This book encompasses the design history of US destroyers. It provies unique details of the deisgn and construction, and eventual combat operations of destroyers. It goes from the very first to today's highly advanced destroyers. It is not for the novice, but makes a valuable addition to a maratime history library

Another excellent book in Norman Friedman's continuing "Illustrated Design" history of U.S. warcraft. This book covers subchasers, PT boats, gunboats, riverine warfare, and SEAL craft.

Britain started out ahead, but partly for that reason her carrier forces (and especially planes) were less suited for combat than America's. This is an excellent study of how that came to pass. Sadly missing is an equally insightful look at the Japanese carrier fleet, which in the winter of 1941-42 was arguably the equal of America's.

An intelligent and thoughtful study of how it happened that the United States started late, yet managed to enter World War II with a better carrier force than the Royal Navy. (In part, this was because the US *did* start late, and therefore didn't have an installed base of obsolete equipment.)

The only problem with this book is that it doesn't give equal time to the Japanese carrier fleet, which as it happened was America's only real competitor in this developing science.

Norman Friedman deserves credit for the way in which he manages to explain the concepts of 20th century physics so well. Unfortunately, his interpretation of quantum physics is rather conservative. The result is that he attempts to prop all of reality into a framework that is just too narrow and limited. It is not the definitive book on the relationship between modern physics and spirituality, but it's a good start.

Fascinating reading, especially seeing how some of science (quantum physics) ties in with things Seth said.

I now feel like I have have as much knowledge as any PHD in Physics or Philosophy!! This easy to read book about our three dimensional universe and it's interdependence with other dimensions and universes, will absolutely fascinate and challenge you to think about everything in a completely different way.

This is a fascinating modern submarine history book but it is a little too techie for me. After the first few chapters of in depth, detail descriptions of every type of sonar, radar and radio system known to man, I kind of nodded off. However, having spent a few years on the Regulas boats out of Pearl Harbor in the mid sixties I found the book enlightening and am glad I bought it. If you want to know a great deal about modern submarine design and development buy this book. If you enjoy reading about submariners and their activities read Blind Man's Bluff.

Rates a 4 instead of 5 in my book due to the order in which things are presented. Sometimes Friedman skips ahead in time to talk about something, which can confuse one as to what gets introduced when and interrupts the timeline.

Still, highly recommended for those who wonder WHY submarines (and ships in the other books of this series) were designed the way they were.

Despite the review that claims this isn't a sub-buff book -- it is! Packed with details rarely seen, this tome is sure to fascinate. I received a copy a couple of Christmas's back, and spent the next hour on the couch, absolutely fascinated. Author Friedman deftly blends both technical and political information. You learn about the systems that created the ships. Indispensible for the sub buff and historian.

Somewhat disappointing for a book by native source author. Text on ship classes is sparse, akin to the Jane's series. Expected to be more like Conway's series with substantive, informative, explanative text not available elsewhere; book didn't deliver in this respect. Line drawings look more than hand drawings; especially disappointing given Norman Friedman's involvement with this book. Good beginning when viewed as a first of more to come. The USSR and Russian navies have the mystery of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1860-1945); a distinct lack of definitive works. Hope revised and updated works are coming. Would be interesting for enthusiasts to compare this book's information with Jordan's 1983 book of USSR Navy (1960-1983) to determine how much new information since USSR breakup.

This book is perhaps the first of its subject to use first hand sources. The various developments of Soviet naval vessels post-war is outlined plus a history of each vessel is mentioned. The book is at its best in giving the bureau number and designation as given by the Soviets, unlike most Western books which use NATO nomenclature. For the first time, many significant ships, especially the submarine classes, are outlined.

My only complaints are with the illustrationsand paper quality. The drawings are not to a consistent scale and many of them are rendered in a heavy black ink which makes details hard to distinguish. Photo quality could be better, but of course Cold War era photos of any quality are hard to come by. Photo and drawing reproduction quality could be improved if the book wwas printed on glossy paper (a suggestion for the next edition).

The technical information given in this book surpasses any other examples own. As an fan of the Russian navy I would recommend this to any naval enthuisiast. unfortunately the print is not in colour but it is of high quality.

This book does a good job of laying out all the foreign policy, strategic, and military moves, as well as providing context -- although I sometimes found the level of detail to be overwhelming. Some parts read like a political-psychological thriller (who thought what about whom, whether their premises were correct, and how they acted on those premises); other parts resemble a technical manual for various weapons. It will probably be interesting to both political junkies as well as military buffs. Due to the great level of detail, bring patience if you you're new to Cold War history, as I was.

I've read quite a few Cold-War books, and this is the best of the lot.

Friedman gives much more analysis and detail than most of the others go into. Notably lacking in other texts, but making up the first several chapters of this one, Friedman discusses and dissects the Stalinist society of pre- to post-WW2; this is an important foundation for understanding the Soviets, and the other books (mostly liberal-apoligist) can't bear to admit the evils perpetuated in Stalin's name.

As a second example, Friedman also covers quite well the horrible, but often glossed-over, mistakes of the Kennedy-Johnson-McNamara years, especially the fallacies of Johnson's Vietnam policy.

This book covers, in both depth and breadth, more than the others, and is not afraid to say what needs to be said.

The post-Cold War world began on September 11, 2001. What came before? You think you know: after all you were alive then, right?

Well, maybe. The passage of time and the opening of the FSU archives create an opportunity for a thorough and knowledgable reexaamination of the entire conflict. Eisenhower comes across as a tough old buzzard who saw the "missile gap" as an Air Force lobbying campaign. The focus, however, is on Reagan, the man who won the Cold War.

This is mind-stretching stuff, well worth the money. The Cold War is the knowledge vacuum at the center of the anti-globalization movement. The Cold War didn't turn out quite the way liberals expected, and some are loath to look back. But we all should.

A timely and thought-provoking work. One of the most important history books of the past year.

Almost too much information to take. As said below, this book is a value compared to others but it's not cheap. The main thing that dissapointed me was the lack of drawings or photos of missile launching systems. I know they are out there for publishing since Mr. Friedman put so many fine examples of Talos, Terrier, and Tartar in his book "US Naval weapon Systems" a few years ago. Same goes for the Naval gun section. For the money, I would have liked to have seen this.

This massive book is filled with more text than three $400 Jane's reference books. Like most references written by Norman Friedman, it contains so much detail it's almost unbelievable such a work is available to the public. It covers those systems that are often neglected in other naval references like Jane's Fighting Ships or Combat Fleets. Every possible combat system is included from onboard computer systems to sensors, sonar bouys, missiles of all kinds, torpedoes and lots more. It covers all systems currently in use by all navies plus an abundance of prototype Russian weapons. I was only disappointed by the lack of detail and a few greatly outdated tidbits of information on the strategic nuclear systems, but there are other books for that. The quality of the information and photos in this book, you will not find anywhere else--it is well worth the price.

This is a fascinating book, because it is essentially what the subtitle says - the British Royal Navy's recognition and intelligence guide to the Imperial German High Seas Fleet. Friedman write the introduction to this reprint of that work, and ties in the history of such guides through WWII and to intelligence today, which is a fascinating little essay of its own.

The main points of this book are the details - including some operational details - of the German warships. Some ships already lost at the time of this volume (1917) have negligible coverage, so if you want to know about SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU do not look here. But the details on the extant ships of 1917 are surprisingly detailed, SEYDLITZ especially - it appears that the claim that the British had acquired her blueprints is true, based on the extremely thorough and accurate coverage of that vessel. There are also details such as the forward guns of German dreadnoughts not generally being fired at night (to avoid blinding the bridge crews in the days before flashless powder); how firing orders were transmitted to destroyer gun crews, and much more. Thus this is a most useful book for the serious student of the WWI German Navy even if the data is seen through a British filter.

I am an ear, nose, and throat surgeon in Indonesia. May I know the first volume of Head and Neck Surgery Book by Byron J. Bailey ? I want to know about the prizes of it. How do I get the first volume ? I have just had the second volume. Thank you.