Books

America’s First Aircraft Carrier: USS Langley and the Dawn of U.S. Naval Aviation

America’s First Aircraft Carrier tells the remarkable story of the USS Langley. The narrative provides an in-depth discussion of the ship’s origins as the collier USS Jupiter, which was built with a “first of” propulsion system that has been adapted for use in present-day Ford-class carriers. Author David F. Winkler considers the post–World War...

The Mighty A: The Short, Heroic Life of the USS Atlanta (CL-51): America’s First Warship Commissioned After Pearl Harbor

“This microhistory of the birth, life, and death of an American cruiser offers valuable insight into the early years of World War II, including the procedures, processes, and personnel of the Navy, naval life, and naval warfare. The account of its loss in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal is particularly gripping.” — Craig Symonds, author of...

Witness to Neptune’s Inferno

”... a tantalizing window into Mustin’s experiences during the early years of the conflict, with vivid details captured by Mustin’s war diary and his personal recollections of the Battle of Guadalcanal from a naval perspective.” -- American Rifleman 1942 would prove crucial for the United States in the Pacific following the Japanese attack on...

Destroyers at War: A Personal Retrospective of the Pacific Theater

In Destroyers at War Adm. James L. Holloway III, the twentieth Chief of Naval Operations, recalls his early life and service on destroyers during the final campaigns of the Pacific War in World War II. As the assistant gunnery officer in USS Ringgold (DD 500) and the gun boss on USS Bennion (DD 665), he took part in shore bombardment and...

Tribute to a Generation: Haydn Williams and the Building of the World War II Memorial

Tribute to a Generation highlights the unappreciated yet pivotal role Ambassador F. Haydn Williams played in making the World War II Memorial in Washington what it is today. As a naval officer sent into Japan to repatriate Maj. Pappy Boyington and other POWs at the end of World War II, Williams became a rising star in the Eisenhower and Kennedy...

Incidents at Sea

Drawing on extensive State Department files, declassified Navy policy papers, interviews with both former top officials and individuals who were involved in incidents, David F. Winkler examines the evolution of the U.S.-Soviet naval relationship during the Cold War, focusing in particular on the 1972 Incidents at Sea Agreement (INCSEA). In this...

Amirs, Admirals, and Desert Sailors

Host to the U.S. Navy for nearly six decades, Bahrain has been a steadfast American ally in the turbulent Middle East. Its unique relationship with the United States evolved through a series of friendships between Bahrain’s ruling Al Khalifa royal family and top U.S. Navy flag officers assigned to the fleet in the Gulf. Over the years it has...