Battleship Texas (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas a & M University) (Hardcover)

~ Hugh Power (Author) "In American naval history, the name Texas goes back almost as far as Texas itself..." (more)
Key Phrases: armored conning tower, shell hoists, secondary guns, World War, United States, Newport News (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This volume is the definitive guide to one of the great surviving battleships of World War II, visited by thousands of tourists each year at its berth near Houston. Filled with contemporary photographs of the ship from stem to stern, as well as historical shots, Battleship Texas will fascinate anyone interested in naval history and in one of Texas' best-loved state park attractions. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 141 pages
• Publisher: Texas A&M University Press (January 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890965161
• ISBN-13: 978-0890965160
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,844,018 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb photography, March 27, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Battleship Texas (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas a&M University, No 45) (Paperback)

The Battleship Texas, now a museum, is a great attraction for tourists to the San Jacinto Monument and Battlegrounds near Houston, Texas.

Normal tourists wander through the ship, shoot a few pictures and leave.

Hugh Power, who lives on Galveston Island nearby, fell in love with the ship, its history and photo opportunity. He spent, to my knowledge, 3 years photographing every nook and cranny of the Battleship.

He took pictures morning and evening, at noon, with and without flash, from this angle and that. He spent hours in his darkroom developing the pictures, experimenting with different exposures and using all the tricks in the trade to create black & white art.

The effort was well worth it. The book is superb, a delight to both, the lover of good photography and ships.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars USS Texas review, December 13, 2007

By	RICH (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Battleship Texas (Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas a&M University, No 45) (Paperback)

I just bought this as a gift for my father. He lives in the Houston area and we have been on the hard hat tours of the USS Texas twice in the last 2 years. The boat is an awesome collection of history and engineering feats and this book makes a nice addition to the memories of our visits. The pictures are all black and white, and a little grainy. However, there are many old wartime photos that i have never seen, even when touring the ship, that are in this book. And the text is lacking a bit, but still gives a nice overall view of the ship. There are individual sections of the ship with pictures of each section they are writing about (ex:AA guns, officers wardroom, helm station, etc..). Some of the text for each section is brief, but still gives enough detailed info to make it interesting.

Overall, a good book if you have ever visited the Texas. If you haven't been on board the ship, you need to make an effort to go. Especially the hard hat tour which gives you an inside look at the workings of the ship you will never see on the regular tours like the stearing gear room or the actual boilers which are still an engineering marvel from the early 1900's. And all of the staff on board know more about the ship than you could ever imagine. Except for this little cable system tucked up on a wall in the emergency steering room. No one on board has been able to figure that one out.....

But still, a worthwhile trip. And this book like i said makes a great addition to the memories of being on board.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pictures, July 22, 2002

By A Customer

The reason to buy this book is the excelent photographs of the details of the ship. As a B&W picture book, it is excelent.

The text is generally weak with a number of technical errors. The author comes across as a fawning admirer rather an expert.

The book could have been much improved with more complete diagrams of the ship. (Has plans but not of the superstructure or lower decks.)