Our list of some of the best Naval books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
- 1. Understanding Naval Warfare (2018)
- 2. Torpedo 8 (Annotated): The Story of Swede Larsen’s Bomber Squadron (2019)
- 3. Destroyer Squadron 23: Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke’s Gallant Force (Bluejacket Books) (2012)
- 4. Naval Firepower: Battleship Guns and Gunnery in the Dreadnought Era (2001)
- 5. Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators: NAVWEPS 00-80T-80 (FAA Handbooks series) (2012)
- 6. The Naval Academy Candidate Book (2014)
- 7. Gone to Sea in a Bucket (A Harry Gilmour Novel) (2015)
- 8. Holbrooke’s Tide: The Fourth Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventure (Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures) (2019)
- 9. The Leeward Islands Squadron: A Carlisle and Holbrooke Naval Adventure (Carlisle and Holbrooke Naval Adventures) (2018)
- 10. The Battle for Leyte Gulf: The Incredible Story of World War II’s Largest Naval Battle (2017)
- 11. The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing, 3rd Edition (Blue and Gold) (2011)
- 12. The King’s Privateer (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (2018)
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1. Understanding Naval Warfare (2018)
This new and updated edition of Understanding Naval Warfare offers the reader an accessible introduction to the study of modern naval warfare, providing a thorough grounding in the vocabulary, concepts, issues, and debates, set within the context of relevant history. Navies operate in an environment that most people do not understand and that many avoid. They are equipped with a bewildering range of ships, craft and other vessels and types of equipment, the purpose of which is often unclear. Writings on naval warfare are usually replete with references to esoteric concepts explained in specialist…
2. Torpedo 8 (Annotated): The Story of Swede Larsen’s Bomber Squadron (2019)
Torpedo 8 is the epic story of the death and rebirth of the famous bomber squadron led by Lieutenant Harold “Swede” Larsen. VT-8 rose from the ashes of the Battle of Midway to become an indispensable air arm in the series of engagements for the Solomon Islands and beyond. In three months, the crack squadron carried out thirty-nine attack missions, sixteen against ships, twenty-three against ground targets. Their motto following the tragedy at Midway was “Attack and Revenge.”Herman Wouk paid homage to the squadron in his 1971 novel War and Remembrance, referring to the pilots as, “The soul of America in action.”…
3. Destroyer Squadron 23: Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke’s Gallant Force (Bluejacket Books) (2012)
Called one of the most inspiring stories to come out of World War II when first published in 1959, this epic account of Arleigh Burke’s legendary Destroyer Squadron 23 is much more than a story of ships and their tactical deployment. It is a story of men in action–some four thousand of them–and how they lived and fought as a magnificent combat team.Ken Jones not only records their heroic deeds but helps explain what prompted those deeds, including the leadership qualities that fired the men into action. In doing so he brings to life the outfit’s fighting spirit–that mysterious combination of qualities inspired by great leaders…
4. Naval Firepower: Battleship Guns and Gunnery in the Dreadnought Era (2001)
Naval Firepower…
5. Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators: NAVWEPS 00-80T-80 (FAA Handbooks series) (2012)
This textbook presents the elements of applied aerodynamics and aeronautical engineering which relate directly to flight training and general flight operations. Originally published by the U.S. Navy and revised in 1965.A long-established U.S. Navy publication also used by the U.S. Air Force as well as by the FAA as a source reference for their own publications, for more than 50 years this textbook has been a definitive source that communicates the complexities of applied aerodynamics and aeronautical engineering for both the beginner and the experienced pilot. Flight safety and effectiveness…
6. The Naval Academy Candidate Book (2014)
This is a how to book based on hundreds of interviews with Naval Academy professors, administrators, admissions officials, midshipmen, graduates, congressional staffers and panelists, and parents from across the U.S. It is a complete guide that gives candidates everything they need to know to prepare for the Navy, gain admission to the Academy, and survive after they get there….
7. Gone to Sea in a Bucket (A Harry Gilmour Novel) (2015)
Like all young men of a certain age, Harry Gilmour had his own notion of how a naval battle should be. This wasn’t it.Norway, 1940: Sub Lieutenant Harry Gilmour’s first encounter with battleship action is not the adventure he had hoped for. Faced with a thankless task and ill equipped to handle it, Gilmour’s inexperience leads to a damning allegation. His future hangs in the balance.But then Lieutenant Peter Dumaresq steps in to offer him a lifeline—an advanced navigation course that will take him aboard a crack submarine, HMS Pelorus, under the command of a Royal Navy hero. Faced with a possible court martial, Harry chooses life…
8. Holbrooke’s Tide: The Fourth Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventure (Carlisle & Holbrooke Naval Adventures) (2019)
It is 1758 and the Seven Years War is at its height. The Duke of Cumberland’s Hanoverian army has been pushed back to the river Elbe while the French are using the medieval fortified city of Emden to resupply their army and to anchor its left flank.George Holbrooke has recently returned from the Jamaica Station in command of a sloop-of-war. He is under orders to survey and blockade the approaches to Emden in advance of the arrival of a British squadron. The French garrison and their Austrian allies are nervous. With their supply line cut, they are in danger of being isolated when the French army is…
9. The Leeward Islands Squadron: A Carlisle and Holbrooke Naval Adventure (Carlisle and Holbrooke Naval Adventures) (2018)
In late 1756, as the British government collapses in the aftermath of the loss of Minorca and the country and navy are thrown into political chaos, a small force of ships is sent to the West Indies to reinforce the Leeward Islands Squadron. Captain Edward Carlisle, a native of Virginia, and his first lieutenant George Holbrooke are fresh from the Mediterranean and their capture of a powerful French man-of-war. Their new frigate Medina has orders to join a squadron commanded by a terminally ill commodore. Their mission: a near-suicidal assault on a strong…
10. The Battle for Leyte Gulf: The Incredible Story of World War II’s Largest Naval Battle (2017)
Pulitzer-Prize-winner and bestselling author C. Vann Woodward recreates the gripping account of the battle for Leyte Gulf—the greatest naval battle of World War II and the largest engagement ever fought on the high seas. For the Japanese, it represented their supreme effort; they committed to action virtually every operational fighting ship on the lists of the Imperial Navy, including two powerful new battleships of the Yamato class. It also ended in their greatest defeat—and a tremendous victory for the United States Navy. Features a new introduction by Evan…
11. The Naval Institute Guide to Naval Writing, 3rd Edition (Blue and Gold) (2011)
Written by a naval officer who taught English at two service academies, this is the third edition of the premier guide to professional writing for the naval services. The book is widely used by officers, enlisted men and women and civilians in both the Navy and Marine Corps. Shenk provides sound, practical advice on all common naval writing assignments. This third edition adds a new chapter on writing emails and updates the whole book to take account of the way naval writing is done in today’s computer age….
12. The King’s Privateer (Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures) (2018)
1783: Back from the war in the Americas, young navy veteran Alan Lewrie finds London pure pleasure. Then, at Plymouth, he boards the trading ship Telesto to find out why merchantmen are disappearing in the East Indies. Between the pungent shores of Calcutta and teeming Canton, Lewrie—reunited with his scoundrel father—discovers a young French captain, backed by an armada of Mindanao pirates, on a plundering rampage. While treaties tie the navy's hands, a King's privateer is free to plunge into the fire and blood of a dirty…
Best Naval Books Everyone Should Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Genesis and download some naval books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War
Author(s): Hiroo Onoda, Charles S. Terry (tr.)
ID: 2371129, Publisher: Naval Institute Press, Year: October 1999, Size: 1 Mb, Format: epub
Margin of Victory - Five Battles that Changed the Face of Modern War
Author(s): Douglas Macgregor
ID: 2425909, Publisher: Naval Institute Press, Year: May 15, 2016, Size: 3 Mb, Format: azw
Nordic nonalignment/neutrality policies in the 1990s: implications for U.S. security
Author(s): Stephen Paul Recca
ID: 2412783, Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School, Year: Dec 1990, Size: 4 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not definite. Some books are truly hot items according to Los Angeles Times, others are written by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.