BOOK DEPARTMENT
Members of the Institute, both regular and associate, may save money by ordering books through its Book Department, which will supply any obtainable book. A discount of 10 per cent is allowed on books published by the Institute, and 5 per cent on books of other publishers (government and foreign publications excepted). Address Secretary-Treasurer, U. S. Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland.
THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PACIFIC. By Captain W. D. Puleston, U. S. Navy. New Haven: Yale University Press. 273 pages with index. 1941. $2.75.
Reviewed by Captain Harry A. Baldridge, U. S. Navy (Retired)
This book discusses the relative strengths of the great powers that border on the Pacific Ocean, the “American stake” in the Far East, and how it can be defended.
In other words, it is an “estimate of the situation” from the broad point of view without going into confidential matters from a military point of view which might be contrary to the best interests of the country. There is a possibility that some uninformed might think otherwise in view of the fact that Captain Puleston (whose last book was Mahan) was formerly the Director of Naval Intelligence.
Among other subjects discussed are the probable causes of war and the possibilities of peace; the state of training of the Japanese Army and Navy, their strategical aims and tactical execution; the strength of Britain’s base at Singapore; the military situation in the Dutch East Indies, Philippines, and Hawaii; and the probable action of the United States in the event of war.
The above seems like a large order to cover in 273 pages but the author, while dedicating his book to “The Armed Forces of the United States,” obviously intended his work for the general public which is of course much interested in the affairs of the Far East at this time. The book fulfills this purpose.
Admiral H. E. Yarnell, the former Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Fleet, has written the Foreword. The book was published on the Foundation Established in Memory of Oliver Baty Cunningham of the Class of 1917, Yale College, and is the eighteenth work published by the Yale University Press on the Foundation.
TWO SURVIVED. By Guy Pearce Jones. New York: Random House. 1941. 193 pages. $2.00.
Reviewed by Professor Charles Lee Lewis, U. S. Naval Academy
Many books have been written recounting the adventures of hardy sailors in small boats on long and perilous voyages. But in the display of almost incredible courage in the face of heartbreaking disappointments and most terrible human suffering, none of them equal the recently published Two Survived by Guy Pearce Jones. This book makes Stephen Crane’s short story, “The Open Boat,” which was highly praised by Conrad, seem rather tame and unreal, and serves as another example of the old saying that truth is often stranger than fiction.
Only two survived of the original seven British seamen who escaped in an 18-foot jolly boat from the Anglo-Saxon when she was sunk off the Azores by a German raider. For 70 days in this open boat, most inadequately equipped and provisioned, they suffered from the heat of the sun, the pangs of thirst and hunger, and the fear of death in its most terrifying forms, seeing their comrades die day by day. When their little boat finally landed on Eleuthera, one of the Bahamas, it had sailed 2,275 miles direct from the scene of the disaster and about 3,000 miles in its actual course. The two survivors, Robert Tapscott and Wilbert Widdicombe, were then nearly dead of starvation; but their unconquerable spirit had won in one of the most thrilling stories of man’s encounter with the sea.
THE FIRST SERGEANT’S HANDBOOK. By Walter R. Hooper, First Sergeant, U. S. Marine Corps. Menasha, Wisconsin: First edition. 1941. 68 pages. Paper. $.75.
Reviewed by Major E. E. Larson, U. S. Marine Corps
The First Sergeant’s Handbook, prepared by Walter R. Hooper, 1st Sergeant, U.S.M.C., fills a need, long existing, as a supplementary aid to company administration. It is a concise summary of valuable information regarding matters of administrative importance. The book is divided into six general subject headings with pertinent and correlated material indexed and outlined in a simple, handy manner for ready reference. The contents, summarizing data from official publications, cover the range of routine administrative problems and office work. This book will be particularly valuable to the many recently promoted company clerks, first sergeants, and inexperienced officers. For those in command of small independent detachments, The First Sergeant’s Handbook will be especially useful and valuable.
NAVIGATION OF AIRCRAFT and AIR PILOTS’ DEAD RECKONING TABLES (two volumes). By Commander Logan C. Ramsey, U. S. Navy. New York: The Ronald Press Co. 1941. $4.50 for both volumes.
Reviewed by Lieutenant Grayson Merrill, U. S. Navy
Commander Ramsey is eminently qualified to write in the field of aircraft navigation. His earlier work, Navigation of Aircraft (first edition, 1929), was warmly accepted by the aeronautical fraternity and used extensively as a textbook. Advances in this art during the years subsequent to his first publication have made necessary the present revised edition.
The author sets as his task “a compact treatment to give the precise, definite, and complete knowledge required by the practical aviator.” A successful study of this book presupposes a knowledge of elementary mathematics only and an innate interest in aerial navigation. The sections on dead reckoning, piloting, and aerial astronomy are well done. The exposition of celestial navigation is especially complete, with an analysis of all the common methods of solving the astronomical triangle, including the new H.O. No. 214. The author’s enthusiasm for this latter method is emphatically endorsed. Maps, instruments, accessories, and a discussion of the practice of navigation are also included.
The book is somewhat handicapped in its treatment of radio, instrument flying, and navigation of airways, perhaps by the author’s desire for a compact volume. The technique of utilizing radio aids to navigation is outlined only.
The author’s style is lucid and all of his subject matter has passed the test of practical application. He has accomplished his task.
Air Pilots' Dead Reckoning Tables is a handy volume (8X11) providing a tabular solution of simple, constantly recurring dead reckoning problems. After some practice, problems can be solved more accurately and as quickly as with any of the computers or plotting boards. One does not, however, have the picture in front of him as he works, unless he draws an auxiliary sketch. Navigation schools will find this volume especially useful as an accurate check against problems worked graphically.
SIMPLIFIED DESCRIPTION OF THE MODERN MACHINE GUN OF THE HOTCHKISS SYSTEM. By Captain Reynaldo García Macias, Mexican Army. (In Spanish.) 1940.
Reviewed By Lieutenant J. B. Browne, U. S. Naval Reserve
The Naval Institute has just received a copy of the revised manual Simplified Description of the Modern Machine Guns of the Hotchkiss System, by Captain Reynaldo García Macias, of the Artillery arm of the Mexican Army. This text is officially endorsed by the technical board of the Mexican Army, and covers four models of machine guns, the 7-mm., 13.2- mm., 25-mm., and 37-mm., all automatic, anti-aircraft weapons. The 7-mm. gun is a single gun using a magazine of 30 shells or a metal belt of 100, and has a rate of fire of 600 per minute with a two-man crew, or 250 per minute with a one-man crew. The 13.2-mm., in mounts of 2 or 4 guns, uses a magazine of 30, and fires tracers and penetrating shells (“proyectiles perforantes”) as well as ordinary shells. The 25-mm., in mounts of one or two guns, fires a magazine of 10 at the rate of 170 per minute, including explosive bullets. The 37-mm., also in mounts of one or two guns with magazine of 12, fires explosive bullets of such effectiveness it is claimed one hit is usually enough to bring down the heaviest plane.
Mounts are of various types: fixed, semi-fixed, and mobile. Gun crews are approximately the same for all guns, with gun captain, firing pointer, loaders, except for the 37-mm., which can have both pointer and trainer. The 7-mm. is fired by hand, whereas the others are fired by foot control.
In systematizing the data on these guns, including characteristics, breakdown, assembly, operation, maintenance, and tactics, Captain García Macias has compiled an excellent manual.
AIRCRAFT INSTRUMENTS—THEIR THEORY, FUNCTION AND USE. By Orion Edward Patton. New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc. 1941. 220 pages. $2.75.
Reviewed by Lieutenant Commander P. V. H. Weems, U. S. Navy (Retired)
This new book presents a complete discussion of each instrument in its proper classification, and with more than 200 excellent illustrations supported by authoritative text provides a timely book to meet the needs of growing aviation.
The author has years of instrument work as a background, and he has enlisted the help of many individuals as well as manufacturers, such as Sperry, Pioneer, Kollsman, Airlines, etc.
An especially complete description of magnetic compasses, with the principles involved, is included in the first chapter. Altogether, this is a valuable handbook for instructors, pilots, students, and mechanics.