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JANE’S FIGHTING SHIPS, 1943-44 (corrected to July, 1944). Edited by Francis E. McMurtrie. New York: The Macmillan Company. $19.00.
Reviewed by Commander W. T. Dutton,
U. S. Navy
The 1943-44 Jane’s takes from the 1942 volume the record for the greatest mass of Bew information ever incorporated in a single edition.
f he number of new illustrations approaches 400 and these, along with the four sections entitled “Addenda,” “Addenda—War Losses,” Special Late Addenda,” and “Special Addenda—Latest Information,” attest to the mass of recently released data and Jane’s determination to send their work to the Printers 100 per cent up to date.
. ^t is apparent that at the time of publica- ’•1°n the illustrations and data on all new conduction were remarkably complete. Inter- estmg and pertinent technical notes on ships i ■ich have been modernized and extensively aJtered in appearance and characteristics are a so commendably up to date.
The abundance of A.A. defense in new . • S. battleships is acknowledged by credit- the Iowa class with one hundred and twenty-eight 40-MM., 20-MM. and MG3 and the Indiana class with over 100. Last ^ear both these types were listed as having
fifty 40-MM. and MG3. The anti-aircraft defense of most of the capital ships of all navies is still unknown and most new or modernized classes of vessels are described as having “numerous” or “many” 40-MM., while the rapid firing armament of the older ships frequently shows no change since pre-war days.
The huge fleet of aircraft carriers, escort carriers, destroyers, destroyer escorts, and smaller craft which the United States has constructed is well described in general terms. The names of all of these vessels are not yet available although the U. S. addenda sections are extensive.
The Royal Canadian Fleet is found to have expanded in a similar manner and now lists 23 destroyers, 60 frigates, 115 corvettes, and many auxiliaries. Two modern cruisers and two escort carriers are expected additions, but are not yet delivered.
Those who have but a confused idea of the state of the French and Italian fleets will be pleased to find that Jane’s has made a valiant effort to account for all previously listed ships. Units now serving with or in the possession of the United Nations are marked with an asterisk. Those not so marked are in most cases further described as “not completed,” “damaged by torpedo
at-------------- ,” or “scuttled at------------------- but
believed not beyond salvage.” The editors do not claim infallibility for the location or conditions of these ships, but an orderly and reasonably sound picture of the French and Italian fleet is presented along with over a dozen new photographs of their units.
The German section has little that is new but the “Addenda—War Losses” lists total identified U-boat losses of 250.
Considerable new material concerning the Chinese Navy has been included. There is a separate section of the book which includes all vessels commissioned by the Wang Ching- wei “Quisling” Government.
There is little authentic revision in the Russian and Japanese pages, but comment is made which comprises the best estimate of new construction and losses. The personnel of the Emperor’s fleet is given as 325,000 all ranks, apparently a considerable underestimate, while the Russian figure is 23,000 (10,000 seagoing) which Jane’s says has been largely increased.
In slightly less than one sixth of a page the major types of United States landing craft are listed under a 1943 official photograph of LST 332. It would seem that the vast numbers of these craft being built, given by Jane’s as ultimately to reach 80,000, as well as their current importance in the large number of amphibious operations being conducted would cause them to deserve a little more space. Certainly the effect of this armada on the war and today’s headlines outweighs that of all the noncombatant ships that appear on a dozen pages in the fleet auxiliary sections.
The newest Jane’s has always been an object of great interest to “all hands.” The copy obtained for this review has, as usual, attracted the customary number of officers eager to inspect the photographs, plans, and characteristics of new construction and modernized warships. They have been universally delighted with its contents and, when forced to release it into the hands of others, wander off in the midst of the age-old arguments and discussions concerning design, gun platforms, this type cruiser versus the other type, etc. But someone’s last audible words, heard above retreating footsteps, are always a gleam from the past—“Now when the Utah was a coal burner . . . .”
THE BASIS OF LASTING PEACE. By Herbert Hoover and Hugh Gibson. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. 1945. 44 pages. $1.00.
Reviewed by Professor Allan Westcott, U. S. Naval Academy
Very timely when they first appeared, these proposals for amending and improving the Dumbarton Oaks security plan may now be compared with the actual accomplishments at the San Francisco conference. The proposals made in the book appear for the most part constructive and desirable, though some might tend to delay real progress. The proposed changes follow: (1) A general statement of the “political rights of nations and persons, embodying especially the principle of justice in international relations; (2) provision for the revision of onerous or inapplicable treaties at regular intervals, “in order that the peace settlement shall be dynamic and not static”; (3) provision for the effective operation of regional organizations in Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere; (4 and 5) complete disarmament of enemy powers and reduction of United Nations armaments; (6) provision to prevent dangers arising from alliances and counter-alliances of individual powers; (7) a clear definition of aggression; (8) a plan to gain congressional approval of the vote of the American delegate in the Security Council on any question involving the use of armed force; (9) delay in final commitment of the powers until the structure of the new organization can be fully studied.
SOLUTION IN ASIA. By Owen Lattimore. An Atlantic Monthly Press Book. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1945. 214 pages. $2.00.
Reviewed by Lieutenant William L.
Sachse, U. S. Naval Reserve
Owen Lattimore is well qualified as a commentator upon the Asiatic scene. For nearly a quarter of a century, as businessman, newspaperman, editor, traveler, and scholar, he has been studying the problems of the Orient. In 1941 and 1942 he served, upon President Roosevelt’s recommendation, as political adviser to Chiang Kai-shek, and until recently
Book Reviews
1945]
he was Director of Pacific Operations for the Office of War Information.
Solution in Asia is an analysis of present conditions in the East and of the problems which will await solution when peace comes. It suggests the policies which the United States should adopt to promote democracy in Asia—the new Asia with its new balance of forces, composed of retentive imperialism, western capitalistic democracy, and Soviet Marxist democracy.
The first of these forces is waning, and the author cautions the American people to do nothing to restore sahib rule. To do so would depress American prestige regardless of our record in the Philippines. Imperialism will not end suddenly, but by a process of transition. To brake this process is to court revolution; to “guide the transition into relatively smooth, evolutionary channels” should be our aim.
Mr. Lattimore likewise warns us against a holier-than-thou attitude toward Russia. Asiatic peoples, he asserts, are more impressed by actual democratic practices across the Russian frontier than they are by fine Anglo-Saxon theories, overshadowed by imperialist techniques. He lends support to the claim that in China democratization has advanced farthest in the Communist areas.
In China the allies should show “that their support for constructive tendencies is collective and in the world interest, and not a race lor individual advantage.” He believes that the Russians will be ready to co-operate with such a program; but should we resort to a Policy of independent exploitation, they can
outgrab us right down the line.” Immediate steps to be taken are: more consultations between American, British, and Russian representatives, the co-ordination of economic and military supplies, United Nations encouragement to the Chinese government to implement substantially the democratic program of Sun Yat-sen, the strict nationalization of Chinese armed forces, and the revival of production in China.
Japan’s aggressive power must be nullified, bhe must be disarmed and patrolled, preferably by an international security force, and sbe must be demilitarized industrially. We are cautioned against confusing industrial demilitarization with disindustrialization.
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75,000,000 people in an area smaller than California must resort to some industrial production, but this should be directed toward rehabilitation in devastated regions. Mr. Lattimore believes that the Japan of the future will be republican. Not only should we refuse to use the Emperor, but we should oust him and break up the influence of the Zaibatsu, or giant combines controlled by a few families.
This is a little book on a big subject. But Mr. Lattimore wastes no words and pulls no punches, and the result is a work that is stimulating and full of meat.
Thumbnail Reviews
World Maps and Globes. By Professor Irving Fisher and O. M. Miller, Head of Department of Maps and Surveys, Amer. Geog. Soc. New York: Essential Books. 1944. 168 pages. $2.50.
The authors present for the general reader a discussion of various map projections, their uses and relative accuracy, with a new method of spotting distortion and some attention also to maps that can be folded into near globes. The text is a “quiet accompaniment” to the 71 maps and illustrations.
Important Professional Books
Fraenkel, Ernst. Military Occupation and the Rule of Law. New York: Oxford. 1944. $3.50. Occupational government in the Rhineland, 1918— 23.
Hatschek, Paul. Electron-Optics. Boston: American Photographic Publishing Co. 1944. $3.00. Hector, Luther G. Electron Physics. Philadelphia: Blakiston Co. 1944. $3.75.
Herbert, Walter H. Fighting Joe Hooker. Cincinnati, Ohio: Bobbs-Merrill. 1944. $3.50.
The only biography of a colorful, dashing Civil War General.
Krueger, Dr. Kurt. I Was Hitler’s Doctor. New York: Biltmore Publishing Co. 1944. $1.98. The amazing medical history of Adolf Hitler. Mendez Pereira, Octavio. Balboa. Boston: American Book Co. 1944 $1.60.
A biography of the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean.
Millspaugh, Arthur C. Peace Plans and American Choices. Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institution. $1.00.
What are the choices offered? American leadership? American mastery? A new balance of power? A British-American alliance? A British- American union? Federation of the democracies? The League of Nations?