| SHIP'S LIBRARY
THE MERCHANT MARINE IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, 1850-1950, edited by Greg
Kennedy. Portland, Ore.: Frank Cass Publishers, 2001. 224 pp. $26.50
(paperback). [Phone: 800-944-6190; Internet: www.frankcass.com] Naval
Policy and History Series #8. A study of the wide range of roles played
by a nation's merchant fleet, including its uses in internal economic
development, international diplomacy, and global economic growth. As
series editor Holger H. Herwig comments in his preface, Kennedy provides
a "timely look at how nations in the century between 1850 and 1950 used
the nonfighting component of their maritime power to further their national
interests, shore up alliances, enforce maritime law, and fuel the oil-dependent
industries of the Western world." The seven essays by well-credentialed
historians that are included in the book focus primarily on the British,
American, Japanese, and Canadian navies and merchant fleets from the
late 19th century to the formation of NATO in the 1950s. With abbreviations,
chapter notes, and index.
THE EARLY REPUBLIC AND THE SEA: Essays on the Naval and Maritime History
of the Early United States, edited by William S. Dudley and Michael J.
Crawford. Dulles, Va.: Brassey's Inc., 2001. 240 pp. $35.00. The seven
essays in Part One of this well-written, well-edited, and exceptionally
authoritative study examine the relationship between the sea services
and maritime commerce in the age of sail. The subjects are extremely
broad ones, ranging from Confederate trading to U.S. commerce with China
and Japan. Part Two examines the influence of American novelist James
Fenimore Cooper on "the American maritime experience" and on his own
maritime writings, including certain works of fiction. Dudley is the
director of the Naval Historical Center and director of naval history
for the Chief of Naval Operations. Crawford is the head of the Early
History Branch of the Naval Historical Center and editor, succeeding
Dudley, of two major historical series: Naval Documents of the American
Revolution, and The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History. With index,
maps, notes, and 13 illustrations.
WAR LETTERS: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars, edited
by Andrew Carroll. New York, N.Y.: Scribner, 2001. 494 pp. $28.00. [Internet:
www.simonsays.com] A selection of 200 letters written by U.S. combat
troops in battles ranging from the American Civil War to and through
U.S. military actions in Bosnia. The writers include everyday soldiers,
generals, and presidents. The often poignant letters depict the life
of soldiers under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, of Japanese Americans interned
in relocation camps, and of Gold Star mothers still writing to their
sons many years after the official KIA (killed in action) notifications
from the War Department. Carroll's informative background material is
interspersed throughout. Carroll is the editor of Letters of a Nation.
With index and illustrations.
CAPTAIN BLAKELEY AND THE WASP: The Cruise of 1814, by Stephen W.H. Duffy.
Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2001. 400 pp. $34.95. [Phone:
800-233-8764; Internet: www.nip.org] A biography of one of America's
most accomplished naval commanders in the Age of Sail. Blakeley went
down with his sloop-of-war, the Wasp, in 1815. All of his papers were
lost and the circumstances of his death have yet to be fully explained.
Duffy reviewed both British and American source documents for his book,
in which he focuses primarily on the Wasp's historic cruise of 1814,
during which Blakeley defeated a larger and better prepared British naval
force both efficiently and expeditiously. Duffy also puts to rest several
myths surrounding this oft- neglected naval hero. With map, notes, bibliography,
index, 14 line drawings, and 15 illustrations.
PENTAGON APPOINTMENT: A Mid-Career Adventure, by Gary Penisten. Newberg,
Ore.: BookPartners Inc., 2001. 143 pp. $15 (paperback). Enjoyable as
well as informative, Gary Penisten's Pentagon Appointment would make
a thoughtful (and reasonably priced) gift for anyone in the private sector
who might be considering a second career--or simply a short sabbatical--in
government service. It's particularly timely as well, with literally
hundreds of appointments still to be filled by the new administration
and/or now wending their way through what has become an increasingly
complicated, and unnecessarily frustrating, confirmation process. Penisten,
assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management during the Ford
Administration, writes clearly and succinctly, and with a refreshing
sense of humor. A former GE executive, he brought some much-needed business
skills to one of the Navy's most important albeit least publicized jobs,
and helped significantly in keeping the Navy on an even keel during the
turbulent times that adversely affected all agencies of government following
the resignation of President Nixon. Penisten played a key role in upgrading
the Navy's financial and computer systems, and chalked up a number of
other notable accomplishments. Unlike some other appointees, though,
he was and is smart enough to recognize that, as he points out in his
preface, it was "the civilian and military men and women of the United
States Navy and Marine Corps who worked for me ... who achieved the results
attributed to me. I may have been the initiator, but [it was] Navy and
Marine personnel [who] got the job done." The everyday citizen and so-called "average
taxpayer" also would enjoy, and really should read, Pentagon Appointment
as well. Anyone who does will: (1) understand the complicated workings
of government just a wee bit better; (2) recognize that "the business
of government" is just that--a business (among many other things)--and
should be run in a businesslike manner; and (3) probably agree with Penisten
that "many appointees earn their pay and give the taxpayers their money's
worth." JDH
Also Recently Received
ABANDON SHIP! The Saga of the USS Indianapolis, the Navy's Greatest
Sea Disaster, by Richard F. Newcomb. New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins, 2001.
(Originally published in 1958.) 348 pp. $24.00. [Internet: www.harpercollins.com]
Includes a new introduction and an "afterword" written by Peter Maas.
With glossary, survivor list, index, map, and eight pages of black-and-white
photography. (Also available for $25.00 as a six-hour audiotape.)
WISDOM OF GENERALS: From Adversity to Success, and From Fear to Victory,
How to Triumph in Business and in Life, by William A. Cohen. Paramus,
N.J.: Prentice Hall Press, 2001. 238 pp. $22.00. With index.
THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, by Peter Calvocoressi,
Guy Wint, and John Pritchard. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2001.
1,316 pp. $18.00 paperback. [Internet: www.penguinputnam.com] Second
Edition reprint. With chronology, bibliography, two indexes, and 78 maps.
THE U.S. NAVY AND THE ORIGINS OF THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX, 1847-1883,
by Kurt Hackemer. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2001. 208 pp.
$45.00 [Phone: 800-233-8764; Internet: www.usni.org] With notes, bibliography,
index, and 11 illustrations.
ENEMY AT THE GATES: The Battle for Stalingrad, by William Craig. New
York, N.Y.: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2001. 472 pp. $14.00 (paperback). Originally
published in 1973. [Internet: www.penguinputnam.com] The inspiration
for a recently released major motion picture that has received numerous
favorable reviews. With map, survivor list, bibliography, chapter notes,
index, and 24 pages of black-and-white photographs. *
Note: All phone numbers and Internet addresses are believed to be current
as of 1 August 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.
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