Sovereigns of the Sea: The Quest to Build the Perfect Renaissance Battleship Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is a great introduction to the early history of fighting ships armed with gunpowder weapons. It starts at the dawn of gunpowder artillery and ends with the first real Ship of the Line, Sovereign of the Seas.
It has enough technical details to please anyone who is already interested in maritime history while being very understandable and entertaining for the general reader.

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Savor the story of the ultimate warship in Sovereigns of the Sea: The Quest to Build the Perfect Renaissance Battleship, which chronicles the history of Sovereign of the Seas, an immensely powerful floating fortress. You will enjoy this gripping tale of an arms race that created and ruined empires, changed the map of the world, and led Europe out of the Renaissance and into the Modern age. Understand how the Sovereign of the Seas became the model for a whole new generation of warships that would dominate naval warfare until the advent of steam power.

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Warfare at Sea, 1500-1650: Maritime Conflicts and the Transformation of Europe (Warfare and History) Review

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(More customer reviews)The author of the remarkable two-volume work "Navies and Nations", Swedish Naval historian Jan Glete, gives us a fine comparative study of Warfare at Sea and its implications for early European states in this accessible, yet solid study. As a naval officer and PhD student in comparative politics, there are in particular two valuable features of the book that I would like to stress. Firstly, Glete has the ability to analyse how navies as organisations were vital aspects of European state formation. This means that he is also able to evaluate macro-sociological theories on state formation. In this way, historical data that have been only partially studied by social scientists are linked to theories that have been created on basis of data on purely territorial modes of violence and sovereignty. Secondly, Glete has a very solid base of empirical data on which to create a comparative macro-analysis. Thus, Glete has managed to avoid tedious narratives, and has rather created a masterful synthesis of historical work. His work on the rise of Nordic sea power, for example, sets the record straight in an area that has been neglected by most scholars of naval history.

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Miniature Ship Models: A History and Collectors Guide Review

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(More customer reviews)If you are a collector of scale ship models in either 1/1200 or 1/1250 scale (or both) buy this book. It will give you the historical background of the hobby and provide an increased appreciation for your collection.
The book avoids the problem of many model related book- it has excellent, sharp photographs of the models. Poor photo reproduction let down the otherwise excellent book on Bassett-Lowke models by Derek Head.
The photos may grab your attention but the text is well written and full of details on how some of the key manufacturers began making models.

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Packed with hundreds of color photographs of the finest examples of miniature ship models in existence, this book traces the history of modern models back to their use as identification aids by the military in World War I, which turned into an industry after the war. It is the first serious history of the industry's development, the commercial rise and fall of companies, and the advancing technology that produced ever more detailed and accurate replicas. The author looks at the products of each manufacturer, rating their quality and suggesting why some are more collectible than others.

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U.S. Warships of World War 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a lifelong Navy buff, and "US Warships of World War II" has been one of my favorites for 30 years. Every American warship in service 1939-45 is included, from battleships to Army troop transports to sub chasers and PT boats. The fate of every ship disposed of prior to the early 1960's is included. It would be great if some buff such as myself (with more time than I have) would research the fate of the other ships and update the book in a new edition, since all but a handful of the ships have been scrapped by now. My only complaint about this book (and the other Ian Allen "Warships of World War II" books) is that the launching date and not the commissioning date is given for each ship. I really wish that the series were reprinted. The only comparable book that I am aware of is "Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II", which has the advantage of including the minor navies.

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Battleships: United States Battleships, 1935-1992 Review

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(More customer reviews)Bill Garzke and Bob Dulin have outdone themselves again. When I was the structural project leader to direct the hull and armor redesigns for the reactivation of the Battleship NEW JERSEY at Long Beach Naval Shipyard (the planning yard for the Battleships), we used their earlier edition of this book as our general guide. Two members of my design team brought in their personal copies and kept them handy so I could include excerpts from them for official Navy memos and instructions. The Naval archives were sorely lacking detailed chemical and heat treating records of the Class A and Class B armor of the Battleships. A quick phone call to Bill Garzke gave me an armor expert on the west coast that had all the data our designers and welding engineers needed. Thanks, Bill. I owe you one. The only thing I have found missing from this edition is the fantastic Gibbs & Cox scheme D Battleship that was half Battleship and half Aircraft Carrier and was actually bought by the Soviet Union in WW II, but never built. In this edition, perhaps the most important section is the one devoted to the disasterous incident of turret II on the IOWA where 47 men were killed. The authors go into meticulous detail as to actual facts and almost every conceivable theory as to what caused the deflageration (not an explosion). However, they are properly cautious as not to force their personal opinions on the reader. Yet they give enough detail, including histories of past turret incidents on other Battleships, so the reader can draw his own conclusions. There are a few typos and descrepancies between the text and the illustrations. For example, the text correctly identifies the powder in the propellent bags as D846 where the illustrations identify it as B846. Also, the elevation sketch indicates that the heavily armored turret bustle hatch was blown off when in fact it was the turret bustle hatch ACCESS PLATFORM below the bustle (overhang) that was blown over the side. But these are miniscule descrepancies only an "insider" like me would know (I was tasked to write a repair procedure). All in all, it is unthinkable that any true Battleship historian or lover would be without this book. Actually, both the 1976 and this 1995 edition should be in every Naval Architect's library. Richard A. Landgraff DREADNAUGHT CONSULTING Long Beach, California

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British Battleships: Warrior 1860 to Vanguard 1950 : A History of Design, Construction and Armament Review

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(More customer reviews)Although written for naval buffs, this book will be of interest to anyone involved in the design of systems. With the coming of steam propulsion, naval architects and technologists had to find the right balance between the three elements of speed, gunpower, and armoured protection. It took them a hundred years, and - the common fate of all systems - as soon as they reached perfection the whole conception of the batleship was obselete. This book (huge, 700 pages in 11 x 9inch format) details the successes, the blind alleys, the debates and personalities - and every British battleship ever built, and the designs of the ones that weren't.

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Iowa Class Battleships: Their Design, Weapons and Equipment Review

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(More customer reviews)Bob Sumrall is very well known among the Naval community and this book is one of his best efforts.Of course, I am a bit prejudice as I was the structural design project leader and hull configuration manager for the reactivation of the 4 ships in the 1980's. In a way, it is a shame that the book was published before the (still debated and despised) inactivation of those tremendous Dreadnoughts. Then the author could have included their last hurrahs at Lebanon (USS NEW JERSEY) and the Arabian Gulf (USS MISSOURI and WISCONSIN). I also would like to have seen his comments on the IOWA turret II "incident". But, the book is more of an overview on the technical aspects of the ships rather than a blow by blow historical log. And that's the way it should be. Garzke and Friedman have put out books of greater technical detail, but not every reader wants that much info. Stillwell is more into the human aspects of the Battleships. Sumrall, on the other hand, justifiably ignores the personal stories but highlights the most important technical nature of the ships. Any Naval historian or student of Naval Architecture should have a copy of this book in their collection.

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THE "WARSPITE": THE FIGHTING LIFE OF THE ROYAL NAVY'S BRAVEST BATTLESHIP (WARSHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY) Review

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(More customer reviews)I really enjoyed this book. The author did a fine job of giving us insight into the career of a very distinguished battleship, perhaps the most active fighting battleship ever. (A battleship is a large heavily armored steel warship with big guns in turrets, built between 1873 and 1944). I recommend this book for anyone interested in battleships. I found it to be a good value.

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Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy: 1939-1945 Review

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(More customer reviews)I have read this book several times. The authors give a clear picture of the Corvette's history; as a class of warship,regarding its development and modification during the war. I heartily recommend the book for its historical perspective. Its store of photographs for the historian and especially for the modeller of that great little ship.

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No other warship is so intimately connected with Canada'snaval heritage as the ubiquitous corvette of WWII.Despite theimportance of the corvette to Canadian history, no reliable history ofthe class has ever been published.This book is a concise and popularaccount of the corvette in Canadian service during WWII.

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Before the Ironclad: The Development of Ship Design, Propulsion, and Armament in the Royal Navy, 1815-60 Review

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(More customer reviews)David Brown provides the reader with a wealth of insight on the workings of wooden ships. He emphasizes wooden warships. An extensive bibliography is provided for further reading.
Brown focuses on the works of Sir Robert Seppings, an early 19th century shipwright who wrote about the deficiencies of wooden shipbuilding. This eventually led to the use of diagonal planking. In an appendix, Brown compares wooden and iron ships: "In a wooden ship, it was the distortion of the sides of the hull which was the major problem. Seppings' analogy of a five-bar gate without the diagonal bar is a good one. Resistance to this change of shape came from friction between the planks which, up to a point, could be increased by hard caulking. Seppings' diagonal trusses were a great improvement but the rows of gun ports still weakened the side structure." (p. 204). Owing to the working of planking, it was impossible to incorporate effective watertight bulkheads (p. 74).
The labor requirements (man-days) for wooden ship construction are provided (p. 170). Brown also gives us statistics on various wooden ships (length, beam, draught, depths, armament, armor, speed, length/beam ratio, mid-section coefficient, prismatic coefficient, etc.) He also includes a graph of bare-hull weight as a function of the ship's dimensions and type (pp. 194-195). The reader may be amazed about how much wood went into wooden ships!


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Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945 Hb Review

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(More customer reviews)Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945 is the culmination of three German naval historians in ttempting to document every combatant to serve in the Imperial Japanese Navy. This is the most complete book on the IJN available and contains excellent data on all major and minor warships.
A useful reference for the modeler, the only weakness is the size of the illustrations, which are mostly in 1/1200 scale. The original German edition had better line drawings, but few photos. The strength of this English edition is the collection of photos, many not seen outside of Japan until now. I would rate this as a 4 1/2 star effort and definitely superior to the book by Watts on the same subject.

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Battleship and Cruiser Aircraft of the United States Navy 1910-1949 Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this book because it fills a missing niche in my aircraft library, even my refrence books only gloss over this aircraft types.
This book is full of photos of the various types of aircraft, quite a few shots of the ships they were on, plenty of action shots in recovery, landing, takeoff, etc. Lots of data tables on what type was assigned where at any given time. Experimental types are shown as are those on smaller ships.
The one thing it lacks is 1st person accounts. Specific stories about pilots doing this or that. It is more of a technical reference than a historical reference of that type. The photo captions do more of telling the tale than the main chapters of the book.
The way it's laid out is a 3-6 page introduction to the chapter. Here are a few of the 1st person accounts. Then depending on the chapter 10-20 pages of aircraft assignments, etc and then 20-30 pages of black and white photos. There are no color photos in the book. I'd estimate that half or over half the book is photos.
This is a very nice reference for a subject usually neglected.


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The New Navy, 1883-1922 (The U.S. Navy Warship Series) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is not at all what I expected...It is basically a compendium/listing of 1883-WWI era ships...photo coverage is minimal, photos are small, and include only one photo per class of major ships, and maybe one photo per every 10-15 classes of minor ships....No photos sequences are included to show evolution of the major, (let alone minor) ship's appearances...There are no line drawings at in it at all....Data coverage of major units BB,CC, ACR is skimpy at best( i.e. no mention of retro fitting of cagemasts or modernizations to early units is mentioned in most classes)......In the book's defense it does include a list of SP class ships sorted by name and a list sorted by hull number as well as listings for the ships of the US Army, NOTS, and the Royal Hawaiian Navy...... However for reference I still vastly prefer the US Warships of WWI (1883-1922) volume by the same author, published by Ian Allen in 1970.......To me the volume is grossly overpriced at $110.00.......I feel that the information and photos contained within earn it a low C- rating and a well deserved place on the bargain table with a 19.95 price tag......After looking this book over I have decided that I most certainly will not be purchasing the other volumes in this series.....

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The third volume of The U.S. Navy Warship Series covers the fifty-year period from 1883-1922. In 1883, Congress authorized the first ships of the "New Navy" and ordered removal of all obsolete ships. All US Navy ships since that time have stemmed from these first three cruisers. The numbering system in effect since 1920 was effectively begun in 1886.The ships built during the next few years fought in the Spanish-American War. The success and popularity of the naval victories of that war together with the acquisition of overseas territories were the impetus for a large naval shipbuilding program. The voyage around the world of the "Great White Fleet" was a prime example of the excitement felt by the American people about the Navy. This led naturally into the fleet of World War I and its vast expansion, terminating with its demobilization after the war and the succeeding naval disarmament treaty of 1992.This book will be arranged following the standard format with sections on Capital Ships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines, Mines Vessels, Patrol Vessels, Tenders, Supply & Transport Ships, Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), and other government departments (Coast Guard, etc.).A further article about Paul Silverstone and the Navy Warships series can be found at: http://www.thejc.com/home.aspxParentId=m11s18s180&SecId=180&AId=58892&ATypeId=1

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The World Encyclopedia of Cruisers: An illustrated history of the cruisers of the world, from the American Civil War to the Royal Navy's last ... warships with 500 identification photographs Review

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(More customer reviews)MR.BERNARD IRELAND is indeed a BRITISH NAVAL SCHOLAR of the world.He has
a lifelong interest in naval history and development, having spent more than 30 years in ship research for the Admiralty in ROYAL NAVAL SCIENTIFIC SERVICE. MR. IRELAND is a REAL EXPERT of WARSHIPS.(please
read my other review of AIRCRAFT CARRIERS by MR.BERNARD IRELAND.)
The CRUISERS is an eye-opener for novice like me about HISTORY, DESIGN,
CONTRUCTIONS, SEA-WARFARES, of the world CRUISERS from Pre-WW I, WW I,
WW II and even to certain period of present time.
It is very interesting to cover such a broad scope of the detailed history of the development of cruisers including so many countries'
naval defense. It is not a easy job!! Mr.BERNARD IRELAND did a great
job for such a good reference for general NAVAL ENTHUSIASTS and in
particularly for young men who might be interested to persuit a career in
NAVY, no matter which country, you are born. Love of SEA, JOIN the NAVY
for NATIONAL SECURITY at SEA. No wonder, the ROYAL BRITISH NAVY is so
advance with the help of brilliant scholar like MR. BERNARD IRELAND!!
However, I would like to suggest Mr.BERNARD IRELAND to publish another
update of this great book in future.(Even the present edition is 2008).
The BOOK: CRUISERS will be more interesting if Mr.IRELAND will cover
more NEW CRUISERS of modern days in COUNTRIES such as: CIS(RUSSIA), there is only one to two pages about USSR, and it's outdated. Then JAPAN's
modern day SELF-DEFENSE NAVY's modern day CRUISERS will be interesting,
then PEOPLE's REPUBLIC of CHINA's MODERN DAY CRUISERS in PRESENT PRC's
NAVY, also TAIWAN's(part of CHINA) also has a NAVAL FORCE. And of course
the most important issue was USA NAVY's coverage was not up to date in
this book!! Mr.Bernard Ireland stopped at the CRUISERS of USA in this book at the:
LONG BEACH (CGN.9) and the CALIFORNIA and VIRGINIA classes only!!
The most important USA CRUISERS such as the GUIDED MISSILE "TICONDEROGA" class CRUISERS which are the Aegis cruisers. Also, the GUIDED MISSILE
"ARLEIGH BURKE" class DESTROYERS which are actually a smaller CRUISER, are
missing in this edition.
Of course, there are the IMPROVED VERSIONS of the both classes too. All these details are missing in this edition of MR. IRELAND's BOOK: CRUISERS,
which making the book outdated and incomplete!!
Again I have strong conviction that MR.IRELAND's books are good books as a primer for HIGH SCHOOL students who are interested with
WARSHIPS!! I strongly recommend every library should keep a volume of
Mr.IRELANDS BOOK!! It is very interesting!!
I am looking forward for MR.IRELAND's future update of this book:
THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA of CRUISERS, 2009 or 2010 perhaps??
I shall share with you my reviews for future editions if you don't mind
my humble opinions!! Until then, I remain your friend from HONG KONG,
CHINA!!
Cheerio!!
BEST REGARDS,
STEPHEN M. YUNG,
HONG KONG,CHINA.
TEL:(852) 97541382 Email:steveyung8@gmail.com

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The cruiser evolved from a variety of powered sailing warships, employed in independent operations. The impact of rapid technological advance during the Victorian era saw the cruiser quickly assume familiar forms.

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Rebuilding the Royal Navy: Warship Design since 1945 Review

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(More customer reviews)The consummately experienced D. K. Brown herein offers an enrapturing look into the design and construction of postwar ships for the Royal Navy. It is not a history of the ships by any means; rather, it is a history of their design. Brown offers insight into designers' minds, discussing why decisions were made and weighing their merit. For example, many wonder why two classes of similarly-sized escorts (Types 42 & 22) were built simultaneously. Brown explains that because of the different roles the ships were designed for, and hence different equipment and other requirements, a common hull would probably have proven less efficient. He also describes in detail the evolution of strategic thinking and design philosophy that came about after the cancellation of the CVA-01 large carrier cancelled in 1966. Together with the politics and economics of modern warship building, Brown reviews some of the advances to the art of naval architecture made by Royal Navy constructors since the last world war, and looks ahead to some new developments on the horizon.

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U.S. Small Combatants, Including Pt-Boats, Subchasers, and the Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has the most detail on the subject of any that I have found. Many line drawings. I only wish that it also had drawings of some of the ship's hull lines suitable for scratchbuilding models. I'm researching my next boat (vietnam 100' PGM) and this book confirmed that it is just an extended USCG 95' patrol boat with additional armament. It is truly the best $42 resource I have ever purchased. Get it, you won't be disappointed.

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A BATTLE HISTORY OF THE IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY (1941-1945) Review

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(More customer reviews)There is very little -even after 60 plus years, material on the Imperial Japanese navy written by western authors. The ones I've seen are biased, repeat cliches, or are simply inaccurate. I know now that Mitsuo Fuchida's account of Japan's failure at the battle of Midway is largely questioned, even rejected in Japan but has been the basis for many books in the western world.
Hallelujah, this author does not make mistakes like that. He took the trouble of combing through thousands of microfiched archives taken directly from the Japanese at the end of the war. His knowledge of the Japanese language is definitely a plus as he explains more than once how subtle nuances in translation between Japanese and other languages can alter the meaning of the content. This was evident in the intelligence gathered by the Americans, as the author points out.
The book starts with an explanation on how militarism had dominated Japan's politics and how even Yamamoto risked assassination over his opposition to a war with the USA. You get a flavor on what it was like to be a naval cadet or officer in the pre-war imperial navy. Dull also points out some of the misconceptions and political mistakes that the US government made that may have contributed to Japan's decision to go to war. One of the key points in the book is the statement from Admiral Nagano to none other than the emperor stating that Japan must go to war, even though it is a war she very likely will lose but a nation not willing to fight for her survival is doomed anyway.
Dull also mentions that the Japanese had some knowledge of the US Navy 'rainbow' plan, a plan crafted in case of war against Japan, in that the basic strategy was the island-hoping that later became a reality.
Every major or even medium sized engagement or operation is covered, using the Japanese name for such. For example, the battle for Savo Island is known to the other side as the First Battle of Solomon Islands. The author paints the battles, by phase, extrapolating the Japanese interpretation as well as the opposing one, resulting in the most accurate assessment possible, as each side frequently misjudges the enemy's position and intentions or actions during the heat of combat.
The text is extremely readable, you cannot put this book down. There aren't many photos but they are not missed. Dull's style flows naturally, making his a very pleasant book, and the amount of information given is simply astounding. Book is over 400 pages, but I read it in less than 5 days, it is that good. I'm now on my second pass, discovering new facts that either escaped my grasp or simply forgot. This book is a keeper, and it should form the basis for many future books on the theme.

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