Benjamin Hruska, Valor and Courage: The Story of the USS Block Island Escort Carriers in World War II. Tuscaloosa: University Alabama Press, 2021. 288 pp. Review by Lt Col Nicholas Smith Senior Instructor, United States Air Force Academy “For the 957 sailors on board, the two German torpedoes with 660 pounds of explosives slamming Block Island caught them in a range of activities including showering, cooking meals, and doing laundry…..immediately heading for the bridge (Captain) Hughes witnessed visible damage, ‘en route I noticed the port side of the flight deck curled back about ten feet and ..read more

Benjamin Armstrong, Small Boats and Daring Men Maritime Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy. Norman: The University of Oklahoma Press, 2019. 280 pp. Review by Dr. Justin Simundson, PhD Assistant Professor, United States Air Force Academy Benjamin Armstrong’s Small Boats and Daring Men provides a fascinating account of an often-overlooked aspect of naval history. Armstrong, a Navy Commander and Associate Professor at the US Naval Academy, has already written extensively on naval history and that clearly helped lead to this refined book on naval irregular warfare. With eight ..read more

Kevin D. McCranie, Mahan, Corbett, and the Foundations of Naval Strategic Thought. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2021. 320 pp Review by Dr. Joseph Moretz, Ph D, FRHistS Those writing on naval affairs will ever be indebted to Alfred Thayer Mahan and Julian Corbett, if not the first to put pen to paper and write about navies, then they remain of the first rank of those still cited owing to their breadth of treatment, originality of thought, and continuing influence. More than historians, though assuredly they remained that within the limits of Clio’s art in their time, both proved to be theo ..read more

Catherine Musemeche, Lethal Tides: Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II. New York: Harper Collins, 2022. 394 pp. Review by Dr. Gary Weir, PhD Editor Emeritus, International Journal of Naval History On Mary Sears’ eightieth birthday one of the grandfathers of American oceanography, Scripps’ director Roger Revelle, described her as a “force of nature.” In my own research as an historian of American oceanography I once discovered a letter written by the Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Columbus Iselin, that referred to her using the male per ..read more

Nicholas Jellicoe, George Jellicoe: SAS and SBS Commander. Barnsley: ‎Pen and Sword Military, 2021. 336 pp. Review by Dr. Frank Sobchk, PhD George Jellicoe: SAS and SBS Commander, offers a biographical narrative of a leader that, while he is not as widely recognized as David Stirling or David Lloyd Owen, played an equally important role in the development of British special operations forces. Jellicoe was the son of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and later became the First Sea Lord. George Jellicoe’s original plans to serve in the Brit ..read more

Paul Stillwell, Battleship Commander: The Life of Vice Admiral Willis A. Lee Jr. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2021. 368 pp. Dr. Corbin Williamson, PhD United States Air War College While the most senior U.S. Navy admirals of World War II have been the subjects of biographical studies (King, Nimitz, Halsey, Spruance), mid-ranking admirals have been less well examined. Paul Stillwell seeks to correct that imbalance in this study of the Navy’s best known battleship commander of World War II, Vice Admiral Willis Lee, Jr. Stillwell relies on numerous oral histories and correspondence with memb ..read more

Tyler Kaus National History Day Tyler Kaus of Chadron Senior History School was honored in the History of Physical Sciences and Technology with his documentary entry titled, Grace Hopper: Computer Communicator. In an interview with local news in Chadron, NE, Tyler had this to say: “I was introduced to National History Day in 6th grade. It was an opportunity for me to participate in an extracurricular activity that was not athletic-based. When I learned that I could use my computer skills it seemed like the perfect activity. In addition, I really enjoy history. I decided to research Grace Hoppe ..read more

Marian Matyn Clarke Historical Library As the Archivist and an Associate Professor at the Clarke Historical Library, I’m pleased to use this column to highlight some of the library’s Great Lakes Maritime history resources, documents, and collections from the 19th and 20th centuries. The Clarke is a historical library and archives established in 1954 at Central Michigan University (CMU), which began as a teacher normal school. We mainly collect Michigan history in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, Mackinaw to Lansing. The collection increased over time through the efforts of staff and d ..read more

Aleksandr Gelfand Archives and Records Management Section (ARMS) The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. The archives of the United Nations covers four broad areas: the Secretaries-General, Secretariat Departments, Peacekeeping Missions, and Predecessor Organizations. The archives are arranged into Series which fall under larger archival groups (or “Fonds”) that are derived from the particular office or agency that created them. The creating agency can be a United Nations department, mission, panel or body, Secretary-Ge ..read more

Henrikki Tikkanen Aalto University School of Business Abstract Admiral Sir John Fisher was the leading figure behind the considerable reforms that took place in the Royal Navy before and during the First World War. Britain was engaged in a costly naval arms race with Imperial Germany during the Fisher era of 1904-1919. The controversial admiral surrounded himself with a network of followers who were tangential to the success and continuation of many of his reforms. This network has been termed the ‘Fishpond’. It is often seen as a valuable resource for Fisher, enabling him to realize his organ ..read more