in the neglected story of the tragedy and triumph of Soviet naval operations in World War II. Hill’s background in Soviet

The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History

The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History By Josh Dean,  Dutton, New York, (2017). Review by Capt. William H. Johnson USN (Ret.)   As of 2018, many of the details of Project AZORIAN — the recovery of part of

American Sea Power in the Old World: The United States Navy in European and Near Easter Waters, 1865 – 1917

American Sea Power in the Old World: The United States Navy in European and Near Eastern Waters, 1865-1917 By William N. Still Jr. Annapolis, MD, Naval Institute Press, (2018). Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart   This book is a paperback reissue of the original edition published in 1980, which has not only withstood the test

Ingram’s Fourth Fleet: U.S. and Royal Navy Operations Against German Runners, Raiders, and Submarines in the South Atlantic in World War II By Cdr. David D. Bruhn, USN (Ret.). Heritage Books, Berwyn Heights, MD, (2017) Reviewed by Charles Bogart   Commander Bruhn has crafted an excellent introductory book about an important but forgotten theater of

Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?

  Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? By Graham Allison Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, NY, (2017)   Reviewed by Randall Fortson   Looking Back to Find a Way Forward Thucydides concluded that the underlying reason for war between Athens and Sparta, a war that neither side wanted, was the rise

Morning Star, Midnight Sun

Morning Star, Midnight Sun: The Early Guadalcanal Solomons Naval Campaign of World War II By Jeffrey R. Cox, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, (2018).   Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D.   Morning Star, Midnight Sun represents the author’s second foray into the war in the Pacific. His Rising Sun, Falling Skies, The Disastrous Java Sea

Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules of Law

Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules of Law By Jeremy Rabkin, John Yoo,: Encounter Books, New York, NY. (2017).   Reviewed by John Grady   Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules of Law is a thought-provoking and disturbing book. It fits well into the manner

Blue versus Purple: The U.S. Naval War College, the Soviet Union, and the New Enemy in the Pacific, 1946

Blue versus Purple: The U.S. Naval War College, the Soviet Union, and the New Enemy in the Pacific, 1946. By Hal Friedman, Naval War College Press, Newport, RI. 2017.   Reviewed by Corbin Williamson, Ph.D.   Hal Friedman likes trilogies.[1] His first three books (the American Lake series) examined the strategic, political, and administrative history