SHIP'S LIBRARY

AT WAR AT SEA: Sailors and Naval Combat in the Twentieth Century, by Ronald H. Spector. New York, N.Y.: Viking, 2001. 480 pp. $27.95.

Spector, one of the better-known and most respected writers in the naval/defense field, examines some of the most important naval battles of the 20th century, starting with the 1905 Battle of Tsushima between the Japanese and Russian Navies and continuing to the deployment of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. The author focuses special attention on the key decisions made--or not made, in some cases--and the resulting impact on the course of history. In this interpretive narrative, Spector said, he is seeking not only to examine "battles fought and weapons employed but [also] ... to answer some important questions about the complex relationship between naval technology, operations, and human factors." Spector, a former Marine, served as director of naval history for the U.S. Navy. He is the author of After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam and Eagle Against the Sun: The American War Against Japan--for which he was awarded the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Prize in History. With notes, primary sources, index, maps, and 16 pages of black-and-white photographs.

SPYPLANE: The U-2 History Declassified, Norman Polmar. Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing Company, 2001. 288 pp. $21.95.

Polmar, a noted naval analyst and historian, has produced an eminently readable report on the CIA's best-known spyplane that includes new information on the several cover-ups that followed and the extent of Soviet knowledge of the U-2 missions. Polmar expertly conveys to readers the precarious conditions under which U-2 pilots operated. "One pilot said it [flying and landing the U-2] was like trying to land a potato chip." Unlike any other plane developed in the 1950s and 1960s, the U-2 made not only aeronautical history but political history as well. Little was known about the aircraft until 1960, when a U-2 flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. Polmar examines the numerous deceptions carried out by the CIA, including one that kept the Eisenhower White House in the dark about the situation. Polmar's final chapters discuss the current role of U-2s and their importance in the post-Cold War era. Readers will find this book particularly timely in view of the recent downing of the U.S. Navy EP-3E surveillance plane that had to land on the Chinese island of Hainan after a midair collision with (and caused by) a Chinese fighter. Spyplane is a "must read" for historians, political scientists, and military enthusiasts. With glossary, notes, index, four appendixes, and numerous black-and-white photographs hroughout.

COLD WAR AT SEA: An Illustrated History, by Kit Bonner and Carolyn Bonner. Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing Company, 2000. 160 pp. $24.95.

Softbound. An illustrated look at the key combatants and the naval growth and development of the U.S. and Soviet Navies through some of the most intense moments of the Cold War era. With bibliography, index, and 200 black-and-white illustrations.

DANGEROUS CROSSINGS: The First Modern Polar Expedition, 1925, by John H. Bryant and Harold N. Cones. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000. 232 pp. $27.95.

When Donald B. MacMillan, Eugene F. McDonald, and Richard E. Byrd mounted the first successful modern expedition to the Arctic it marked the first time that both aviation (Byrd was a naval aviator) and short-wave radio (McDonald was responsible for the Zenith Corporation's prominence in the radio industry) were used in systematic exploration. Their accomplishments changed not only the future of polar exploration itself but also the lives of the native northern peoples. The authors were able to obtain access to the private papers of all of the principals to provide this gripping account. With notes, bibliography, index, four appendixes, five maps, and 31 photographs.

BODY OF SECRETS: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency--From the Cold War Through the Dawn of a New Century, by James Bamford. New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, 2001. 730 pp. $29.95.

The National Security Agency, with 38,000 people on its official payroll, dwarfs the Central Intelligence Agency in both budget and man- power, and often in influence as well. Bamford peeled away the outer layers of this highly secretive organization in his earlier best-seller The Puzzle Palace. In his latest book, he investigates further and presents new findings that should be of interest to anyone concerned about the inevitability of "Big Brother." The NSA's technological advances and networks of global surveillance developed over the last 15 years are clearly, according to Bamford, a double-edged sword. As is his book, which has been better received by the liberal press than by more conservative publications. Nonetheless, Bamford's narrative flows easily and moves along at a good pace. Until recently Washington investigative producer for ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Bamford also has written investigative cover stories for the New York Times Magazine, the Washington Post Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. With notes, index, and three appendixes.

SHARK ATTACKS: Their Causes and Avoidance, by Thomas B. Allen. New York, N.Y.: The Lyons Press, 2001. 302 pp. $24.95.

Includes a wealth of fascinating anecdotes and information, including personal stories of shark attack survivors, expert opinions from marine biologists, and the latest scientific information available on shark behavior. This is a large-print book with easy-to-read captions and illustrations. Allen is a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine and was editor of the first edition of the Navy League's annual Almanac of Seapower. He is the author of many other books as well, including The Shark Almanac and Shadows in the Sea. With notes, selected bibliography, index, two appendixes, eight pages of color photographs, and black-and-white illustrations throughout. A "must read" for those going to the beach this summer.

BLUEJACKET ADMIRAL: The Naval Career of Chick Hayward, by John T. Hayward and C.W. Borklund. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2001. 360 pp. $37.50.

Hayward's remarkable U.S. Navy career spanned more than four decades. He was an aviator, nuclear physicist, and weapons expert. His candid "insider" memoirs were developed into a posthumous autobiography by longtime friend C.W. Borklund, former editor of Government Executive--for which Hayward wrote a monthly column. Bluejacket Admiral tells the story of a history-making career, with special focus on Hayward's involvement in national events that had a major impact on U.S. politics, military policies, and contingency plans. The text is both personal and conversational but also extremely honest, and provides clear insight into numerous matters still under discussion in today's Navy. With appendix, notes, bibliography, index, and 12 photographs.

MacARTHUR AND THE AMERICAN CENTURY: A Reader, edited by William M. Leary. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, 2001. 538 pp. $40.00. Essays by such world-class writers as Stephen A. Ambrose, Stanley L. Falk, and D. Clayton James accompany materials provided by Dwight D. Eisenhower and MacArthur himself to analyze and evaluate the immense impact this dramatic, larger-than-life, and often controversial figure had on war, peace, and the American imagination.

Also Recently Received

TUGBOATS, by William Burt. Osceola, Wis.: MBI Publishing Company, 2000. 96 pp. $13.95. [Phone: (800) 826-6600; Internet: www. motorbooks.com] With glossary, index, and 90 color illustrations.

CORPSMEN: Letters from Korea, by Richard G. Chappel and Gerald E. Chappell. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 2000. With appendix, references, and more than 50 black-and-white photographs.

THE SLAVE SHIP FREDENSBORG, by Leif Svalesen. Bloomington, Ind.: The Indiana University Press, 2000. 240 pp. $45.00. [Phone: 1-800-842-6796] Underwater archeologist provides an enthralling and well-researched history of a slave ship. With sources and 64 black-and-white illustrations and 93 color illustrations.

MacARTHUR'S WAR: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero, by Stanley Weintraub. New York, N.Y.: Touchstone Books, 2000. 400 pp. $16.00 (paperback). [Internet: www.simonsays.com] Also available in audio for $25.00. With sources, index, and 16 pages of black-and-white photographs.

CYBERWAR 3.0: Human Factors in Information Operations and Future Conflict, contributing editors Alan D. Campen and Douglas H. Dearth. Fairfax, Va.: AFCEA International Press, 2000. 310 pp. [Internet: www.afcea.org] With index.

THE NEW TERRORISM: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction, by Walter Laqueur. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2000. (Paperback edition.) 320 pp. $15.95. [Internet: www.oup.com] With bibliographic essay and index.

DESERT WAR: The North African Campaign, 1940-1943, by Alan Moorehead. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2001. 652 pp. $19.00 paperback. [Internet: www.penguinputnam.com] Three books combined that originally were published in the United States in 1965 as March to Tunis. With maps, notes, and index.

LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO WAR: Pearl Harbor and a World at War--December 7, 1941, by Stanley Weintraub. New York, N.Y.: The Lyons Press, 2000. 736 pp. $19.95 paperback. [Internet: www.lyonspress.com] Originally published in 1991. With index, three maps, and 16 pages of black-and-white photographs.

"THIS IS NO DRILL!" Living Memories of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, by Henry Berry. New York, N.Y.: Berkley, 2001. (Originally published in 1992.) 272 pp. $13.00. [Internet: www.penguinputnam.com] Berry, an oral historian, interviewed survivors from all branches of the armed services. With bibliography.

Note: All phone numbers and Internet addresses are believed to be current as of 1 July 2001. If no number is given, the information was not available at the time of publication.

Unless otherwise noted, the preceding book reviews were written by Contributing Editor Jennifer M. Price. Inquiries may be sent to seapowermail@navyleague.org.