Thomas Wildenberg
Auteur de Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower
A propos de l'auteur
Thomas Wildenberg is the archivist and collections manager of the National Museum of American Jewish Military History, in Washington, D.C.
Œuvres de Thomas Wildenberg
Destined for Glory: Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower (1998) 32 exemplaires
All the Factors of Victory: Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves and the Origins of Carrier Airpower (2003) 26 exemplaires
Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1992 (1996) 16 exemplaires
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Sexe
- male
Membres
Critiques
Prix et récompenses
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 8
- Membres
- 119
- Popularité
- #166,388
- Évaluation
- 3.7
- Critiques
- 5
- ISBN
- 16
This book weighs in at a paltry 268 pages, of which 72 are dedicated to four appendices, endnotes, a bibliography, and the index. The authors also provide two pages of perspective, a page of acknowledgements, a brief explanation of torpedo nomenclature and designations, along with 16 numbered chapters. The first six chapters spanning pages 1-70 take the history of this weapon from its inspired origins during the American Revolution to the beginning of World War II. Chapters 7 through 12 cover the World War II experience in 78 pages (almost 40% of the book). The remaining chapters totaling some 48 pages are left to take the story through the post-World War II period to the 21st century.
The perspective pages of the book highlight and bemoan the lack of scholarship concerning the development and operational use of what was the most complex weapon systems used by the Navy until the Missile Age. Based upon my reading, the authors have not filled the gap they describe. The reading through Chapter 12 is fine, although I think the authors could take a page or two from Norman Friedman's writing book and describe the military-industrial complex associated with this specialized ordnance. As bureaucracies are major contributors to the story of the U.S. torpedo, their part in the history represented in this book is neither properly documented nor understood. Furthermore, there are parts of this book that other works and authors speak better to--why repeat it unless you need filler material to complete this book?
The post-World War II part of this book is just not up to snuff. My suspicion is that records classification issues impact the work on these chapters, as the Navy still resists the full declassification of any torpedoes beginning with and coming after the Mark 37. That being said, one can't help but notice that Friedman provides significantly more detail in the various volumes of his series of "World Naval Weapon Systems" books, so the information about these torpedoes is certainly available in the public domain--it's just not in this book.
Overall I found this book to be a disappointment. One can see more details about the Civil War and World War II eras in separate books on these subjects, and the postwar weapons' histories are simply too shallow for a reader interested in this topic. Given the relatively high MSRP for this book (although the title can be found deeply discounted at some outlets), I just don't think I got my money's worth.… (plus d'informations)