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The German Navy Handbook 1939-1945 Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the best account thus far in my reading experiences on the Germany Navy. This book not only describes how the German navy evolved throughout the course of World War II but how it evolved in the post-World War I world leading up and into WWII. This is a great buy even though the amount of money is a little steep.

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This latest addition to Sutton's 'Handbook' series takes an overall look at the Kriegsmarine, or German Navy, as it evolved during the Second World War. It was founded in 1935 shortly after the emergence of the Nazi State, but went through a major re-organisation in 1939. The Kriegsmarine is synonymous with such infamous Second World War battleships as the Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, and for the marauding U-boat packs which nearly defeated Great Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic.In particular the book concentrates on the origins of the Kriegsmarine in the post-Versailles Treaty era and its resurgence under the Nazi regime. The author describes the training and organisation of the German Navy during the war years and examines the different roles of the Fleet. Comprehensive technical data is provided for ships and U-boats and a separate chapter looks at the wide range of uniforms and insignia worn by men of the German Navy.

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Naval Chronicles: Naval Chronicle: Vol.5: The Contemporary Record of the Royal Navy at War Review

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(More customer reviews)Fans of such modern nautical fiction series such as those by Patrick O'Brian, C.S. Forester, Alexander Kent, and Dudley Pope can find within the pages of this volume (and its four predecessors) the contemporary records of the men and events later fictionalized by O'Brian and others. It is all history in the raw, written by the participants at the time of the events described. And when you've read the pages of the Naval Chronicle, you will realilze that the fictional exploits of Jack Aubrey, Horatio Hornblower, and Richard Bolitho are not fantastic at all, simply reflections of what the real Royal Navy did two centuries ago.

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From 1799 to 1819 more than 1,000 pages of British naval news and views were published every year in The Naval Chronicle, including action reports, intelligence of foreign naval matters, and biographies of officers. In short, it was the most important original account of the naval part of the Napoleonic Wars. Outside the major libraries the 40 volumes of The Naval Chronicle are not generally available. This new consolidated edition, in five volumes, contains all the most significant material from the originals, including Admiral Nelson's only autobiographical record.

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Command at Sea Review

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(More customer reviews)A text for naval officers, with chapters on taking command, commissioning a ship or submarine, organization and administration of the command, and roles of various officers. Other subjects include maintenance and logistics, safety, training and inspections, independent operations, and forward operations and combat philosophy. Includes a glossary, and appendices of sample plans and orders. This edition incorporates changes in the field since 1982, and discusses lessons learned from the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, and Haiti.
Command at Sea is an unusual degree of responsibility & accountability that is placed on the shoulders of one individual. There is an excert on page four of the book that defines that degree of responsibility. It reads;
"In each ship there is one man alone who in the hour of emergency or peril at sea can turn to no other man. There is one man alone who is ultimately responsbile for the safe navigation, enigineering performance, accurate gunfire and morale of his ship. He is the Commanding Officer, He is the ship".
If ever there was situation where the Comamnding Officer experienced the paramount of this statement, it was Commander Paul Rinn, skipper of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, on April 14, 1988. The ship was escorting Kuwati tankers in the Persian Gulf when it entered a mine field.CDR Rinn ordered his crew to general Quarters. Then the ship began backing down and following it's wake. A mine exploded, blowing one of the ships's engines off it's mount and into the overhead. CDR Rinn knew that the survival of his crew depended on his actions, the crew watched every move he made. Throughout the night the crew fought fires, controlled flooding, treated the injured and saved their ship. In the predawn hours of April 15, 1988 CDR Rinn walked through his ship. He saw his crew, some exhausted, some sleeping, some talking quietly. The fought to save their ship, a ship that was sinking and they won. All the training, all the hours of drills had paid off. At 0503 the Quartermater of the Watch, QM2 Nicholson made the deck log entry, "Observed Sunrise".
This is job of the Commanding Officer, this is Command at Sea. You can delegate the responsibility, not the accountability. Can you take the challenge?

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Gone Too Far (Troubleshooters, Book 6) Review

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(More customer reviews)I absolutely LOVE this series; otherwise, I NEVER would have even considered buying a hardcover. I prefer smaller paperback books, but Ms. Brockmann can be credited for providing such an interesting world within a fictional US SEAL Team that I couldn't possibly wait for the paperback! I had to know how the outcome of the cliff-hanger from the last book. I had to know how Sam was going to win Alyssa back, after following their nail-biting, teeth-grinding exploits throughout the other books in this series. I had to know how the investigation would end and whether Sam's estranged wife and beloved daughter were really dead in that house!
I'm happy to say Ms. Brockmann delivers on all those unanswered questions... once again providing a thrilling mystery interwoven with great characters and plenty of love. Old friends are revisited and new twists keep the pace going full throttle. And again, the flashbacks to a WWII romance are an added bonus. Thank goodness, Ms. Brockmann hasn't "Gone Too Far", but has plenty more stories of wonderful characters to tell. I now look forward to Max and Gina's story! But in the meantime, I'll reread the series start to finish... it's just that good! Worthy of keeping. For those who aren't familiar with the Ms. Brockmann's US SEALs... this team's tales are great stand-alone stories, but are even better as a series. Their stories are found in the following books (in order):
1. Unsung Hero about Lt Tom Paoletti
2. Defiant Hero about Lt JG John Nilsson
3. Over the Edge about Sr Chief Stan Wolchonok
4. Out of Control about SEAL Ken Karmody
5. Into the Night about Lt JG Mike Muldoon
6. Gone Too Far about Lt Roger "Sam" Starett
She does have another series of 11 books on a different sexy SEAL team, some of which are being republished too. These are shorter books, without the interwoven flashbacks of the newer series. They are, so far:
1. Prince Joe about Lt Joe "Cat" Catalanotto
2. Forever Blue about Lt C. "Blue" McCoy
3. Frisco's Kid about Lt Alan "Frisco" Francisco
and Night Watch (formerly published as Wild Wild Wes) about Chief Wes Skelly, which is coming in September 2003.
(There are nearly a dozen books in this older series, so only the few above are easily obtainable. Hopefully the rest will be released again too???!!!)

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Knitting and Sewing: How to Make Seventy Useful Articles for Men in the Army and Navy Review

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(More customer reviews)This little-known classic has seventy items that are still useful for men and women in the military or camping or on any rough pursuit that requires warm clothing.
Patterns include trench socks, fingerless gloves, a money belt. a body belt (to keep one's midsection warm), balaclava helmet, shooter's mittens (flap opens for bare-finger use), and a seaman's style jersey. Written in 1918, still a classic and still eminently useful.

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Operation Victory: Winning the Pacific War Review

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(More customer reviews)The battle for supremacy in the Pacific Ocean during World War II was a bitter one. On one side there was the ferocious fighting ability of the Japanese military and the fact that they were largely fighting a defensive war. The Americans had superior numbers in troops, ships, planes and equipment and an equal determination to fight.
The first year of the war from the perspective of the Americans was one of giving ground slowly and trying to make it as costly as possible for the Japanese. On the Japanese side, their goal was to take as much ground as possible and fortify it as strongly and as cheaply as possible. Both sides did this, the American forces on the Philippines held out for as long as possible and the American stand on Wake Island was the stuff of legends.
There were two turning points, the American slogging land and naval victory at Guadalcanal and the spectacular naval victory at Midway. The destruction of the Japanese aircraft carriers at Midway doomed the Japanese to defeat, after that it was only a matter of the degree of American resolve.
This book tells that story, using a combination of text and images, the ultimate American victory is told from the American perspective. The war was a bitter one, few Japanese were taken prisoner, most elected to kill themselves rather than surrender. In general, the few members of the Japanese military that surrendered were Korean conscripts rather than actual Japanese. While certainly not definitive, this history of the Pacific war gives you an excellent synopsis of how the war was fought and the role of the major players who led both sides to their respective conclusions.

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Big Gun Monitors: The History of the Design, Construction and Operation of the Royal Navy's Monitors Review

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(More customer reviews)Speaking as someone who spends his entire day immersed in research, research and even more research, I am instantly able to recognise a kindred spirit. From the moment I opened this book and began to scan through it's 250 pages, I knew I was in possession of an item of considerable quality which had been thoroughly researched by the author.
This is a large coffee-table size book laid out in the best way possible. For those who are not quite sure of exactly what is a "Big Gun Monitor," what better than to commence with it's origins. This is followed by sections devoted to the 14 in., 12 in., First 15 in., Ex Brazilian River Monitors, Ex-Norwegian vessels, Small Monitors, Second 15 in., Last 15 in. and the guns they used before the author offers a retrospective view. Altogether, I view this book as a most complete and competent work.
Not only does the overall standard of photography do the author and publisher much credit, we are largely treated to a large collection of images not previously published alongside a few which might be familiar to some. Alongside these, throughout the book, we also have the technical pleasure of line drawings and blueprints of a type of vessel of which there are no surviving examples anywhere in the world!
Whilst most readers will enjoy the complete history of this type of ship, I have no doubt that others will doubtless buy the book in order to make models of these intriguing vessels,
Whilst I cannot claim to have read every single word (yet!), I have cross-referenced a great deal of the material found within this book with other learned sources and have found no errors or omissions.
This is a lot of book. It contains a lot of history, a lot of information, a lot of line drawing and a lot of photography for the asking price.
Worth every penny.
NM

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