WORLD WAR II AT SEA : A GLOBAL HISTORY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Craig L. Symonds | 792 pages | 16 May 2018 | Oxford University Press Inc | 9780190243678 | English | New York, United States World War II at Sea : A Global History PDF Book Thankfully he did not see major action, although troop transport ships were a target on all sides of the fight, principally in the Pacific. Article Navigation. Advanced Search. Symonds is no fool. For this reason, modern naval-history masters like Ian Toll or James Hornfischer tend to train their spyglasses on a particular theater or navy. My son loves reading about military history, so I though I would add a book on that topic to my reading list. To purchase, visit your preferred ebook provider. My admiration for this book is boundless! Search Menu. There is little of the air except naval air and land war, except to set the stage for the aspect of the naval war at hand. History through Sports. David ships going up against Japanese Goliath ships, basically sacrificing themselves. We could produce ships and boats faster than we lost them, and no other country had this capacity. Do be advised that shipments may be delayed due to extra safety precautions implemented at our centers and delays with local shipping carriers. And on the ocean were the fleets themselves. The Regia Marina 6. Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, England. Denouement Epilogue: Tokyo Bay, Afterword. John Lewis: Good Trouble. It is a vast and complex subject and while it allegedly is focused on the naval contributions in that war many troop and air components are included when necessary. On a huge canvas, Symonds paints with a fine brush, looking for the telling details, the meaningful anecdote, the well-constructed set-piece. World War II at Sea will have a wide audience. Refresh and try again. It offers a global perspective of the major engagements. However it cries out for a good editor, because there are plenty of factual errors like HMS Gurkha being a light cruiser instead of a Tribal class DD. Throughout his work, Symonds makes a clear, unequivocal, and absolutely vital statement: for the Western Allies, at least, the Second World War was a naval war, pure and simple, except perhaps for the very first and the last few months in Europe. What Symonds gives his readers is something far more valuable, at least from the perspective of a naval historian. World War II reportage is especially difficult because the struggle at sea was so vast. Oct 15, Nooilforpacifists rated it really liked it Shelves: naval-history , world-war-two-history. I did pace myself, though, the incomprehensible destruction and loss of life get a little overwhe With war history I tend to gravitate towards personal stories or accounts of individual episodes, because military strategy and maneuvering tends to go over my simple little head. Operation Neptune Craig L. Enigma was used to encrypt business communications long before the military got a hold of it. Permissions Icon Permissions. Under the direction of the visionary and enthusiastic Rear Admiral Karl Donitz, German submarines terrorized the North Atlantic for much of the war. Symonds does not do this. But this wasn't trying to be like them. I have read a lot about the battles in the Pacific as well, many of which are sea battles. But, it is worth the effort. The past twenty-five years have brought a dramatic expansion of scholarship in maritime history, including He spends quite a bit of time describing the extraordinary output of American industry, supplying materials for two fronts at sea, and sending weapons and vehicles to the Russians, and supplying the British. Roosevelt , Isoroku Yamamoto , Chester W. I never appreciated that American manufacturing capacity may have been the most impotent determinant of victory, but the isolation of our country spared our plants and workers the bombardment that the other Allies and the Axis Powers had to suffer! Most naval histories of World War II isolate themselves to particular battles, campaigns or venues. Battles have been waged While plenty of readers will be familiar with parts of the tale, from the stunning reversal in Japan's fortunes at the Battle of Midway to the endless Allied struggle to find enough shipping to carry on a three- front war, Symonds succeeds at weaving each part into a coherent whole. North American Hi By Jonathan W. World War II at Sea : A Global History Writer Notify me of new posts by email. Chalk full of fascinating, frequently horrific details. Rightly, he points out that since the appearance of the first British and US official histories, written respectively by Stephen Roskill and Samuel Eliot Morison soon after the war ended, existing literature has tended to focus on particular campaigns, or the actions of particular national navies, and generally fails to recognise the way in which the global naval war was uniquely intertwined, actions in one half of the globe being entirely dependent on resources made available from the other. John Lewis: Good Trouble. Seven decades down the road he can, and does, cherry-pick the best research. Any reader, whether general or specialist, can pick it up, become immersed in its flowing narrative and energetic prose, and come away with a good general understanding of the war at sea, and the central importance of the maritime dimension to the Anglo-American victory in the West. Operation Neptune Craig L. Scapa Flow, after all, sounds like it ought to be a congestion relief medicine, not the location of one of the early naval encounters of World War II. This change could be related to nature of modern fatherhood: today's dads report spending an average of seven hours per week on child care nearly triple what fathers reported 50 years ago. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. And he wants to cover a lot. He felt it was too brief at times for the areas he wanted to dive more deeply into. Symonds makes the point that the main difference in between the two sides was the US capability to produce prodigious amounts of material and because of that, they were able to replace losses both quickly and in many cases with better equipment. Here as well are the notable naval leaders-FDR and Churchill, both self-proclaimed "Navy men," Karl D nitz, Fran ois Darlan, Ernest King, Isoroku Yamamoto, Erich Raeder, Inigo Campioni, Louis Mountbatten, William Halsey, as well as the hundreds of thousands of seamen and officers of all nationalities whose live were imperiled and lost during the greatest naval conflicts in history, from small-scale assaults and amphibious operations to the largest armadas ever assembled. Symonds shows how well-planned combined operations can win a history-changing battle such as D-Day or mitigate a baleful defeat as at Dunkirk. By Jonathan W. How Craig Symonds accomplished this while keeping the story interesting and the narrative engaging is a fine feat. To concentrate on this is entirely to miss the point. For instance, despite having authored an entire book on the battle of Midway, Symonds deals with it here in only a relatively few pages. Volume So, in trying to cover every battle, the planning going into it, the politics involved and its effect on the overall war, much is necessarily left out, but what is left in packs a big punch and is very enlightening. World War II at Sea : A Global History Reviews Don't have an account? Apr 18, Brian Page rated it really liked it. The Regia Marina 6. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Does this book include the Battle at Tarawa? The review of a GR friend thanks Matt caught my eye a couple of months ago and I ordered it. This is a great book. Terrific book. Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic. Rarely do they attempt to circumnavigate the globe, much less in a single-volume book. The author or editor of several books on U. Originally made of five ingredients, including a spirit, sugar, and A Two Ocean Navy This book is a treat! Sort order. Navy were remarkably similar in persistently seeking Of course the industrial strength of the U. I did pace myself, though, the incomprehensible destruction and loss of life get a little overwhelming in too large of doses Korea national university of transportation. Having one comprehensive narrative is breaking new ground and the failure to realize that is not the fault of either Symonds or the book. This article is also available for rental through DeepDyve. Black smoke roiled up from the spaces below, and the big ship began listing heavily to starboard. Symonds ranks among the country's finest naval historians. In particular, Symonds spends a decent amount of the book on logistics, ship construction, and amphibious warfare tactics. No matter how big the story gets spoiler alert: it gets big , it is always centered on a person with a name, dealing with the most intense, momentous, and often deadly experience in his life. Of course this book is an overview and a good one at that so there is not a lot of detail regarding specific engagements. If you have interest in military history, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Under the direction of the visionary and enthusiastic Rear Admiral Karl Donitz, German submarines terrorized the North Atlantic for much of the war. He makes a strong case for the critically necessary elements of sea power, sea lift and sea control to the process of the war.