The best books on U.S. Naval history

Shattered Sword changed the way historians think about the Battle of Midway. While the results will never change, Parshall and Tully provide insight and perspectives that have never before been explored. And in doing so, they help clear up many of the inconsistencies in both Japanese and American books on the battle. 

This is the first history of the Battle of Midway in which the authors looked at the ships operating logs and compared them to events. What you learn is that the U.S. Navy’s and the Imperial Japanese Navy’s operating doctrines were very different. The Japanese did not improve their damage control practices after the Battle of the Coral Sea, and their indecision at Midway was caused by one part culture, one part lack of intelligence, one part arrogance and one part carrier launch and recovery doctrine and failure to follow proper ordnance handling procedures. The result was a disaster.

With the main body of the Imperial Japanese Navy bearing down on them, four ships—three destroyers Heermann, Hoel, Johnston—and one destroyer escort—Samuel B. Roberts—peel off. The bold, aggressive actions of their captains caused Japanese Admiral Kurita to order his battleships, heavy and light cruisers to abandon their attack on the U.S. invasion fleet off the Philippine island of Leyte. In the annals of modern naval warfare, this is the classic David versus Goliath action. 

Other than those who study U.S. Naval history and the war in the Pacific know about this battle in detail. The focus has always been on Halsey’s chase of the Northern Force consisting of Japanese carriers which was a decoy and Halsey’s decision to take his battleships with his carriers. Even with the actions of the U.S. destroyers, it was a “near thing.” Had Admiral Kurita been more aggressive, he would have realized that his ships could have destroyed the U.S. invasion fleet off Leyte and inflicted a crippling loss. A Japanese victory would have had serious strategic repercussions as well as cost many senior officers their careers.

In the first few years of our country, it became evident to President Adams that we needed a Navy. The Continental Navy from the American Revolution was disbanded in 1783 along with the army. As a country, we were defenseless. Adams, against strong opposition from Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Democratic-Republicans—managed to push through the Congress the Navy Act of 1794 which funded the rebirth of the Navy. This is the story of the act, the political battles over building, manning, and funding these unique vessels as well as their successes as warships. They are viewed as the best sailing frigates ever built.

Much has been written about the U.S.S. Constitution and its five sisters—Congress, Chesapeake, Constellation, President, United States—yet few know of how they came into being and the Congressional battles to create a new U.S. Navy and build and equip ships. The six came about via the Navy Act of 1794 but underfunding, Congressional interference in the procurement, and other issues delayed their construction and ultimate deployment. And then, President Jefferson, as soon as he came to office, tried to “mothball” them because he didn’t believe in standing armies and navies. 

Rarely are those outside the military and the intelligence community given accurate insight into submarine operations. This book provides accurate information on some of the activities U.S. submarines performed during the Cold War. Readers will learn where they went, the dangers their crews faced and the challenges they overcome. Much of the technology developed was used in other tasks such as determining what caused the nuclear submarine Scorpion to sink. 

As a retired Naval Officer and Naval Aviator, I can only begin to imagine the problems the authors had in (a) getting approval for many of the individuals to speak on the record; and (b) gain approval for the manuscript from the Navy. This book is simply fascinating as the authors describe highly classified programs that helped the U.S. gather intelligence on Soviet operations. 

World War II is over. The U.S. is demobilizing and in 1948, the United States Air Force becomes a separate service. President Harry Truman appoints Louis Johnson as the new Secretary of Defense in 1949 after James Forrestal resigned because he would not carry out Truman’s defense cuts. Johnson accepted the Air Force’s proposal that nuclear deterrence was the sole responsibility of the Air Force and all military aviation should be under its command. This set in motion a series of events known as the “Revolt of the Admirals” which Barlow used as the title of his book.

This is a story of professional courage. A group of admirals was willing to put their careers on the line to force the Truman administration to change its policies and decisions. They fought with the Secretary of Defense Johnson as well as other officials in the administration and based their arguments on the flawed defense strategy that would bring the U.S. back to a defense posture of pre-World War II. The debate and political infighting raged until June 1950 when the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Suddenly, the need for carrier aviation was apparent because the new U.S. Air Force couldn’t provide the air cover needed by the ground forces being pushed back into what became the Pusan Perimeter. The lessons from the professional courage of these admirals need to be studied and heeded today.