A comprehensive study of the most powerful naval officer in the history of the United States and controversial architect of victory in the Pacific.
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70 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding biography of an extraordinary figure,
By Buccaneer (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)
Ernie J. King was one of the least known and yet most important figures of American 20th century military history. While others, such as Nimitz and Halsey, gained laurels in the press, King actually defined the strategy, determined who would lead American naval forces across the Pacific, and single-handedly ran the Navy Department throughout the war. Yet he remains almost unknown to modern generations [during a recent visit to the US Naval Academy, an official tour guide -- a retired Naval officer -- told me that King was buried in Arlington cemetery, when in fact he is buried at the Academy].
Mr. Buell addresses this gap with this extraordinary book. Buell tries -- by all available means -- to get at who the man was, what he was like, and what he did -- no easy task considering that King distrusted the press for much of the war, and was almost universally regarded as an SOB within the Navy Department. Yet reading this book, I came to understand why it took an SOB to accomplish the defeat of Japan simultaneously with that of Germany -- something that Admiral King seems to have understood as well. I felt that at the end of this book, I understood who King was, what motivated him, and what he was like. The reproduction of King's 2-page memorandum to FDR about Pacific war strategy is an extraordinary document and a classic example of good business writing. It is unfortunate that Buell's biography of Raymond Spruance does not manage to capture equally the character of Spruance -- admittedly an enigma. Buell's bibliography is a marvel of critical assessement of sources -- he uses the same style with his Spruance biography and new Civil War history. For someone interested in sources and original material, Buell's syntheses are unparalleled. My only question is: when will Buell take up the story of another fascinating military figure such as Pershing, Arleigh Burke, or McNair?
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Master of Sea Power,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)
A very good, well written biography of WW2 Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King. It covered how his decendants arrived in this country from Scotland and settled in Lorain, Ohio where King was born and raised. How he came about testing and getting his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. How he subsequently climbed the ladder in rank having fought and taken part in battles from the Spanish-American War, the war with Mexico, World War 1 up to World War 2. How he recieved his first command of a early World War 1 era four piper destroyer, then moved up through submarines, eventually commanding the submarine training base in New London, Conn.,into aviation and earning his wings at the age of 49. Eventually all of this led to his taking charge of the United States fleet Atlantic Ocean just prior to WW 2. At the start of WW2 he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief U.S. Fleet and then inheriting the job of Chief of Naval Operations. Never before has Anyone held both jobs at one time as directed to him by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, making him the eventual head of what would be through his guidance the most powerful naval fleet in the world. Through his careful direction and influence he guided the nation to victory in a two ocean war that encompassed the whole globe. Under his command and direction were names that have a place in history by themselves, Chester Nimitz, William "Bull" Halsey, Raymond A. Spruance, and Marc Mitcher. All together these help shape the outcome of World War 2.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
King: Absolute Monarch of the Navy,
By
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This review is from: Master of Sea Power: A Biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King (Classics of Naval Literature) (Hardcover)
I recently read Thomas Buell's biography of Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, first published over 30 years ago. One of the remarkable things about this book is that it remains as one of the few biographical treatments of this important historical figure. If Admiral King appears at all in histories of WWII, he is usually an offstage, often intimidating figure. To be fair, from all accounts, he was an intimidating figure. Even one of his daughters described him as the most even tempered man she had ever known - mad all of the time.King was not what would be called today a "people person." In some instances, he was brutally unfair. All of that said, he was a smart and tough administrator and strategist during an important period of our history. Mr. Buell's book is worthwhile because it provides a detailed portrayal of this historically significant individual. He had access to the author of King's memoirs and provides a well-footnoted biography of his subject. For these reasons, I recommend this book. To balance the assessment, I found the author's omission of certain matters odd. King was reputed to be a "womanizer," but he appears to have been devoted to his family. After he became the COMINCH on December 31, 1941, he took up residence on a yacht moored in Washington as his flagship. His family lived at the Naval Observatory a few miles away in Northwest Washington, D.C. Except for dealing with his wife's heart attack, the book makes no mention of his family during the entire war. I found this omission strange. It is obviously impossible to write a completely linear account of the life of a man who was involved in so many simultaneously occurring events, but I found the author's decisions on which events to include in which subpart to be confusing occasionally. At times, I thought it would have been helpful to reference battles, invasions, or other significant events in the war that were occurring at the same time as some of the maneuvering or bureaucratic infighting was transpiring far away from the combat zones. On the whole, I agreed with another reviewer of this book who had also read Mr. Buell's biography of Admiral Spruance - his depiction of Admiral King is the better of the two, perhaps because of the enigmatic nature of Spruance. The time spent reading either book will be rewarding.
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