American Naval

 Decision at Sea is a powerful and illuminating look at pivotal moments in the history of the Navy and of the United States. It is also a compelling study of the unchanging demands of leadership at sea, where commanders must make rapid decisions in the heat of battle with lives - and the fate of nations - hanging in the balance. 

Regarded as the standard biography of World War II naval hero Adm. Raymond A. Spruance. Spruance, victor of the battles of Midway and the Philippine Sea and commander of the Fifth Fleet in the invasions of the Gilberts, the Marshalls, the Marianas, and Okinawa, is one of the towering figures in American naval history. Yet his reserved, cerebral personality did not make "good copy" for correspondents, and until the publication of The Quiet Warrior he remained an elusive figure.

Life has dealt him an unfair hand, leaving him with few options. Will a chance encounter with a caring American colonial family provide a poor English boy with a stable home, or will the boy be lost in events that are spiraling out of control? Peter Smith, a boy of humble beginnings, is a testament to the human spirit. Despite his impoverished upbringing, abduction, and mistreatment, he refuses to be defined by his circumstances. Born into poverty and hopelessness on the streets of Portsmouth, England, Peter is forced into a life of crime just to survive. His resilience is tested when he is...

In 1896 Key West, sixteen-year-old Frank Gilbert is already drawn to the hidden engines of the modern world—signal masts, steam pumps, harbor machinery, and the hard discipline of men who keep ships moving. But when his Navy family is transferred to a raw, fast-growing Miami, Frank finds himself caught between old loyalties, new ambitions, and a city being built almost as quickly as he is becoming a man. As war with Spain gathers just ninety miles away, Frank is pulled toward the sea, toward service, and toward the questions that have always followed him: where does he belong, what kind ...

John Paul Jones is more than a great sea story. Jones is a character for the ages. John Adams called him the "most ambitious and intriguing officer in the American Navy." The renewed interest in the Founding Fathers reminds us of the great men who made this country, but John Paul Jones teaches us that it took fighters as well as thinkers, men driven by dreams of personal glory as well as high-minded principle to break free of the past and start a new world. Jones' spirit was classically American.

How history's only five-star admirals triumphed in World War II and made the United States the world's dominant sea power. Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Admiral of the Fleet: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. These...

In his new audiobook Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron: The War of 1812 and the Birth of the American Navy, author Dr. Ronald Utt not only sheds new light on the naval battles of the War of 1812 and how they gave birth to our nation's great navy, but tells the story of the War of 1812 through the portraits of famous American war heroes.

In the tense days leading up to the American Revolution, Jack Horner faces his most harrowing challenge yet. When a trusted shipmate is captured by the British Navy, Jack must navigate a treacherous path through enemy-infested waters and shadowy smugglers' coves. With his loyal friend Matsumoko at his side, Jack embarks on a daring quest to rescue a shipmate and outwit the ruthless Lieutenant Brusby. As secrets unravel and alliances are tested, the high seas become a battleground for courage and cunning. Jack must confront his own demons and rely on his wits to outmaneuver foes both old and...

War is coming. The first blood has been spilled. Jack Horner has always dreamed of an adventure filled life. He spends his afternoons in the Boston Harbor watching ships as they come into port from far flung origins. A life at sea holds the promise of adventure, but Jack is doomed to the constricts of being the son of a lower-class blacksmith. The forge and anvil loom large over his future like an impending wave destined to crash down and topple his dreams of seeing distant shores. But, there is a foul wind blowing over Boston in the spring of 1770. Clashes between local townsfolk and the ...

Foul winds and raging waves. Jack Horner has faced the trials of the sea and the turmoil of battle, but his greatest challenge lies ahead. With the British tightening their grip on the colonies, Jack and his crew must navigate treacherous waters and outwit a cunning adversary. The stakes have never been higher, and every decision could mean the difference between victory and defeat. A hero’s journey continues, and the winds of destiny lead him home. From the blood-soaked decks of battle to the warm bonds of brotherhood, Jack’s journey is fraught with peril and discovery. As he grapples ...

With The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors and Ship of Ghosts, James D. Hornfischer created essential and enduring narratives about America’s World War II Navy, works of unique immediacy distinguished by rich portraits of ordinary men in extremis and exclusive new information. Now he does the...

The American Revolution was a naval war of immense scope and variety, including no less than 22 navies fighting on five oceans - to say nothing of rivers and lakes. In no other war were so many large-scale fleet battles fought, one of which was the most strategically significant naval battle in all of British, French, and American history.

Americans have long been fascinated by the Civil War, marveling at the size of the battles, the leadership of the generals, and the courage of the soldiers. The North managed to have spectacular success jointly coordinating operations between the Army and Navy, thanks in large measure to the leadership of officers like David Farragut. While generals like Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman received the lion’s share of the credit for Union victories, naval forces were instrumental, and Farragut was immediately recognized for his service.

"Absorbing history of an unlikely alliance.” - Kirkus Reviews From the New York Times bestselling authors of Ghosts of Honolulu comes their most harrowing true story yet. It's 1942, and New York City is at war. German U-boats are sinking ships just miles offshore, and Washington, DC, is...

They were legalized pirates empowered by the Continental Congress to raid and plunder, at their own considerable risk, as much enemy trade as they could successfully haul back to America's shores. They played a decisive role in America's struggle for independence and later turned their seafaring talents to the slave trade, revealing the conflict between enterprise and morality central to American history.

Winner of the Gold Medal in the Readers' Choice Awards! In June 1775, amid the Revolutionary War’s early stirrings, Irish Yankee Jeremiah O’Brien, seizes a British armed schooner off the Maine coast to thwart the cargo of lumber she was escorting from reaching British forces in Boston. Inspired by this daring victory, Jeremiah abandons his lumber business to command privateer vessels, relentlessly pursuing British merchant ships across dangerous waters. Defying the British navy’s tightening grip on the Massachusetts coast, he risks his life and his ships to capture many prizes. Yet ...

Rebellion Brews in Boston Harbor In The Boston Affair, the fifth gripping installment of The Patriot Sailor series, the tides of revolution surge as tea spills and loyalties fracture. When a covert mission entangles our daring sailor in the heart of the Boston Tea Party, secrets surface that could sink the cause. Or ignite it. History collides with high-stakes adventure. Will he navigate betrayal and stormy alliances, or be swept under by the rising tide of war?

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. In this absolutely riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds, paints an unforgettable portrait of ingenuity, courage, and sacrifice.

The definitive and dramatic account of what became known as ""Operation Vengeance"" -- the targeted kill by U.S. fighter pilots of Japan's larger-than-life military icon, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the naval genius who had devised the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. “AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR...

For nearly a century, tens of thousands of Filipino men served in the United States Navy—yet their stories remain largely unspoken. Beneath the Stars and Stripes uncovers this overlooked legacy, tracing the lives of Filipino sailors from colonial times to Cold War deployments, from steward’s quarters to leadership roles. Drawing on personal letters, oral histories, and official records, Gerald R. Anderson offers a powerful and deeply human portrait of service, sacrifice, and resilience. From the young recruits of Cavite and Olongapo to the sailors who served aboard ships during World ...