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Class of 1957 Book Review Site. ©2007. To add a Book Review, or to comment on a book already in this listing, send your material or review to Sam Coulbourn at Persnav@shore.net. Photo at top of each page shows ENS Arleigh Burke beneath 14-inch gun aboard Battleship USS Arizona, 1923. Revised 27 March 2008. |
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NAVAL HISTORY The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship By A. Jay Cristol, 2002.
Cristol takes the position that it was a case of mistaken identity (and his book is dedicated to that proposition) - several folks from the Liberty take the position that it was a deliberate act with a cover-up. The discourse was, of course, quite civil, but energetic nonetheless.
NAVAL HISTORY Sorties into Hell-The Hidden War on Chichi Jima
By Chester Hearn, 2003.
For anyone in the class who made West Pac Deployments in the 1960's they probably all visited Chi Chi Jima. I thoroughly enjoyed the brief period the USS Razorback (SS-394) was there in 1961 and was particularly fascinated by the vast cave and tunnel systems remaining from the war and the descendents of a U.S. Whaling ship that shipwrecked there in I believe the 1840's. However, I was TOTALLY unaware of the executions of U.S. flyers who were captured by the Japanese and subsequently eaten. To make it more interesting, George H.W. Bush was rescued by the Finback before he was captured subsequent to being shot down off of Chi Chi...
Review by Bill Bryant
NAVAL HISTORY Operation CYANIDE: Why the Bombing of the USS Liberty Nearly Caused World War III
By Peter Hounam, 2003.
About the Liberty incident. The bottom line of the book was that the incident was "a clandestine CIA and Mossad plan to foment the Six Day War and guarantee an overwhelming victory for Israel". The book further reveals that the attack on LIBERTY nearly caused a nuclear confrontation between the superpowers. The author surmises from piecing together a lot of facts that it was a clandestine attempt that went awry by the LBJ administration to use this incident as a springboard to justify to Congress the US going to war in the Middle East on the side of Israel. He further cites the similarity of this incident with the attack on the MADDOX and TURNER JOY in the Tonkin Gulf which resulted in the escalation of US forces in Vietnam. The only problem was that LIBERTY survived the incident, survivors lived to tell the tale and Israel came forward to admit that it was a case of mistaken identity. The author opines however if mistaken identity indeed were the cause of the attack, then why after all of these many years would the incident remain classified by both the US and Israeli Governments.
NAVAL HISTORY The Cruise of the Sea Eagle
By Blaine Pardoe, 2005.
NAVAL HISTORY Decision at Sea
By Craig L. Symonds, 2005.
Symonds, who taught for more than thirty years at Annapolis, provides a refreshing new perspective on five battles that shaped American history, It begins with Lake Erie, with a real free of the competition to build a small fleet in order to battle each other with insights not in our sanitized histories of feuding among seniors for supplies, crews and then for credit after the battle. Next is Hampton Roads with the beginning of a new era. I never thought before that we once marched past Buchanan House, named for the officer who, among other things, commanded the Merrimac/Virginia, and then paraded on Worden Field, named for the commander of the Monitor. Manila Bay comes next, presenting an interesting question that resonates today. It seems that no one had thought of what to do after defeating the Spanish with the Philippines. There was an inconclusive meeting between Admiral Dewey and the leader of the insurgents. This was followed by a counter-guerilla war that cost more American lives than the Spanish American War. After an excellent summary of Midway, we come to "Missile Warfare and the American Imperium." This section, centered on almost 20 years in and around the Persian Gulf, takes us to the present and such interesting incongruities as the claim in 2003 that the United States has the right to stop any ships anywhere to inspect their cargoes and impound them if deemed necessary. The War of 1812 began in opposition to such claims. A well-written history. Maps could have been a little more comprehensive, but then readers of this site know these waters, don't we? Or do we?
NAVAL HISTORY In The Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
This is a superb account of the whaler ESSEX out of Nantucket in 1819 attacked and sunk by a whale in the Pacific, and the subsequent events of the crew in three boats. Eight survivors out of 20 after 80+ days eventually resorted to cannibalism.
NAVAL HISTORY Rebels and Redcoats
By Hugh Bicheno, 2003.
I felt I should quote one paragraph which succinctly conveys the author’s opinion of JPJ: “In September {1780} the Scots slaver and pirate John Paul alias Jones, flying the stars and stripes on a mainly French manned converted East Indiaman renamed Bonhomme Richard in honour of Benjamin Franklin, author of Poor Richard’s Almanac, defeated the frigate HMS Serapis off the coast of Yorkshire at Flamborough Head. It was the sole significant victory won by the Continental Navy during the entire war and thus an iconic event of some importance. His later career included service in the navy of the freedom loving Catherine the Great of Russia, finally fleeing St Petersburg to evade an allegedly fabricated accusation of rape. What may have been his remains were exhumed from a built-over Paris cemetery in 1905 and escorted across the Atlantic by the US fleet for deposit in a magnificent crypt at the Annapolis Naval Academy. Not many other career criminals have been similarly honored.” Wow, that is the only mention of JPJ. My memory of what we were taught at USNA is somewhat different. To be fair, the author is equally hard on the British military and political leadership. About the only American he finds admirable is George Washington. There is one other quick quote in the Conclusion of the book that I include especially for Sam Coulbourn: “Despite wave after wave of culturally diverse immigrants many of the thirteen original states retain the personalities established in 1775-82. Vermont is still a maverick state, {they were rebelling against New York at the same time they were rebelling against Britain} while despite a political history of almost unparalleled corruption and judicial malfeasance, Massachusetts remains the preferred domicile of the tiresomely self righteous.” Anyone interested in the Revolutionary period would enjoy this book’s perspective.
Review by Paul Roush.
NAVAL HISTORY Sailors to the End
By Gregory Freeman, 2002.
His book chronicles the events leading up to, during, and subsequent to the fire which engulfed the Forrestal on 29 July 1967. It is based on interviews with almost two dozen survivors. Jim Bangert was indeed the pilot of the plane which accidentally fired the Zuni which passed through John McCain's A4. Several investigations were conducted. The first exonerated the CO and everyone body else involved. However, when the reported reached CINCLANTFLT, ADM Holmes, a blackshoe, pinned the rap on CAPT Belig and recommended that Belig, who had been assured that he would achieve Rear Admiral, be reprimanded. Fortunately, CNO ADM Moorer, a Belig friend, directed that a second investigation be conducted. The direct cause of the accident was isolated to a faulty safety switch which should have prevented the power surge which fired off the Zuni. Moorer directed Holmes to rescind the reprimand. Belig had the misfortune to encounter Elmo Zumwalt, Moorer's CNO successor. Their relationship was not amicable. As a consequence, Belig's hope of commanding a CVA task group was dashed when he found himself exiled to Iceland. In both inquiries, scant attention was devoted to the real culprit in the disaster, namely, the obsolete WWII ordnance which had been provided to the carrier the day before during an underway replenishment. Some of the bombs had been produced in 1935! The initial fire ignited by the Zuni would have been contained by the primary flight deck fire-fighting team. Unfortunately, the low cook-off temp of the out-dated bombs detonated one of two 1000 pounders loaded on McCain's plane 94 seconds after the fire started. The resulting explosion obliterated the team which was rushing to the scene. Eight other 1000 pounders subsequently cooked-off, severely puncturing the flight deck and allowing flaming JP-5 to penetrate into the lower decks. That "only" 134 sailors perished is a testament to the courage of the survivors in preventing the loss of the ship.
NAVAL HISTORY Sea Change at Annapolis: The United States Naval Academy, 1949-2000
By H. Michael Gelfand, Foreword by John McCain, 2006; published by Chapel Hill. 382 pp. I'd like to recommend Sea Change at Annapolis, by Gelfand, which I just bought at B&N and enjoyed reading. Here's my review:
NAVAL HISTORY To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World
By Arthur Herman, 2004.
It explains a whole lot about many of the naval traditions we all grew up with.
Review by Sam Coulbourn, December 2006.
AMERICAN HISTORY
AMERICAN HISTORY The Best and the Brightest
By David Halberstam, 1969.
If you haven't already read this description about what happened behind the scenes during the lead up and while the Vietnam War was in progress I think it would be worth your time. Halberstam is a fountainhead of detailed knowledge and lays it all out. What a tragedy of poor intelligence, sloppy rationale, deceit, and mismanagement by the Kennedy scholars from Harvard, McNamara, The West Point Generals, and LBJ.
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USS Liberty after she was attacked, June 1967 |