Publisher's Page

By Jim Barber Publisher
August 1996
Naval History
Volume 10 Number 4
Comments

In this edition, we take on several historic issues that still resonate today. Robert Timberg writes about the wide gap between Vietnam veterans and draft evaders, many of whom became folk heroes at home. Times have changed, he says, but some attitudes die hard.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the atomic bomb tests at Bikini atoll, a maritime historian retells the story of the tests and the legacy they left behind. An Operation Crossroads historian also details why and how the Navy decided to open the tests to press coverage.

An expert on early-20th-century naval strategy profiles Admiral Sir John Fisher, one First Sea Lord who changed the Royal Navy.

Also in this issue—the biographer of Admiral Clifton A. F. Sprague asks baseball announcer Ernie Harwell about his reporting for Leatherneck magazine in World War II; Max Brand takes to the air at Guadalcanal; submarines become operating rooms; and a Civil War ship finds a home in North Carolina.

Jim Barber Publisher

CAPT James A. Barber Jr., USN (Ret.) (1934–2017), served thirty years as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy before retiring as a captain. His assignments included three commands at sea: a guided-missile cruiser, a guided-missile frigate, and a destroyer escort. Other assignments included special sea detail officer of the deck of an aircraft carrier, senior watch officer of a destroyer, executive officer of a destroyer, and qualification as a convoy commodore. In 1984 he was appointed CEO and publisher of the U.S. Naval Institute, a position he held for fifteen years.↵ Captain Barber earned a PhD at Stanford University and taught at Vanderbilt, the Naval War College, and George Washington University. His awards include the Navy League’s Alfred Thayer Mahan Award, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with combat “V,” the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, and six awards of the Vietnam Service Medal. In 1999 he was presented with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Meritorious Public Service Award, and in 2000 with the Navy’s highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Award. He published two other books, including The Military and American Society: Essays and Readings, co-edited with Stephen Ambrose.

More Stories From This Author View Biography

Quicklinks