A hidden bit of American maritime history brought to light for the first time. Unique! As a military and maritime correspondent for many years, I spent time with Peter Marsh while living in the Pacific North West and suggested that since this was home turf, he should look at possibly doing a book on ships that emerged during World War Two from Portland, Washington State's Vancouver as well as Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. It took him five years but a remarkable work has emerged from British publishers Seaforth (a Pen & Sword subsidiary). The book is one of the best and most comprehensively illustrated I've seen and is a tribute to that remarkable period when the United States lifted itself up from its bootstraps and set about creating the wherewithal needed to defeat Japan. Neither Berlin nor Tokyo believed that the Yanks had it in them: surprise, surprise! There is something of a lesson here for China which seems to heading the same path almost a century after Japan tried.. Read more
Amazon UK Review

This is the fifth fully revised edition of a book first published in 1970. Each entry gives concise details of dimensions, armament and service dates, and its alphabetical and chronological arrangement makes it easy to track down the right ship (otherwise the Royal Navy’s tradition of re-using the same names can be misleading). This edition contains some 200 new entries and revisions to many older entries. These reflect the demise of many ships post-Cold War as the Royal Navy was shrunk down as part of the peace dividend. The book includes updates to the Royal Australian, Canadian and New Zealand navies which have programmes to introduce new destroyers, Arctic patrol vessels, submarines and support ships. Since the death of Jim Colledge, who was widely respected for his pioneering research on the technical details of warships, his magnum opus has been updated, corrected and expanded with similar enthusiasm and attention to detail by Ben Warlow, a retired naval officer and author of a.. Read more
Julian Stockwin

This book takes its title from the familiar opening exchange of signals between passing ships, and celebrates the long history of visual communications at sea. It traces the visual language of signalling from the earliest naval banners or streamers used by the Byzantines in AD 900 through to morse signalling still used at sea today. Covering a wide spectrum of visual signalling methods from false fire, through shapes, furled sails and coloured flags to experiments in high speed text messaging by signal lamp, the book also examines the complex interrelation between all three methods under battle conditions. A detailed analysis of visual signal exchanges before and during the Battle of Jutland reveals both the success and ultimate limitations of flag signalling at the limits of visibility. Extensively and beautifully illustrated, the book both enlightens and entertains. Read the full review [link=https://julianstockwin.com/2021/02/15/bookpick-winter-2021/]here[/link]
Julian Stockwin

As a relatively short, affordable, very readable, account for the non-specialist it does, however, have much to commend it.
The Waterloo Association

As a wide ranging work it could help ship modellers and was clearly a labour of love for the author who has contributed a useful volume of naval history.
The Society of Model and Experimental Engineers