SHIP'S LIBRARY

THE NAVAL INSTITUTE GUIDE TO SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT OF THE U.S. FLEET, Seventeenth Edition, by Norman Polmar. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2001. 659 pp. $90.00 [Internet: www.usni.com] This triennial volume has long been the most thorough and in-depth reference work on the major land, sea, and air platforms of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The seventeenth edition meets and in several areas exceeds the very high standards set by its predecessors. For those with a particular interest in the U.S. sea services, the latest Guide offers--by the wealth of data included in its 659 pages--far more detail than could possibly be included in Jane's Fighting Ships or Combat Fleets of the World, both of which are excellent multinational reference books. Ships--from aircraft carriers to service craft--and their characteristics are grouped by class in logical progression in Polmar's Guide. The organization of the sea services is explained in detail, assisted by well-diagrammed organizational charts. Naval aircraft and aviation organization are given thorough treatment, and the author provides the researcher a complete look at the burgeoning field of unmanned aerial vehicles. For readers who want greater detail, the section on naval weapons and electronic systems will be greatly appreciated. The photographs and line drawings are large, and the low-density layout is easy on the eyes. A ship-name index, in addition to the general index, makes it a simple task to look up a particular hull. Appendices on such topics as naval force levels, shipbuilding programs, foreign ship transfers, and ships preserved as museums and memorials are value-added bonuses to an already worthwhile acquisition. There is no more comprehensive or better-edited reference on U.S. maritime power available to the general public.

CARRIER AIR GROUP COMMANDERS: The Men and Their Machines, by Robert L. Lawson. Atglen, Pa.: Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2000. 216 pp. $45.00. [Internet: www. schifferbooks.com] More than 80 pages are devoted to "The Men" in chapter 3; the other three chapters provide a historical overview, discuss the evolution of the naval aviation system, and look at the machines the men fly. High quality is expected from a Schiffer publication. However, it may be that this project was rushed--there is a glaring typo on the jacket copy and within the first 20 pages the word "Photo" is misspelled twice (in captions). The presentation therefore detracts from the author's obviously well-researched work. With appendix and color as well as black-and-white photographs throughout.

CIVIL WAR NAVIES 1855­1883, by Paul H. Silverstone. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2001. 240 pp. $49.95. [Phone: (800) 233­8764; Internet: www.usni.org] Volume two of the U.S. Navy Warship Series. This reference is a compilation of data on the ships of the U.S. Navy and the Confederate Navy during the U.S. Civil War and in the years immediately following--years that saw a significant evolution in warships, the first widespread use of steam propulsion, and the development of "modern" ordnance. Each entry includes the ship's size, construction dates, and the particulars of its naval service. The historical data provided about each ship includes actions fought, damage sustained, prizes taken, ships sunk, commissioning and decommissioning dates, as well as significant information about its post-Navy service (if any) and its ultimate fate. With appendix, bibliography, and 140 photographs.

HUNTERS OF THE NIGHT: Confederate Torpedo Boats in The War Between the States, by R. Thomas Campbell. Shippensburg, Pa.: Burd Street Press, 2000. 190 pp. $14.95. Campbell's latest book tells the story behind the design and development of Confederate torpedo boats and about the officers and men who manned them. Separate chapters cover Lee's Spar Torpedo Ram and the David- and Squib-class torpedo boats. The final chapter, excerpted from a previous Campbell book, tells the story of Lt. Charles W. "Savez" Read's campaign against Grant's Union supply base at City Point, Va. Campbell, the author of a four-book series on the operations of the Confederate Navy, also wrote The CSS H.L. Hunley: Confederate Submarine. With bibliography, index, five maps, and 73 illustrations.

TRUST BUT VERIFY: Imagery Analysis in the Cold War, by David T. Lindgren. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000. 248 pp. $32.95 [Phone: (800) 233­8764; Internet: www.usni.org] Beginning with the U-2 in the mid-1950s and continuing through a series of increasingly sophisticated imaging satellites, this well-researched study demonstrates how the United States eventually, and after numerous frustrations, was able to accurately appraise the military forces of the Soviet Union. Lindgren has served as a consultant to the CIA, NASA, the Department of Interior, and the Census Bureau. With bibliography, index, and 12 photographs.

UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE SERVICE TENDERS 1840-1939, by Douglas Peterson. Annapolis, Md.: Eastwind Publishing, 2000. 170 pp. $39.95. [Internet: www.eastwindpublishing.com] Very little has been written about America's early lighthouse tenders. This book tells the story of the tenders during the years when they were under the control of the U.S. Lighthouse Service. (The service became a part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939). Each entry contains data on the builder, contract date, launch date, commissioning date, and final disposition, as well as related information on cost, hull type, machinery, and complement. With bibliography, index, two appendices, and black-and-white photographs and ship's plans.

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

Pearl Harbor Remembered

By GORDON I. PETERSON, Senior Editor

Touchstone Pictures/Jerry Bruckheimer Films' "Pearl Harbor," released to theaters across the country over the Memorial Day weekend, is fast becoming one of the summer's most popular feature films. It is not unusual for audiences to applaud at the conclusion of the sweeping portrayal of the events of 7 December 1941--artfully bound with bookend depictions of the Battle of Britain and Col. James Doolittle's 18 April 1942 raid on Tokyo by 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

Film critics, historians, and academia have not been overly kind in their assessment of the film--many were quick to find fault because of a number of historical errors; others were unhappy about the fictitious love triangle that bridges disparate events spanning three continents and two oceans during the early years of World War II.

At the same time, such critics have offered few effective alternatives for stimulating in today's youth such a widespread emotional reaction to and interest in those events of nearly 60 years ago. Sad to say, national polling data indicate that many Americans are hard-pressed even to identify the war's principal belligerents; fewer still understand the proximate causes for the attack on Pearl Harbor or the complex geopolitical issues of that era.

"Pearl Harbor" does not pretend to be a documentary; it is a drama based on historical events and on world figures of six decades ago. Those interested in a more faithful interpretation of the "day of infamy" would do well to view this year's enhanced and expanded reissue of the 1971 film "Tora, Tora, Tora," available on DVD.

Beyond the stunning depictions of aerial combat, the agonizing fate of Sailors trapped below deck, the valiant efforts of Navy nurses to save the wounded and comfort the dying, and the impact of global war on average American citizens, "Pearl Harbor" should enable teachers across the United States to capitalize on the renewed awareness of the events of that period when students return to school this fall.

Coincidentally, National Geographic Television has produced an authoritative companion video, "Pearl Harbor--Legacy of Attack," that nicely complements Hollywood's interpretation of the Japanese sneak attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet. First aired by NBC-TV and the National Geographic Society Channel on the eve of Memorial Day, the 90-minute documentary takes a fresh look at the historical record of what happened, and when, on 7 December 1941. Hosted by NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw, "Legacy" is the centerpiece of a Society-wide effort to mark the 60th anniversary of the attack that propelled the United States into World War II.

"The story of Pearl Harbor is one that still resonates in the collective heart of our culture," says the documentary's executive producer, Michael Rosenfeld.

"National Geographic has been covering this story since it first happened, and now we're using new technologies to uncover new information about this historically pivotal event and to examine its ecological aftermath."

"Legacy of Attack" takes the viewer to the ocean bottom off Pearl Harbor as famed underwater explorer Robert Ballard searches for the remains of a Japanese midget submarine that was attacked by the destroyer USS Ward. In Pearl Harbor itself, roving submersible cameras explore sections of the sunken battleship USS Arizona as part of the expedition's goal to examine the ship's internal condition and to determine the environmental impact of the ship's leaking oil--described as "the tears of the ship" by many visitors to the USS Arizona Memorial.

The production's greatest emotional impact results from the powerful recollections of Pearl Harbor survivors describing what they were doing at the time of the attack and their memories of shipmates and close "buddies" who were killed in action.

The program follows one survivor of the Arizona sinking, Carl Carlson, as he returns to Pearl Harbor for the first time in 59 years. Speaking of the events of that fateful Sunday morning, Carlson describes his encounter with a mortally wounded friend. "He was crying and asking me for help," Carlson said. "... I looked at him in horror. There was nothing in the world I could do for that boy. And that has bothered me all my life."

The National Geographic Society can take credit for its achievement in applying fresh analytical approaches to create a fuller understanding of the attack on Pearl Harbor--and in honoring the service and courage of, and sacrifices made by, an earlier generation of American combat veterans.

Film critics notwithstanding, it seems likely that most Americans viewing "Pearl Harbor" will applaud the film's success in rekindling renewed appreciation for the awesome violence that shattered a quiet Sunday morning in Hawaii nearly 60 years ago--and that took such a frightful toll of U.S. servicemen and women.

Home videos of "Pearl Harbor--Legacy of Attack" are available in retail outlets and directly from the National Geographic Society (1-800-627-5162 or on line at www.nationalgeographic.com). *

Personal Note: This reviewer has a special interest in the events that took place at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. An uncle--on duty at the time at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard's Power Plant No. 2--sounded the initial air raid alarm on the power plant's whistle when the first Japanese bombs struck. Reflecting the peacetime mentality of the day, Navy Yard personnel were under orders not to sound the alarm unless directed to do so by higher authority. Rudolph E. Peterson was later commended, on 30 May 1942, for disregarding that order and, in the words of Rear Adm. William R. Furlong, the Navy Yard commander, for taking "most efficient action" and displaying "unusual presence of mind" by sounding the alarm "on his own initiative" when he saw that a surprise attack was being made.