U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 427 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; Second printing-1985 edition (April 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870217399
• ISBN-13: 978-0870217395
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #588,581 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbly Detailed and Fascinating, March 5, 2003

By	D. V. Smith "former National Security Analyst" (Durham, NC, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This volume, one of many in Norman Friedman's naval design histories, is amazingly thorough in its coverage of U.S. aircraft carrier design from the 1930s-era Saratoga and Lexington through the nuclear-powered Nimitz-class, as well as the offshoot amphibious assault carriers.

The book is filled with design schematics, ships' specifications and more esoteric naval information than you could possibly absorb in a lifetime. The rich wealth of information is the consistent strength of this series that makes it a bit overwhelming for the casual reader looking for a narrative history of U.S. carrier.

The emphaisis here is on ship design, its impact on operations and little else. If there is any shortcoming to be found within the book, it is that it is rather old, having been last updated in 1983, when the Nimitz class was just hitting its stride and long before the design innovations fueled by the Navy's growth in the waning years of the Cold War.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The masterpiece on U.S. Aircraft Carrier development., January 20, 2005

By	A reader (Seattle) - See all my reviews

I've read just about every book I can lay my hands on concerning the Essex class aircraft carrier and though this magnificent book envelops each American carrier it is far (FAR) more superior to the mediocre Essex-Class Carrier by Alan Raven, regardless that Alan Raven's book is dedicated to the Essex alone. Many believe that Raven's book is the standard for the Essex class carrier but it falls far short when compared to this brilliant masterpiece.

Please take my word for it - do NOT spend the $100.00 for Alan Raven's Essex-Class Carrier unless you want a photograph of a radar antenna and save yourself about sixty dollars and months and months of dead-end research and buy this outstanding piece of work instead.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars US Carriers, January 18, 2007

By	Frank Alexander (Paradise, CA. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the best book I have found on the US Air Craft Carriers. It gives a complete review of carriers untill the late 1970s. I wish the auther would edit it to include, the newest carriers up to the latest ship the GR Ford.