The Journal
Decision in the Atlantic: The Allies and the Longest Campaign of the Second World War
In their collection Decision in the Atlantic: The Allies and the Longest Campaign of the Second World War, Marcus Faulkner and Christopher M. Bell add several new insights to the extensive historiography around the Second World War in the Atlantic. They challenge historians to readjust their scope to include more of the world’s oceans and to look deeper into the domestic political, economic, or cultural conditions that inspired the workers, and not just the sailors, … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by CAPT John V. Clune, USMS, PhD
The New Battle for the Atlantic
The focus of this book is to provide the reader with a brief overview of the current political and military developments of the Russian Navy for dominance in the North Atlantic Basin as it relates to NATO. The author, Magnus Nordenman is an expert on maritime affairs within NATO who previously served as the Director for the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council. Additionally, he has lectured at NATO’s Maritime Command, the US Naval … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Lt Col Michael Epper
The Challenges of Command: The Royal Navy’s Executive Branch Officers, 1880-1919
The Challenges of Command surveys the executive branch officer corps of the Royal Navy from the last part of the Nineteenth Century through the close of the First World War. In the process, Robert Davison focuses his analysis on the broader societal and technological setting of the period that acted upon the Royal Navy and argues that the service’s response was, in many respects, a rearguard action to protect the prerogatives of ‘X’ branch officers—those … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Joseph Moretz, PhD
From Across the Sea: North Americans in Nelson’s Navy
From Across the Sea: North Americans in Nelson’s Navy provides a portrait of North American sailors who served in the British Royal Navy during the era of Vice-Admiral Horatio, Viscount Nelson, victor of the October, 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. The monograph, edited by Sean M. Heuvel and John A. Rodgaard with multiple contributors providing case study biographical sketches of several North Americans in Britain’s navy, addresses men from the ranks of ordinary seaman to admiral … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Stanley D.M. Carpenter, Ph.D.
Incidents at Sea: American Confrontations and Cooperation with Russia and China, 1945-2016
In Incidents at Sea: American Confrontations and Cooperation with Russia and China, 1945-2016, David Winkler gives an overview of the political and maritime histories of the U.S. in relation to those of the Soviet Union and China during the Cold War and beyond. In particular, noting the title of his work, Winkler examines a multitude of incidents at sea – above in the air, below underwater and on the surface – that have critically impacted … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by LT Anthony Rush, USN
From Sun Tzu to Hyperwar a Strategic Encyclopaedia
Lars Wedin, an accomplished author on strategic studies and retired surface warfare officer of the Royal Swedish Navy, has composed a noteworthy encyclopedia of military thought and strategy that, in some regards, might also be considered a series of personal meditations on those subjects. Citing heightening tensions between great powers and other sources of global insecurities, Wedin seeks to address a growing need for better understanding the evolution and components of strategic thought. In this … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Chuck Steele, PhD
Victory Without Peace: The United States Navy in European Waters, 1919-1924
If a purpose of war is to secure a better peace, then it is remarkable how few studies take their accountings past the end of hostilities. This is true for the historiography of the First World War, no less than for the treatment of other conflicts. Much is this to be regretted. This is ever more the case for the First World War which proved to be such a watershed for what followed in its … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Joseph, Moretz, PhD
Silver State Dreadnought: The Remarkable Story of Battleship Nevada
In Silver State Dreadnought, Stephen M. Younger takes on the ambitious effort of telling the comprehensive history of what he argues was the first “superdreadnought,” the USS Nevada. At first glance describing the life of a single warship may not seem to be the most arduous endeavor, however most warships were not Nevada. From the laying of her keel in 1912 until her final demise in 1948, Nevada faithfully served for over three decades, survived … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Maj Jason Naaktgeboren
All the Factors of Victory: Adm. Joseph Mason Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower
A recent Naval History Magazine Article by Vincent O’Hara bestowed the title of “Greatest Naval War Ever Fought” on World War II. American aircraft carriers were the critical cog of Allied victory, especially in the Pacific. In his book All the Factors of Victory, Thomas Wildenberg gives credit for this achievement to Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves. Wildenberg argues, “Admiral Reeves did more to shape the future of US carrier aviation than any other flag officer … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Lt Col Matt Dietz, PhD
Admiral Gorshkov – The Man Who Challenged the U.S. Navy
Today, probably very few are familiar with the armament and the dominant role of the Navy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War over three decades away. In the period of 1970-90, the Soviet Navy was able to challenge the U.S. Navy on the World’s Oceans. In the beginning of the Cold War there was a common sentiment that the Soviet Union was a great land power with a huge army, but that the … CONTINUE READING ❯
Review by Hans Christian Bjerg