Прочая образовательная литература
Различные книги в жанре Прочая образовательная литератураUtmost Gallantry
Focusing on the oceanic war rather than the war in the Great Lakes, this study charts the War of 1812 from the perspectives of the two opposing navies at sea—one of the largest fleets in the world and a small, upstart navy just three decades old. While American naval leadership searched for a means of contesting Britain’s naval dominance, the English sought to destroy the U.S. Navy and protect its oceanic highways. Instead of describing battles between opposing warships, McCranie evaluates entire cruises by American and British men-of-war, noting both successes and failures and how they translated into broader strategies. In the process, his study becomes a history of how the two navies fought the oceanic war, linking high-level governmental decisions about strategy to the operational use of fleets in the Atlantic and Caribbean and from the South Pacific to the Indian Ocean.Unlike other books on the subject, this work offers a balanced appraisal of the oceanic war on the high seas, taking into account the strategic considerations of both combatants and how the leadership from each side assessed, planned, and implemented operational concepts. Drawing on a wealth of British and American archival sources, McCranie guides the reader through the strategic decision making processes on both sides of the Atlantic. He demonstrates vividly the impact of those decisions on the course of the war at sea, where the contest was close and deadly. Indeed, the author’s action-packed accounts of battles hold special appeal.This study offers a more balanced appraisal of the war than most studies of the topic. Particularly important is the stress on understanding British strategic imperatives and the correlation between these imperatives and why Britain conducted the oceanic naval war in the manner it did. This study focuses on all cruises of American warships, not just those that terminated in battles so as to provide a more complete history of the naval war.
Women in the Navy: The Challenges
The U.S. Naval Institute Chronicles series focuses on the relevance of history by exploring topics like significant battles, personalities, and service components. Tapping into the U.S. Naval Institute's robust archives, these carefully selected volumes help readers understand nuanced subjects by providing unique perspectives and some of the best contributions that have helped shape naval thinking over the many decades since the Institute’s founding in 1873.Serving as a companion to the history of women in the Navy, this volume presents the challenges that have accompanied the long road to gender integration. In these pages readers will find edification, clarification, and much food for thought about one of the most significant national defense issues of modern times.
An American Adventure
A memoir of extraordinary scope, William Lloyd Stearman's reminiscences will attract those interested in early aviation, World War II in the Pacific, life as a diplomat behind the Iron Curtain, the Vietnam War, and the ins and outs of national security decision making in the White House. Stearman begins with a description of his childhood as the son of aviation pioneer Lloyd Stearman. He then covers his naval combat experiences in the Pacific War and later struggles as one of the Navy's youngest ship captains. Following graduate school, he moved to the front lines of the Cold War and writes about his life as a diplomat who negotiated with the Soviets, spent nine years in Berlin and Vienna, and was director of psychological operations against North Vietnam. His reflections on seventeen years with the National Security Council at the White House are of special interest.
Hostage on the Yangtze
In 1949, as the Chinese Civil War was about to enter its final, explosive stage, the small British frigate HMS Amethyst was sent on a dangerous mission up the Yangtze River to protect British citizens in Nanking. En route it was attacked by the Chinese Communists and held hostage on the river for several months before the crew managed to make a daring escape.The 'Amethyst' captured news headlines around the world and became an unlikely symbol of the cold war in Asia. This dramatic episode, hailed in the West as a triumph of the human spirit but bitterly condemned by the Chinese Communists, was to prejudice Anglo-Chinese relations for years to come.Using sources not previously available, Malcolm Murfett has written a book that is much more than an account of a single incident. It provides a sweeping survey of British naval power in China, from its faltering and inept beginnings in the late 1630s right up to the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. In explaining the importance of the Amethyst episode in the history of Anglo-Chinese naval relations, Murfett suggests that it was the final poignant break with the past.Readers will find Hostage on the Yangtze to be a fascinating tale of high adventure, imperialistic oppression, diplomatic shortcomings, and political repercussions – a mixture that culminates in one of the most dramatic and memorable crises of the post-war world.
At the Water's Edge
The amphibious assault against a defended beach is fully explored from the perspective of the defender.
Anti-Access Warfare
The book is the definitive conceptual and historical introduction to the concept of anti-access strategies. Unlike current studies, it is not simply technology focused. Nor is it primarily intended as critique of the current Air-Sea Battle concept. It combines conceptual thinking with historical examples and potential scenarios in order to identify options for future defense planning.Strategies of “anti-access,” also known as “area denial” (more recently combined into the awkward acronym “A2/AD”) are presumed to be the primary threats to the employment of U.S. military forces in overseas crises. This presumption has gradually evolved into a joint concept of “operational access.” Anti-access capabilities appear to be the current military posture of the People’s Republic of China and Islamic Republic of Iran. The study of anti-access or area denial strategies for use against American power projection capabilities has strong naval roots—which have been largely ignored by the most influential commentators. In reality, denial of access was the Soviet Navy’s operational objective during the Cold War. The first use of the actual anti-access term can be traced to a series of “anti-Navy” studies by the Office of Net Assessment designed to examine the ability of the U.S. Navy to carry out its Maritime Strategy and, later, “…From the Sea” strategic vision. Sustained long-range power projection is both a unique strength of U.S. military forces and a requirement for an activist foreign policy and forward defense. In more recent years, the logic of the anti-access approach has been identified by the Department of Defense as a threat to this U.S. capability and the joint force; countering it is one of the defense priorities identified in the President’s directions issued this past January. In addition to potential regional powers, a number of think-tanks have suggested that non-state actors, such as terrorist organizations, are developing anti-access/area denial capabilities.The book’s conclusions differ from most commentary on anti-access. Rather than a technology-driven post-Cold War phenomenon, the anti-access approach has been a routine element of grand strategy used by strategically weaker powers to confront stronger powers throughout history. But they have been largely unsuccessful when confronting a stronger maritime power. Although high technology weapons capabilities enhance the threat, they also can be used to mitigate the threat. Rather than arguing against reliance on maritime forces—presumably because they are no longer survivable—the historical analysis argues that maritime capabilities are key in “breaking the great walls.”
Lighthouses & Keepers
From the East Coast to the West Coast, the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and Hawaiian Islands, this handsome book helps explain the lure of lighthouses in the United States. Among the most recognized structures of the maritime world, these lonely sentinels by the sea have long been the subject of paintings and photographs. Today they continue to capture public imagination as Americans flock to their sites for visits and volunteer to help preserve these endangered structures. This book covers all aspects of the subject, not only lighthouses and lightships but buoys, buoy tenders, fog signals, and their keepers. The work is as rich in historical information as it is in rarely seen photographs, and fourteen maps guide readers to the exact locations of the lighthouses. Readers are also treated to stories of shipwrecks and rescues, including the extraordinary story of Ida Lewis, head keeper of the light at Lime Rock, Rhode Island, who rescued eighteen people from the sea.
Character in Action
How does the U.S. Coast Guard create, instill, and maintain leadership throughout a 40,000 member force spread across the United States? A former Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and a best-selling author combine their knowledge of the subject to offer a formula for success. Donald T. Phillips, who has written eight books on leadership, asserts that the Coast Guard is a superlative example of an organization with effective leadership, loaded with leaders at all levels. From a guardsman scraping barnacles off buoys in the Gulf of Mexico to the captain of a cutter in the Gulf of Alaska to the Commandant in Washington, they know exactly what leadership is, how it works, and why it is important. This case study in leadership uses the Coast Guard as an example for other organizations who want to imbue leadership to every single one of its members. An effective leadership beacon, the book is replete with tangible examples, vivid anecdotes, and explicit guidelines on how to instill leadership throughout an entire organization. Stories abound on Coast Guard efficiency, innovation, and heroism and many are used to illustrate the service's effectiveness and to engage the reader. From the military and government communities to the business world, a variety of organizations can benefit from this outstanding leadership guide.
Mahan on Naval Strategy
This book makes a valuable and original contribution to the study of strategic thinking of one of the greatest naval theoreticians of all time. Rather than taking one of Mahan’s many works and reprinting it, this volume offers a unique collection of articles and chapters from many books by Mahan, selected to capture the whole range of his thinking. With these key selections, readers have a single, convenient reference to help them toward a full understanding of Mahan’s logic and thinking.
Lady in the Navy
When legislation was passed in 1948 giving women permanent status in the regular and reserve Navy, it was largely due to the efforts of Joy Bright Hancock, the author of this revealing memoir. Her prominent role was acknowledged at the time by the secretary of the navy who credited her ideals, energy, and enthusiasm as the moving force behind the historic integration of women into the U.S. Navy, including the 1942 establishment of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). This personal account of those formative years has long been considered the best study available. Originally published in 1972 and out of print for nearly twenty-five years, it is now being reissued in paperback to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the birth of the WAVES.Hancock's own work as a Yeoman in World War I offered the armed services a lesson in the benefits of having women in uniform. Her descriptions are eye opening of those early days and her later efforts, when finally in a position of authority, to argue the case for women. With a wealth of documentation and numerous photographs, she chronicles not only her career but also the evolution of Navy women, offering colorful details of the legislative battles to get women admitted into the regular Navy. She reminds us that although it was not until 1967 that the last restriction of rank was removed, WAVES always served with equal pay for equal work. This new edition of her book will introduce generations of Americans to the problems of establishing a place for women in the Navy and details of Hancock's dogged pursuit of fair treatment for women in the armed services.