Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet: American Sea Power Comes of Age
Kenneth Wimmel. Washington, DC: Brassey’s, 1998. 304 pp. Photos. Bib. Index. $25.95 ($23.35).
Reviewed by the Honorable Jerry M. Hultin
One cannot visit the Secretary of the Navy’s office without feeling the presence of the two Assistant Secretaries of the Navy who later became president. Oil portraits of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt frame the entrance to the Secretary’s office. The pictures serve as a reminder of the special place in naval history that both men occupy.
Theodore Roosevelt was the Assistant Secretary at the end of the last century. He took advantage of the frequent absences of the Secretary, John Long, to begin building a modem fleet. Less than six years later, President Roosevelt oversaw the U.S. Navy’s rapid growth to rival the great British fleet. If the 20th century is remembered in history as “The American Century,” Roosevelt was a catalyst of its beginning. He altered the direction of our nation, and the Navy served as his lever.
Kenneth Wimmel, a former sailor and retired foreign service officer, has written an informative book about those times. Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet is aptly subtitled “American Sea Power Comes of Age.” It discusses the naval issues surrounding the emergence of the United States as a world power. Wimmel weaves a compelling narrative. It begins with Roosevelt’s farewell to the fleet in December 1907, as it began its epic voyage around the world. Wimmel explores the events and figures of the age, and ends with a nice allusion to the modern aircraft carrier that bears Roosevelt’s name. The book is a concise, readable compilation of the events and attitudes surrounding Roosevelt’s acquisition and execution of naval knowledge; it does not, however, probe very deeply into Roosevelt as a leader and man.
The author highlights Alfred Thayer Mahan’s writings and their impact on the development of Roosevelt’s ideas. Many other historical figures—both political and military—appear throughout the book, influencing the formation of the Great White Fleet. Secretary of the Navy, William Chandler, added the first semimodern ships to the U.S. line of battle. Robley D. Evans captained the first ship of nearly every new class of battleship for a generation; he eventually commanded the Great White Fleet as it got underway for its epic tour. And there is William Simms, the young naval officer who single-handedly improved the material quality and gunnery capabilities of the U.S. fleet; his effort enshrined the battleship as the capital ship for the next 50 years.
Wimmel places these events against the backdrop of the Spanish-American and Russo-Japanese Wars, and the technological advances that defined the age. The Great White Fleet falls short of the reader’s expectations in it treatment of Roosevelt and his link to these events. Wimmel could have spent a greater effort explaining Roosevelt’s inspiration and motivation. Roosevelt rose rapidly from Assistant Secretary of the Navy to President in less than five years—was that simply the result of an assassin’s bullet, or Roosevelt’s skill as a politician? Why did Roosevelt, who did not care to go to sea, have such an affinity for sea-going matters? What brought him to write a book on naval warfare, The Naval War of 1812, at the age of 23? What drove him to accomplish all that he did with the Navy?
During the same 15 years that Wimmel describes, Roosevelt raised a family, fought in Cuba, served as Governor of New York, Vice President, and President. He took on trusts, protected the environment, wrote numerous books, and read up to three books an evening. While conveying Roosevelt’s energetic pursuit of his goals, TR’s willingness to slough off criticism, and his ability to effectively compromise, Wimmel does not explain why Roosevelt was the man he was. For answers to this question, the reader may wish to dig deeper and read Edmund Morris’s biography, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1980), or H. W. Brand’s TR, The Last Romantic (1998).
Into the Rising Sun: Vasco da Gama and the Search for the Sea Route to the East
Luc Cuyvers. New York: TV Books—HarperCollins, 1999. 175 pp. Photos. Index. Ref. $29.95 ($26.95).
Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander George S. Capen, U.S. Navy
Across Tiananmen Square and facing the Hall of the People in Beijing is a large red sign counting down the days remaining in this year. The difference between this sign and the one you would expect to see in Times Square, New York, is that the Chinese sign proclaims the days remaining until Macao reverts to Chinese rule. This is an extremely salient point of understanding about the importance the Chinese place on their territorial claims. And understanding the history from both the Chinese and Portuguese side is a worthy pursuit, given recent territorial issues in the region. It is therefore fitting that as the clock ticks down to the return of Macao, Luc Cuyvers has spent considerable effort in reconstructing the historical facts surrounding Portugal’s rich maritime achievements. These achievements culminated in a well established trade route to the East China Sea and attaining the island of Macao.
Cuyvers obviously has done a great deal of homework in telling this centuries-long story. This book, however, is written as a coffee table-like version of the made-for- television account in which the publisher, TV Books, specializes. As such, it loses some historical credibility and utility as a research book. The frequent opinions may not be the author’s own, but the lack of any notes or direction to original source material makes the book itself difficult to use for further study.
Also unfortunate, with the size and look of a coffee table book, it does not produce a quality display piece either. The photos—almost all of which were taken by Cuyvers—while spectacular and complementary to the Portuguese maritime tale, are too small and overpowered by the text. The textual editing overlooked numerous typographical errors that add to the sense that this is neither a quality reference work or tabletop showpiece.
The history surrounding Portugal’s maritime expansion and the story of Vasco da Gama’s rise to dominance in its Navy has been captured in this book. It is an interesting story filled with many colorful photos that bring the past to life. If the reader is able to brush aside the value of the book to a historian, these pages provide a fun reading experience. A list of selected references does provide for the reader interested in conducting research independent of Cuyvers’s text. A selection of short biographies about the key figures in Portuguese expansion and a chronology covering these expansion efforts from the 14th through 17th centuries provides a good addition similar to appendices in the rear of the book.
In this year of Macao’s reversion to Chinese rule, a study of Portugal’s seafaring history is germane. Cuyvers does an adequate job, but without the trimmings of a first-rate research book. The television show may provide more of the enjoyment without the shortcomings of the book.
The Reluctant Raiders: The Story of U.S. Navy Bombing Squadron VB/VPB-109 in World War II
Michael Carey. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1999. 240 pp. Photos. Appendices. Index. $29.95 ($26.95).
Reviewed by Hill Goodspeed
The subject of naval aviation in World War II conjures images of F6F Hellcat fighters and TBM Avenger torpedo- bombers roaring off the decks of aircraft carriers or PBY flying boats splashing into Pacific swells. Few people realize the extent to which the U.S. Navy employed land-based heavy bombers in combat in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Theaters. Michael Carey’s The Reluctant Raiders tells the story of VB/VPB-109, which served two combat tours in the Pacific during 1944-1945, and received the coveted Presidential Unit Citation.
The author, having combed through official action reports and interviewed surviving veterans of the squadron, provides a detailed recounting of its combat missions. In contrast to the mass high-altitude bombing formations that Army Air Forces B-24 pilots were accustomed to in the skies over Europe, Carey highlights the daring single-plane raids at masthead level that were routine for crews flying PB4Y-1 Liberators and later PB4Y-2 Privateers. They were also formidable opponents for attacking Japanese aircraft, given their heavy defensive firepower arrayed in turrets. Another interesting section of the book is devoted to the squadron’s employment of the Bat, the Navy’s first air-to-surface missile. The reader will appreciate more fully the frustrations of the VPB-109 crews in the formative days of guided missiles.
As expected of a Schiffer Military History book, The Reluctant Raiders features numerous photographs. Though some images are blurred, leaving the subjects unrecognizable, many are dramatic action photographs, from aerial combat with Japanese aircraft to low-level bombing and strafing attacks against enemy ships and ground installations. Other pages feature rare views of crewmen in the cockpit during a combat mission and the always-colorful nose art, which was rare on board Navy aircraft. The book concludes with an impressive series of appendices that provide crew rosters, combat statistics, and a listing of the bureau numbers and nicknames of aircraft assigned to the squadron.
Unfortunately, the text is marred with lapses in spelling and grammar that distract the reader and detract from the story. Readers also would have benefited from more extensive endnotes, indicating the specific archival source for information presented in the narrative. This leads to the book’s main shortcoming. The author states in his acknowledgments that he interviewed a number of members of VB/VPB-109. One would expect to find in the text some hint of the squadron’s various personalities and personal recollections of what it was like to endure the crucible of combat. Instead, the reader is left wondering about how the men in the cockpit and gun turrets reacted to their ordeals. Focusing more on the human element of warfare would have enhanced an otherwise detailed accounting of this decorated combat unit.