By Robert G. Kay, Author House, Bloomington, IN (2011). Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart In 1966, the author, as a Navy Lt. (JG) with his marriage collapsing in divorce, volunteered for duty as a Naval Advisor in Vietnam to allow him to refocus his life and to help his promotional opportunities. Robert Kay would complete
By Bernard Thomas Nolan, Xlibris Corporation, Bloomington, IN (2012). Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion, Ph.D. Privately published memoirs constitute a mixed-bag of literature, with many generally offering more opinion than substance. However, bomber pilot Bernard Thomas Nolan’s Isaiah’s Eagles Rising constitutes a very definite exception to this “rule.” It is at times a gripping account
Written and Illustrated by Wayne Vansant. Zenith Press, Minneapolis, MN. (2012) Reviewed by John R. Satterfield, DBA. Scholars, writers, history buffs, movie producers and participants have minutely explored D-Day and the Normandy campaign. Thanks to thousands of books, articles and dramatic and documentary films, we are able to trace the activities and experiences of nearly
By Joshus Welle, John Ennis, Katherine Kranz, and Graham Plaster, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD (2012) Reviewed by Stephen Phillips All midshipmen realize that they have volunteered for service. However, as they started the fall semester of their senior year, the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2002 could not have predicted that they would become
In a ceremony held at the Navy Museum’s Cold War Gallery, at the Washington Navy Yard on 21 March 2013, five USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Sailors were recognized for their outstanding leadership in the “Big E” during its final year of operational service in a storied 51-year career. The Naval Historical Foundation arranged for
“1944: Seventy Years On” An International Conference 14-17 April 2014 Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Global War Studies and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst are pleased to announce an international conference on the Second World War with 1944 as the core theme. This was a year of decision in many theaters with the Allies advancing to
By Jack Ferrell, edited by Megan Burns, Waldenhouse Publishers, Athens, TN, (2010). Reviewed by Charles Bogart This is a nicely written account of one man’s life: service in the Navy as a regular and reserve officer, a pilot for United Airlines, and the golden years of retirement. Within the book, the author also takes time
By Mark Lardas, Osprey Publishing, (2011) Reviewed by Thomas P. Ostrom The author, Mark Lardas, brings a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering to his analysis of this epic American Civil War naval battle; as well as experience in writing as a military historian, and ship modeler. The book is enhanced with magnificent illustrations
Evelyn Cherpak, Ed. Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, (2009). Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. This fascinating volume offers an inside look at a young naval officer’s encounters with several of the signature moments of American military and diplomatic history between 1898 and 1901. Joseph K. Taussig (1877-1947) was at Annapolis when the Spanish-American
By Thomas P. Ostrom., McFarland & Company, Jefferson, NC. (2012). Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart Anyone interested in the United States Coast Guard will want to read this well-written and researched book. The book consists of fifteen chapters and three appendices. Each chapter and appendices is a stand-alone article on the history of the Coast
By Kevin Bash and Brigitte Louxtel. Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant SC. (2011) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book is part of the Images of America series. Norco, California, is located some 50 miles east of Long Beach. On 8 November 1941, the U.S. Navy began proceedings to purchase the bankrupt 700-acre Norconian Resort and
By Angus Konstam, illus. by Paul Wright, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK. (2012). Reviewed by Richard P. Hallion, Ph.D. Generally speaking, light cruisers have not received as much attention from historians and novelists as have other vessels, though they have figured in two of the great novels of naval warfare—C. S. Forester’s The Ship, and Alistair
By Linda Kush, Osprey Publishing, (2012) Reviewed by David Kronenfeld The Rice Paddy Navy relates the unique story of the Sino-American Cooperation Organization (SACO), an intelligence and special operations unit of the US Navy in China during World War II. Author Linda Kush has expended significant research in the writing of her first book length
By Mark E. Stille, with contributors, Osprey Publishing, Long Island City, NY (2012) Reviewed by Michael F. Solecki The naval frigates known as “destroyers” first came into their own in the Pacific Theater of World War II. These ships evolved out of the 1890s from the need to counter smaller torpedo boats used to attack
By Lt. Col. George A. Larson (USAF Ret.), Merriam Press, (2012). Reviewed by Jan Churchill The author says this book “is based, 50 per cent, on my father George W. Larson’s World War II service with the 135th United States Naval Construction Battalion or Seabees.” It combines personal biography, first-hand accounts, military assessment, documents and
