WHO CAN HOLD THE SEA

With half a dozen accounts of the U.S. Navy under his belt, award-winning naval historian Hornfischer does not disappoint with his latest.

Following Japan’s surrender, American ships transitioned smoothly into the massive job of carrying home several million soldiers and “mothballing” nearly 2,000 ships. However, by the end of the year, naval leaders confronted a life-and-death battle, as Congress was considering a bill to unify the Navy and Army under a single leader. That it might save money and increase efficiency was little comfort to Navy admirals, certain that the Navy was the nation’s first line of defense, and they persuaded Congress that it must continue to stand alone. Hornfischer takes the Navy’s side, emphasizing that “it was control of the sea that made every other dimension of national power possible. America was the only nation to have that capacity.” Despite the temporary shrinkage, America’s Navy dwarfed all others and controlled the world’s sea lanes throughout this period and into the present day. The Soviet Union never attempted to compete, and the absence of a world war does not mean the absence of fireworks. The author delivers plenty, although many were political or technological. Most experts assumed that future wars would be nuclear, but they were wrong, and Hornfischer offers adept accounts of atomic tests and the Navy’s creation of a nuclear strike force. Readers will enjoy the history of the atomic submarine but may scratch their heads over an interesting but overlong story about the 1949 sinking of the diesel submarine Cochino. The author’s well-rendered chronicle of the Korean War may be one of the first to focus on the Navy. He holds a low opinion of the Air Force’s preference for strategic bombing, which wreaked havoc behind the lines but often left Army units begging in vain for help. Long accustomed to working closely with the Marines, carrier-based planes provided them accurate, often lifesaving air support.

An expert account for fans of military history.