Military History

Reviewed by Rear Admiral Sonny Masso USN (RET) and Mr. Apollo Cobbins As the Executive Director of the Naval Historical Foundation, I receive scores of wonderful books on a fairly frequent basis to send out to our team of volunteers to read and write book reviews for publication in our Thursday Tidings Naval Historical Foundation weekly post. I generally filter through these books to personally select something with a topic I am highly interested in to read and review. When I came upon Cats in the Navy by Scot Christenson, I knew this was not just the book for me to read, but also to share with my seven-year-old grandson, Apollo Cobbins. Apollo is entering the thir…

Late last week we were saddened to learn of the passing of the Honorable Steve Honigman on July 26, 2022 in his sleep at Mt. Sinai in New York of stomach cancer. He was 74 years old. Mr. Honigman joined the NHF Board of Directors in 2012 and was a very active supporter of the organization’s mission. Upon hearing the news, NHF Chairman Adm. William J. Fallon reflected: “Steve was a strong advocate for the value of sea power who donated many hours of pro bono time on our behalf. His smiling countenance and sage advice will be missed.” Born on May 14, 1948, Mr. Honigman grew up in Brooklyn and eventually earned a BA at New York University and a JD from Yale. From 1973-1977 h…

Reviewed by Ens. Sydney M. Willis, USN Homecomings is a collection of photos of the Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels. This book is primarily comprised of photographs sprinkled with anecdotes, poems, and descriptions providing background for the photos. Laura Bogan is the officially licensed Navy photographer for the Blue Angels and their affiliated association and foundation. In her introduction, Bogan explains her connection to the Blue Angels and how this project began. She describes the intention of the book and the photos it contains as an attempt to portray the feeling of inspiration, awe, and passion the Blue Angels give on their Sunday flig…

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Leo Marriott’s Naval Battles of the Second World War: The Atlantic and Mediterranean offers a brief glimpse of select naval engagements involving the Royal Navy engaged against their major European foes, the Italian and German fleets. Marriott is an established author with multiple books about a range of military, naval, and aviation topics covering mostly World War II and the Cold War. This 160-page book consists of nineteen brief sections divided into two larger segments as “Part I” which focuses on the Atlantic Ocean and NW Europe beginning with the Battle of the River Plate and “Part II,” which focuses on the Mediterranean ending wit…

Reviewed by Lt Col Geoffrey R. Brasse, U.S. Air Force Authors frequently engage in military history storytelling through eloquent discussions about battles, outcomes, victories, and defeats. These stories often focus on the personalities of the military leaders, with few details about those participating in the conflict. Former foreign correspondent and corporate writer Robin Knight, in his book Leaders: Profiles in Courage and Bravery in War and Peace 1917-2020, focuses on individual contributions to war history from a single educational source, The Nautical College, Pangbourne in Berkshire County, England. Founded in 1917 to improve cadet training for service in the…

The Commodore Dudley Knox Medal Presentation Luncheon at the Army Navy Country Club (Arlington, VA) on Thursday, 25 August 2022. We will be honoring historians Donald Bittner and Norman Friedman! Details to follow! The post 2022 Knox Medal Presentation — Save the Date first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz John J. Domagalski’s Escape from Java: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the USS Marblehead delves into the gut-wrenching experiences of an aging light cruiser caught up in the early Pacific War as part of the US Asiatic Fleet. Almost lost to enemy air attack and badly damaged during the Battle of the Flores Sea, the Marblehead’s crew fought desperately to keep their ship afloat which ultimately saved the day. Domagalski is a historian with multiple books and articles to his credit, often focusing on the Pacific War. The book consists of thirty-three chapters broken into several larger sections such as “War Clouds”, “Pacific in Flam…

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Marc Lohnstein’s The Netherlands East Indies Campaign 1941-42: Japan’s Quest for Oil covers a typically unheeded early Pacific campaign, fought for the resource rich Dutch East Indies, which showcased a dysfunctional Allied coalition effort conducted under fraught circumstances exacerbated by prewar decisions but which fought desperately until overwhelmed. Lohnstein is a historian, assistant curator of the Royal Home for Retired Military Personnel and Bronbeek Museum in Arnhem, and a writer who focuses on Dutch colonial topics.This 96-page Osprey monograph is divided into several sections: “Origins of the Campaign,” “Chronology,” “Opposi…

Reviewed by CAPT Richard Dick, USN (Ret.). Graham A. Thomas is a historian, biographer, journalist, and theatrical producer. He has written for the UK Ministry of Defence and has been editor of the British Army Review, the army’s official academic journal. He specializes in the history of the British Army and Royal Air Force in World War II and the Korean Conflict but has also written several books on the histories and biographies of pirates and pirate hunters. This book grew out of the author’s research on Captain Woodes Rogers, a Royal Navy pirate hunter and commerce raider in the Caribbean in the early eighteenth century. Pirate Killers looks primarily at the…

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Charles Melson’s Vietnam 1972: Quang Tri – The Easter Offensive Strikes the South provides a concise look at the role played by the South Vietnamese Marine Corps (VNMC) and their US Marine Corps (USMC) advisors during Hanoi’s 1972 Easter Offensive. The South Vietnamese defenders, in particular the VNMC, alongside American air and naval support acted as a temporary validation of President Nixon’s Vietnamization policy and forestalled the catastrophic fall of Saigon for several years. Melson is a prolific author and the former Chief Historian for the U.S. Marine Corps, with many titles to his credit chronicling the U.S. Marine experience an…

Reviewed by Jeff Schultz Ben Skipper’s Landing Craft & Amphibians: Seaborne Vessels in the 20th Century briefly delves into the interesting world of landing craft and amphibians involved in various conflicts in the 20th century from World War II to the present. While it is not authoritative, it does detail many such craft with useful sections for modelers. Skipper is an RAF veteran and freelance writer with several “Pen and Sword” titles to his credit such as The Battles of El Alamein in the “BattleCraft” series and several others in the “LandCraft” series about the Land Rover, Humvee and M113 Armored Personnel Carrier. This 64-page A4 format monograph is divi…

Dear Naval Historical Foundation Board Members: Attached you will find a series of documents to be reviewed prior to our Board Meeting on Saturday, 11 June 20122. We look forward to seeing you virtually and briefing you on the latest developments. You can find information about the Annual Meeting and Leighton Lecture, and how to attend virtually, HERE. 2022 NHF Annual Meeting Agenda 2021 NHF Annual Meeting Minutes Annual Report The post 2022 NHF Annual Meeting Read-Ahead Materials first appeared on Naval Historical Foundation. View the full article

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. Vincent P. O’Hara is an independent naval historian and the author of thirteen works, including Six Victories: North Africa, Malta, and the Mediterranean Convoy War, November 1941-March 1942 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2019) and with Leonard R. Heinz, Clash of Fleets: Naval Battles of the Great War, 1914-18 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2017). He holds a history degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Leonard R. Heinz worked for many years as a financial services lawyer while maintaining an active interest in military and naval history. He has written articles and designed wargames on naval topics and earned …

Reviewed by Charles C. Kolb, Ph.D. Mrs. Smoot is an intelligence historian who is especially interested in 20th-century cryptology and communication and has published in Cryptologia, Federal History Journal, and Intelligence and National Security; she retired from the Center for Cryptologic History (CCH) of the National Security Agency in 2017. She is also the author of the forthcoming CCH monograph From the Ground Up: American Cryptology during World War I, and a frequent lecturer at the Cryptologic History Symposia, including the May 12, 2022, meeting where she presented “The Case for Parker Hitt as the Father of American Military Cryptology.” In October 2007…

Reviewed by Capt. Richard Dick, USN (Ret.) Dr. Richard Hingley’s new book provides a fresh assessment of the Roman conquest of Britain from Julius Caesar’s first raid in 55 B.C. through the building of Hadrian’s Wall (roughly along the current border between England and Scotland) to about 130 A.D. Hingley also adds a higher-level overview of Rome’s short-lived efforts under Emperors Antoninus Pius and Septimius Severus to push the border of Roman Britain to the edge of the Scottish Highlands and to establish a network of client chieftains even further north. The book assesses the factors that led to the initial attack and subsequent invasion, as well as Rome’s s…

By David F. Winkler, Ph.D. Staff Historian Ten years ago, delegations from the U.S. and Russian Federations met at the Naval Observatory to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Incidents at Sea Agreement (IncSea) on May 25, 1972, as part of the Nixon- Brezhnev Summit held in Moscow. After a historical overview provided by this author and reflections provided by the former Secretary of the Navy – John W. Warner – who negotiated the accord representing the United States, shot glasses were filled and gulps of vodka marked a festive occasion. Now with the fiftieth anniversary falling on the first anniversary of the passing of Warner, with a ground …

Reviewed by Capt. C. Herbert Gilliland Jr., USN (Ret.) Waking from a drunken evening, newly minted dive-bomber pilot Robert Steele finds himself in Pearl Harbor aboard the battleship Oklahoma. From that ominous moment, almost as though he wanted to cover the entire Pacific war in this single book, retired Navy Captain Deutermann shows us life and death in various terrifying ways at sea, as well as ashore. The novel’s title comes from the nickname for an air squadron newbie, which Steele is when he reports to Enterprise’s air group. Taking part in the Battle of Midway, “Nugget” scores a direct hit on a Japanese carrier and earns the new nickname “Fish.” Caught up …

Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad In his autobiography, Charles H. Bogart has provided readers with a thoroughly enjoyable look at his experiences in the United States Navy from 1958-1961. Written with a good sense of humor, the book provides an intimate look into the day-to-day experiences of young men on board the radar picket destroyer, U.S.S. Dennis J. Buckley (DDR 808), that operated out of Long Beach, California. Bogart served as a radarman, occasionally worked at “mess cooking,” and even attended firefighting school. Bogart takes his readers through three years of enlisted service from Boot Camp to Radar School to four West-Pac journeys. “Denny J’s” travels incl…

Reviewed by Dr. Ernie Marshall The author is an award-winning freelance journalist and independent author/historian whose previous books include: The Millionaire’s Unit: The Aristocrat Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power; 1941: Fighting the Shadow War; and The Bonfire: The Siege and Burning of Atlanta. With half a score of books written about Admiral Rickover, Wortman’s book is largely a retelling of the story but with his interpretive view of the man. Rickover is one of the most interesting figures in U.S. Naval history. He was born Chaim Godalia Rykower in the small Polish town of Mako’w-Mazowiecki to devoutly orthodox Jewish parents…

Reviewed by Ed Calouro Battleship buffs and authorities on capital ships are familiar with the dictum that once HMS Dreadnought was commissioned in 1906, all existing battleships thereby became obsolete. Indeed, all-big-gun battleships from 1906 forward were considered dreadnoughts or, subsequently, super-dreadnoughts. Capital ships built before 1906 with a mixed or intermediate main armament, were thereafter termed pre-dreadnoughts. Chris McNab, author of Dreadnoughts and Super-Dreadnoughts, takes a more nuanced approach in his book about these epoch-setting ships. A July 18, 1910 article in The Times concluded the construction of HMS Dreadnought resulted in more o…