Customer Reviews

Battleships of the World

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have found this book a good addition to my library. It contains sokme unique photos of minor Navy Battleships and an interesting commentary on German battleships; the book is translated from the German and brings a Non British/American slant to the topic. In addition, it shows pre-WWI in both their original form and then as modified in WWII which is rarely available from other sources which tend to describe but not illustrate the changes.

From the reviews seen here, one would think that Greger's book is a complete dog; but it's not that bad. One thing that Greger does well is his description of the ships of the minor naval powers such as the Austro-Hungarian and South American navies. It seems as if there is more of an emphasis on German ships, which is refreshing as there is not as much information on the Imperial German navy and Kriegsmarine as there should be. Also interesting are the drawings of the projected Soviet dreadnoughts.

A pretty good effort, definitely on a par with anything written by M. J.Whitley, and in some respects better than Whitley's latest effort on battleships. Don't write this one off completely!

Very little information content. Also replete with some rather silly typos and glaring errors. Poor line drawings.

Each naval power gets a couple pages of general overview, accompanied by a brief by-class description of the ships. The facts, figures, pocket history and pictures are all standard fare. The line drawings are peculiarly distorted to make the ships look short and plump.

If you want a single book with broad but lightweight coverage of 20th century battleships, this is one of several worth considering. However, Greger's references include Breyer, Raven, Burt, Parkes, Friedman, and the committed naval history buff would do better to turn to these.

I purchased this book a few months ago at full retail price. I could of overlooked it's lack of information if at least the quality of the photographs were good, but they were abysmal.

I ordered this book sight unseen and paid the price. I was disappointed because the book offers very little in the way of new information other than repackaging: you can view all WW1 battleships in one place, then move to WW2 section and find all the ships that fought in that conflict; thus ship classes will appear in more than one place. But the line drawings were very disappointing and shaded in to boot. I could not recommend this book unless you are a relative newcomer to the field. All the World's Battleships Ed. by Ian Sturton of Conway Classics is much better value for the money.

IN A NUTSHELL: IT'S A BOOK ABOUT 'THE WORLD'S' BATTLESHIPS

"Battleships of the World", uniquely combines World War 1 and World War 2 Battleships while seperating the ships into their modernized and original forms [as was frequently the case because of the Washington and London Disarmament accords].

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS VOLUME: EASY TO USE

1]- CONCISE SUMMARY OF 'DEVELOPMENTS TO 1918' PRECEDES EACH COUNTRY'S SHIP LISTINGS, FOLLOWED BY 'DEVELOPMENTS TO 1945' & MORE OF THE SAME.

2]- WORLD WAR 1 DREADNOUGHTS THAT WERE MODERNIZED FOR USE IN WORLD WAR 2 APPEAR IN BOTH SECTIONS FOR EACH COUNTRY, & 'DEVELOPMENTS TO 1918' + 'DEVELOPMENTS TO 1945'. In essence, the book treats modernized ships like the 'Warspite' as though they were two ships with data and photos for both versions.

3]- EXCELLENT REFERENCE AND A PERFECT COMPANION TO A WAR-ACCOUNT READER WHICH INCLUDES BATTLESHIPS. In essence, it provides the ships specs quckly, which are usually lacking in most readers. [eg. 'GREAT SHIPS PASS', by Peter C. Smith, Naval Institute Press]


WHAT I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS VOLUME: SKIMPY SHIP'S DATA & SKETCHES

1]- LACKS DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLACEMENT AND SPECIFICATIONS OF THE ARMOR. Instead offers just a 'PERCENTAGE OF THE WEIGHT OF THE SHIP IN ARMOR' and a few 'maximum thicknesses'. I want to know what kind of armor was used and where, how it tapers and is attached to bulkheads, the hull and the decks. What underwater protection systems are utilized and some diagrams would be nice. Armor is what makes Battleships different from other ships. Battlecruisers are faster and often have the same caliber weopens, but Battleships are built to function under conditions that would sink other vessels and how this function is maintained in battle [armor] needs to be included in any reference about these great ships.

BOTTOM LINE: A DECENT REFERENCE BUT NOT ALL INCLUSIVE OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT

This book is certainly a worthwhile reference and does give the German Kreigsmarine as well as the American and British navies both a nice summary and decent ships' details. Other navies are included but the detail is somewhat less.
After living with htis book for several months, one can't help feeling that something is really missing along the lines of a coastline that has been simplified for use on a small-scale map.