Modern U.S. Navy Destroyers (Enthusiast Color Series) [Paperback]

Steve Tomajczyk (Author)

Book Description

Series: Enthusiast Color | Publication Date: April 15, 2001

Hop on board for an up-close look at the Navy's destroyer fleet! Full of color photography, this book takes you inside the Spruance, Kidd, and Arleigh Burke class destroyers of the current Navy fleet. You'll also get a glimpse of the twenty-first century destroyer. Full technical specifications are included along with fascinating descriptions of the weapons, bridge, command and control rooms, berthing areas, magazines, and engine rooms.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Zenith Press (April 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760308691
• ISBN-13: 978-0760308691
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,259,301 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good photos but General Information, May 24, 2001

By 

Peter (California, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern U.S. Navy Destroyers (Enthusiast Color Series) (Paperback)

I am 90% through the book and it's a disappointment compared to Stephen's excellent book on "Carrier Battle Group." The text information is very general and vague and is more geared towards someone who has never seen a destroyer before. Anyone who lived during and read the newspapers on the Gulf War or went to a few "Fleet Weeks" would know the information contained in this book.

The book is divided into four parts: Spruance-class destroyers, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, weapons, and the future of destroyers like stealthy Sea Shadow. The Spruance and Burke sections make up 85% of the book.

The information is not much different than what one can read off the web or a Cold War book. In fact, a few pages of information were summarized from a 1986 Cold War book I have as to then-Congress's reaction to the Spruance destroyers' design.

The new content is not enlightening and causes a bit of confusion too. Not much range or facts are given as to weapon and system performance although one can find these off the internet. The ranges that are given for some weapons conflict with other documented text.

Unlike "Carrier Battle Group," this book has very few quotes and first-person opinions. It's all narration and at times, the author repeats the same information on different pages. Thus, I found this book rushed to printing. There are a few spelling and grammar errors that stand out that I have never seen in a Motorbook before. One photo caption states, "Helicopters cap refuel while hovering over the ship." "Cap" should be "can."

The book is only 97 pages (unlike other Motorbooks which are longer) and the text is pretty large font. Some pages are nothing but photos and I find the photo captions more informative than the text. Unlike "Carrier Battle Group," the photos on the page do not go with the text on it so one has to flip backwards or forwards a few pages to see what the author is talking about.

The back cover says the book gives a tour of the ship. This is not really true. The photos do somewhat, but the book text doesn't. The book text says the CIC does this and the bridge is where one drives the ship, information that is obvious and can be obtained via some other books or a trip to the Navy's "Fleet Week."

I find this book isn't really written for an adult audience but more for a teen or child due to the lack of information, first-hand accounts, and description. There's not much new to learn information from reading this book if you know a few things about the Navy and its ships.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Photos alone worth the price, though text lacks detail., July 11, 2005

By 

A. G. Corwin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern U.S. Navy Destroyers (Enthusiast Color Series) (Paperback)

This book is a brief(92 pages), introductory look at the two major classes of destroyers currently in use by the US Navy, the Spruance Class DD, and the Arleigh Burke Class DDG.

Text wise the book includes a brief introduction of the history of the destroyer, which should be a book in itself, a chapter of the Spruance class, one on the Burke Class, and then one on weapon systems and future products. Though the chapters on the Spruance and Burke are interesting, the supporting chapters are lacking. For example, at the time of publication there was plenty of information regarding the proposed DD 21 or DDX class of future destroyers. The author mentions this in passing, without including any relevant detail.

Where the book shines is in the photography. Shots both by the author, the Navy, Ingalls Shipbuilding, and Bath Iron Works present fascinating depictions of the destroyers in all stages of construction, sea trials, and even combat use. The photography is simply beautiful, and allows for a better understanding of the ships, their weapons systems, and the little bits and pieces that you only see up close but make up such an important part of any ship.

Naval enthusiasts will enjoy the photography immensely and merely skim through the text. The average Joe will enjoy both, Is this book worth $10?? Absolutely.

4.0 out of 5 stars Introduction to US Destroyers, November 28, 2009

By 

cpt matt (tanktown, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Modern U.S. Navy Destroyers (Enthusiast Color Series) (Paperback)

This book is a primer, an introduction to what modern US destroyers are like. It is no where near as comprehensive as Norman Friedman's book on WW2 Destroyers, which has line drawings, charts, statistics, etc.

This is a very "pretty" book. High glossy pages & photos, it does what it is supposed to do, which is provide an overview of what US destroyers are like, what they can do. Looks are deceiving, they can do a lot more than you'd think just by looking at them. You only see 1 cannon. On older, WW2 destroyers, you saw many turrets and cannon. On these new ships, everything is below decks. Dozens of guided missiles in verticle launch tubes.

These destroyers are huge compared to the older versions - they are the size of WW2 cruisers at 8,300 tons displacement. I'm not aware of other, more detailed, in depth book on modern destroyers - probably too much classified information. This book was just right for me. Gave me an overview, which as someone interested in naval ships, was all I wanted.