U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History [Hardcover]

Norman Friedman (Author), A. D., III Baker (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1984

This fully illustrated series offers detailed descriptions of the evolution of all classes of the principle U.S. combatant types, as well as plans, profiles, and numerous detailed photographs.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (October 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870217186
• ISBN-13: 978-0870217180
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #956,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars U.S. Cruisers: An illustrated Design History, May 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History (Hardcover)

If you are a cruiser fan throw away all of your other reference books and get this one. The book traces the history of the U.S. cruiser and it's development with great pictures, drawings and charts. Every class of cruiser is treated in detail with particular emphasis on the many WW2 classes and variations. Especially intresting is the detail given to the modificiations of pre Dec.7 1941 ships after experience in fighting those ships. If you are a modeler this book will be of great assistance in getting the detail you want on any particular ship. The book is worth every penny of the cost. I strongly reccomend for any admirer of some of the most beautiful ships this country has ever produced.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars American Cruisers: the designs from beginning to end, September 15, 2003

By 

William A. Hensler (Holt, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History (Hardcover)

The American cruiser was an odd ship for the United States Navy. The cruisers most Americans know of are the "Treaty Cruisers" which first started with the Pennsicola class (or egg shells armed with hammers) and the cruiser class ended with the USS Long Beach, the first and last true missle cruiser for the US Navy.

Dr. Friedman makes it clear the first cruisers were inspired by the old American civil war frigates. The first cruisers were designed as commerice raiders, scouts, and minor capital ships. This is not much different than the initial days of the US Navy in the 1790 era.

However, the US Navy takes a different view of the Spanish American war and produces a group of post-war cruisers that have interesting design characterists. They are slower, more expensive, and have greater weight than foreign ships.

American cruiser design goes into a sort of hybernation from about 1906 until 1918 when the Omaha class is invented. American cruisers in WWI were left over ships from the Spanish American war or oddly designed ships, such as the over gunned & over armored USS Pennsylvania & Tennessee class armored cruisers.

The Treaty cruisers of the 20s and 30s are the halcyon days of cruisers. Actually, a proper technical term for cruisers are "small, light, very fast battleships".

Dr. Friedman writes that none of the Treaty cruisers are bad designs. Yes, there is stability problems but that is from treaty limits on warship weight and not from bad designs from the US Navy. Indeed, the Cleveland & Baltimore class cruisers are some of the most outstanding designed cruisers from WWII. The incorporation of the Combat Information Center (CIC) was the point where the US Navy was able to integrate the full use of ships, weapons, command, and control and beat the Japanese navy in every battle post 1943.

The cruiser mission largely died after WWII. Basically, most of the cruisers were either converted to missile cruisers, a job that was taken over by the later frigates. Else, cruisers were used for shore bombardment.

Dr. Friedman takes a reader from the start of the New Navy, the 1900s era of cruisers, the treaty cruisers, the war production cruisers (basically, improved Brooklyns), the non-treaty cruisers which become the Alaska battlecruisers (the only new battlecruisers made during WWII), the post war cruisers, and ends the book on cruisers with a near chapter devoted to the Long Beach.

It's almost with sadness that Dr. Friedman writes that the augmented Spruance destroyer - the Ticonderga class cruiser - is a successor to the real cruiser. The destroyer & the frigate have taken over the job of the cruiser. And the true cruiser had been with the United States Navy since its inception back in the founding days of the republic.

Yes, this book is 10 out of 10. A novice will go away with a understanding of Cruisers. A Navy man will appreciate his roots.

Dr. Friedman is one of the best writers of technical material in America. If you buy this book, like I did, it will start to show wear from constant use.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vital But Not Perfect, July 14, 2005

By 

Ignotus (Long Branch, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: U.S. Cruisers: An Illustrated Design History (Hardcover)

The Illustrated Design History series should be part of the collection of any naval enthusiast, and "Cruisers" is no exception. The book includes a detailed description of the evolution of each cruiser design in the modern U.S. Navy (which, as "enthusiasts" know, began in the last quarter of the 19th century). Those not familiar with the series should know this is not a mere picture book. You will read it from start to finish -- not just page through it -- and you will be rewarded.

Of particular value are the descriptions of hundreds of little-known alternative designs. The author is quite free with his pungent, well-informed and largely negative opinions concerning U.S. warship design. This too will keep you interested, through a sometimes highly technical volume.

The line-drawings included in this book are helpful -- and beautifully executed. Yet, one wishes for more of them, particularly as to the Lexington-class battlecruisers and other prominent alternative designs. The drawings of classes actually constructed are, again, well-done but not as comprehensive as the text.

The numerous black and white photographs are generally well-chosen. Some of the details mentioned in the captions are difficult to discern, however. The quality of photographic reproduction would have been better had the book been printed on glossy paper.

Overall, this is the best book of its kind, and yet it might have been better.