Customer Reviews

Battleship Arizona: An Illustrated History

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Again, Paul Stillwell brings you the true heart of a Battleship: the men who sailed her and (in this case) the men who died with her. The only thing that can make you feel more solemn is to visit the ARIZONA memorial yourself. No, this book is not all doom and gloom. It is filled with pages of the earlier glory days of that fine ship. But the ship's ultimate fate is appropriately handled with Paul's expert hand. I had misgivings about the MISSOURI being transferred to Pearl Harbor as a museum/memorial ship because I thought it would detract from the reverence due to ARIZONA. But, as I understand it, the two ships will be several hundred yards apart with ARIZONA still under the care of the National Parks Service. This is as it should be. But before going there, read Paul's book. Richard Landgraff DREADNAUGHT CONSULTING Long Beach, California

I chose to read The Illustrated History of the Battleship Arizona, written by Paul Stillwell. This is not the first book of this format that he has written The Illustrated History of the Battleship Missouri, follows the same format as well. The book started in the shipyard as the U.S.S. Arizona was being built then the author takes you through the daily routine of the ship as if you were a sailor on the great battleship. You feel as though you're in the middle of Pearl Harbor looking over the Arizona as the battle is taking place. The ship was built in 1918, and was the pride of the Pacific fleet threw out the 20's. The Arizona was featured in a Famous movie called, Here Comes the Navy. After Pearl Harbor the ship was made into a now world famous memorial.

This had been one of the best books I had ever been able to read there is so much information given on this great ship, and the pictures make the ship come alive. I would suggest this book to anyone who has an interest in ships and the way they run, or a fan of history. I have not read any other books that Paul Stillwell has written, but if they are half as good as this one I would recommend it to anyone.

To many of us, our knowledge of the Arizona begins and ends at Pearl Harbor. The book not only brings alive the rich history of the ship during her 25 years of service, but provides a wealth of information about Navy life between the world wars. The rare pictures of the ship and her crew also bring one closer to the Arizona experience as no other single source can.

Mr. Stillwell has brought BB-39 to life in a way that hasn't been matched by anyone else who has attempted. His rendering of the life of the ship from her birth in the NY Navy yards to her death in the waters of Pearl Harbor is amazing in its clarity & detail.

OK, some detail might be lacking for the technical buffs but his description of the construction, manning, & day-to-day operation of a US naval vessel in the 1st half of the 20th century is superlative. He blends both the hardware & the human element so that Arizona & her crew leap off the pages as a living, breathing combination of steel & flesh.

Highly recommended for those who are interested in the Arizona herself & for anyone who would like to know many of the hows & whys of US Naval operations between the wars.

PS: Scale modelers invariably recommend "Battleship Arizona" as -the- definitive work to those who are researching details of BB-39 for their own modeling projects.

Paul Stillwell's "Battleship Arizona" is a fine work devoted to the "life and death" of the ship which became the icon of Pearl Harbor.

The volume is particularly impressive and valuable for its extensive photo documentation and its stories of life and duty aboard the Arizona from keel-laying to partial scrapping and memorial construction. For those interested in the "human side" of the story, these tales are right up their alley. For those interested in the ship's configuration the photographs are remarkable. Some are also extraordinarily artistic, such as one showing a sortie under the incomplete Golden Gate Bridge.

The details provided regarding the ship's loss are also particularly good. Especially impressive are De Virgilio's elevation of the wreck immediately post attack and his overhead plot of the bomb hits and misses upon the Arizona and the Vestal.

The only real disappointment is the lack of a detailed "anatomy" of the ship in the form of deck plans, level by level within the ship, as completed and as modernized in the early 1930s. Provision of such drawings, and an accompanying discussion using them might have shed useful light on some of the theories regarding exactly how Arizona's magazines were detonated by the bomb hit forward.

The technical details offered in the text, and recorded in the appendices are superb, and I was particularly impressed by the references to and correction of minor errors in another respected publication recorded therein.

As a reader who could generally care less for the "human" side of the story with respect to warship histories, being far more concerned with design, construction and operation, I am nonetheless considering purchasing this volume for my own collection. It's that good.

IN A NUTSHELL: AN ILLUSTRATED READER THAT INCLUDES TECHNICAL APPENDICES

One could say that the above says it all.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT: THE LIFE & DEATH OF THE ARIZONA AND HER CREWS

In great detail, this book begins as the ship's keel is laid, [16 MARCH 1914] with a picture of FDR who was on hand as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the ceremony. It ends with the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Included, after the end of the book, are 5 appendices that include all the information that modelers and naval history enthusiasts will be seeking.

FOR THOSE READERS THAT ARE A LITTLE IMPATIENT - -

The first seven chapters of the book is about the peacetime life aboard one of the U.S. Navy's super-dreadnoughts. It is an interesting and well illustrated historical reader.

This changes abruptly for Chapter 8, "DAY OF INFAMY" which details a basic reconstruction of the morning of December 7, 1941, as it pertains to the Battleship Arizona. Highlighted most of all are the individual acts of heroism and the selflessness of many of the crew in their desperate efforts to save their fellow crewmen, their ship and themselves. Also included is a sketch which illustrates where the damage to the ship occurred, which is a huge aid in understanding what happened so quickly to the Arizona on December 7, 1941. This is short, seemingly all too short, but one must realize that the Arizona's magazines' exploded only about 10 minutes after the attack began. 1177 men of the Arizona's crew were killed in that short time with only 337 survivors, many of whom were on leave so they were not there at the time. In other words, about 85% of the crew on-board were killed in basically ten minutes. Nevertheless, the detail is quite accurate and more importantly, easy to follow and appreciate.

Chapter 9, "AFTERMATH" is pretty gruesome in some places, but this is after all a rather gruesome real life disaster. This chapter does include the attempted salvaging of the Arizona and some stories about the men who remained on board [forever in most cases].

THE APPENDICES: HISTORIAN & MODELERS HEAVEN

- APPENDIX 1 - CHRONOLOGY from 1916 - 1941, 42 pages includes a great deal of day to day missions and events of interest.

- APPENDIX 2 - COMMANDING OFFICERS - DATES INCLUDED

- APPENDIX 3 - CREW LIST - 7 DECEMBER 1941, includes fatalities and survivors separately of both the Navy and Marine Corp. Includes summary at the end.

- APPENDIX 4 - A SAILOR'S LETTERS - SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES

- APPENDIX 5 - SHIP'S DATA, include detailed specs with individual breakdown of the weights of different components of the ship [eg. armor, machinery, hull etc.] both originally and after the modernization in 1931.

Within Appendix 5 there are numerous sketches [1:600 scale] which are probably copies of the ships blueprints. These are detailed to show individual compartments and components and are labeled. The alterations that were made to the ship over time have been included. A very important addition.

BOTTOM LINE:

Paul Stillwell and "The Naval Institute Press" have another winner in this volume.

My father served on the Arizona from 1931 to 1936. He also played on the football teams of 1931 to 1935. On page 157 he is located on the bottom row, last person on the right.

I found this book quite by accident in a bookstore with my mother in 1997. I saw the cover and said to myself that this might be interesting. I opened it, started wandering through it, and then saw the picture of my father on page 157. I had never seen that picture or any others of him from that time. My joy was overwhelming. I showed it to my mother and she was felt the same way. To see a picture of your father when he was young (it is always hard to image a father as young) was fascinating. At the time of this event, my father had been dead 14 years.

My father stayed in the Navy for 30 years and retired in 1957. As best I can tell, the time he spent on the Arizona made him the person he became. On page with the picture there is a story about a man named Rourk and how the ship took care of its athletes. I do not know how much of this true for others but my father advanced from a Seaman 1st to taking and passing the warrant exam as a gunner after going through the three petty officer in fire control while on the Arizona. I don't belive that my father's ethic would have allowed him to cheat but I do know that he advanced very quickly to become a warrant officer nine years after joining the Navyas age 30. I am sure that playing football had a lot to do with this. I never hear him say a bad word about any of his time in the Navy. He was proud of his service.

My point of this note is simply this. The Arizona is not dead. For all who served from 1916 to 1941, the ship and its men are still with us in our hearts if not physically. This book brings these people and this ship alive to people like me who never have seen it except at Pearl Harbor. Mr. Stillwell has done a tremendous service to all the men who served on the ship to help those still living to keep the memory fresh. A ship is its crew. It is no accident that people who serve on warships call those they served with shipmates. It is a word I understand but cannot begin to fathom the emotional content of as I never served in the Navy.

David Livingston

For the model builder this is a MUST HAVE book. Mr. Stillwell has got it covered in almost every major change throughout the history of the ship. If you like to read history this is a MUST HAVE for any serious battleship enthusiast. Heart gripping stories, funny tails all told by the people who served on the great ship.

When the pacage arrived from Amazon, I did realise that it would be such a big book just on one Battleship! The detail for any history buff, model maker is great. A good purchase but you will need a reading table to hold it!

Very good book, gives you insight as to life on the Arizona from the time of her beginning until its ultimate demise. A must for any Naval Historian