Product Description: United States. -- Navy -- History. United States -- Military policy. United States -- Politics and government -- 1783-1865.

A visual and narrative overview of the major battles of the American revolution chronicles the emergence of a nation

Product Description: The riveting story of a cabin boy in the Union navy and his participation in 19 sea battles.

A study of the life and career of the general who was in command of Confederate forces at the South's first and last victories

A guide to the principal campaigns of the Civil War from the point of view of field commanders with text subdivided by conflict (view table of contents)

Covers U.S. Navy history from the Revolutionary War to the Gulf War, looking at important naval battles and operations

(view table of contents)

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Filled with photographs, drawings, maps, firsthand accounts, and essays, a lavishly illustrated and thorough history of one of the most lethal battles in all of American history provides a gripping narrative that captures the personalities, struggles, and decisions on both sides of the battlefield. Reprint.

Provides detailed narratives of five key battles that defined the evolution of naval warfare and the course of the American nation, including Oliver Hazard Perry's victory at Lake Erie, the Civil War duel between the Monitor and Virginia, Dewey's 1898 triumph in Manila, the World War II victory at Midway, and Operation Praying Mantis in the Persian Gulf.

In covering the 55-year career of the Confederate Navy's first admiral, Symonds (naval and Civil War history, US Naval Academy) illuminates US Navy milestones in the antebellum and Civil War eras including Buchanan's pivotal role in the establishment of the Naval Academy and in Perry's campaign to open Japan to Western trade. Includes illustrations of Buchanan (1800-1874), his ships, battles, and residences. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Product Description: Despite a wealth of books on the campaigns of the American Civil War, the subject of combined or joint operations has been largely neglected. This revealing book offers ten case studies of combined Army–Navy operations by Union forces...read more

This work provides an assessment of the crucial roles played by the Union and Confederate navies in the Civil War.From Craig Symonds, author of the 2009 Lincoln Prize award-winner Lincoln and His Admirals, comes a fascinating look at the era when American naval power came of age. Thoroughly researched and excitingly written, it brings to light a wealth of new information on a pivotal aspect of the Civil War.The Civil War at Sea covers navies on both sides of the conflict, examining key issues such as the impact of emergent technologies, the effectiveness of the Union's ambitious strategy of blockading, the odyssey of Confederate commerce raiders, the role of naval forces on the western rivers, and the difficulty of conducting combined sea and ground operations against the major Southern port cities. For Civil War buffs, fans of military and technological history, and other interested readers, it is insightful, essential reading.• Useful maps relevant to the deployment of the Union and Confederate navies• Extensive bibliography of contemporary and archival resources in print and online

There are few moments in military history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk by American planes. Though the Second World War had three more years to run, the Imperial Japanese Navy would never again initiate a strategic offensive.In this spellbinding account of a key turning point, one of America’s leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds, paints a portrait of ingenuity, courage, sacrifice, and chance. Symonds begins with the arrival of Admiral Chester A. Nimitz at Pearl Harbor after the devastating Japanese attack, and describes the events leading to the climactic battle, including both Coral Sea―the first in history involving opposing carrier forces―and Jimmy Doolittle’s daring raid of Tokyo. He focuses throughout on the people involved, offering telling portraits of Admirals Nimitz, King, Halsey, and Spruance as well as the leading Japanese figures, including the poker-enthusiast Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku and Admiral Nagumo Chuichi. Indeed, Symonds illuminates the aspects of Japanese culture―such as their single-minded devotion to combat, which led to poorly armored planes and inadequate fire-safety measures on their ships―that contributed to their defeat.Symonds’ account of the battle itself is deft and exhaustive, weaving together the many disparate threads of attack―attacks that failed in the early going―that ultimately created a five-minute window in which three of the four Japanese carriers were mortally wounded, changing the course of the Pacific war in an eye-blink.The American victory at Midway was both less incredible and miraculous than it has sometimes been portrayed. It was, instead, the result of a web of contingencies and decisions than can be traced back to their origins and reconnected. As Symonds’ book brilliantly demonstrates, doing so detracts nothing from the battle’s significance and drama, nor loosens its enduring hold on our imaginations.