US Amphibious Ships and Craft: An Illustrated Design History. (Bookshelf Ideas).

by Norman Friedman, published by the Naval Institute Press List price $85 Hardbound (ISBN1-55750-250-0)

This book describes the ships and craft of the US amphibious force, from its inception in the 1920s through World War II to the present. The author explains how and why the United States successfully created an entirely new kind of fleet to fight and win such battles as D-Day and the island landings in the Pacific during World War II. The work lays out the differing views and contributions of the Army, Navy, and Marines as well as the British, and tells how they affected the development of prewar and wartime amphibious forces. Current and future amphibious forces and tactics are explained, together with their implications for ships and craft -- from forty thousand ton amphibious carriers to tracked amphibious vehicles.

As in earlier volumes in the series, this study sheds light on past decisions by presenting previously unpublished documents that illustrate not only what was actually built but also what was planned and never brought into service. For example, the book offers the first comprehensive and fully illustrated account of abortive attempts in the 1960s and beyond to build new fire support ships (LFSS). With some two hundred photographs and specially-commissioned line drawings together with extensive appendices, the book conveniently brings together details of the ships and their service histories found elsewhere only in scattered official references.

This is an extremely interesting work for those fascinated by naval ships. The detail is incredible and the quality of the photographs and drawings exceptional. As a thorough examination of a small segment of naval history, this work is without parallel.