US Navy: A Concise History
by Craig L. Symonds
Buy on AmazonPresents an illustrated history of American naval warfare beginning with the Revolutionary War and concluding with a look at the Navy going into the twenty-first century, with maps that pinpoint the locations of U.S. ships, and discussion of the rising and falling forturnes of the Navy over the years.
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"The great English naval historian, Nicholas Roger, who you interviewed about naval history , said, “There’s no shortage of books about the US Navy, most of which are perfectly dreadful.” I agree. But The US Navy is a gem. The book is very short, only a hundred pages long. Craig Symonds is undoubtedly the best of the current generation of American naval historians. If a civilian asked me for one book they should read to understand the US Navy, I’d tell them to get this. The Navy is deeply woven into the fabric of the US, although we don’t pay much attention to it. For example, people read a lot of books about the causes of the Civil War and its land battles, but little about the naval aspects of the war, which were essential to the outcome. The US Navy’s successful effort to choke off commerce during the Civil War drove the defeat of the South. “The Navy is deeply woven into the fabric of the United States” This book also highlights the lack of consistent political support for the Navy. Unlike other branches of the United States Armed Forces, the US Navy is constantly in a boom-bust cycle. Political support for the Navy ebbs until the sea force is called upon to defend the United States, and then there is a major expansion. To give you a sense of the scope of the boom-bust cycle, at the end of World War II , we had an astounding 65,000 ships on the US Navy register; today we have about 295. This history of political oscillation, where the Navy falls into disrepair and neglect and then goes through major expansion, continues today. Symonds gives you a great sense of that history."
American Naval History · fivebooks.com