History of United States Naval Operations in World War II 15 Volume Set

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Summary: An amazingly well done set of books to describe the US Navy
Review: Dr. Morison was an outstanding historian and a wonderful writer. I think all of the series 14 history books (and 1 book given as a general index) are intimate and readable and bring the tragedies and victories and good and bad happenings with an intensity that brings WW II back to life. Americans who want to learn about sacrifices made by the men of our Navy should read at a minimum book V,"The Struggle for Guadalcanal". Between August 9 and November 30 there were 6 full scale naval actions, and we got the worst of several of them. But somehow our men held on and ultimately won the campaign. These books have my strongest recommendation!

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Summary: The Essential Starting Point
Review: FDR personally selected Morison to write the history of the U. S. navy in World War II. Commissioned into the Naval Reserve, Morison personally travelled to all theaters during the war.

The result is tremendous history. While the official Army history of the war is the series of "Green Books", many of them dry as dust, Morsion's Navy history is a thrilling acount. The Pacific battles are especially thrilling, but Morsion covers the entire war on all oceans.

This is a super deal -- ten years ago, this set was going for $599!

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Summary: Detailed facts and accounts of almost every engagement...
Review: I've only read the volumes for Submarine War in the Atlantic (2), and Operation Torch (North Africa Invasion) and Guadalcanal Campaign so far, but i think this is a complete and detailed account on almost every engagement between opposing forces. In the submarine volumes, i would say almost every engagement between US and German u-boots is included, and in the Torch Operation volume, it's described the relatevely unopposed landings in French North African harbors with detailed maps of each harbor, also aerial photographs too...The Guadalcanal campaign volume, for which prefer the book by Richard B.Frank "Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of the Landmark Battle" because includes complete accounts on the land battles is also well written, and Morison includes a brief explanation of what was actually going in land.

My favourite point of these series are the depth and details and photographs, and the maps, and the worst is that it gets somewhat boring reading one book after the other... :-)

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Summary: Morison was caught up
Review: No doubt naval operations are obscure and technical to the average reader. Samuel Eliot Morison's breezy, near first person account of WWII naval activities with emphasis on Pacific operations certainly brings hostory to life. One can hardly question his sources. He participated in many of the engagements he wrote about and frequently interviewed the officers present immediately after the operations. His work generated the TV series "Victory At Sea", whose episode names often mirror chapter or volume names of the set.

I am sure Morison's chummy relationship with Roosevelt, Stark and Leahy color his opinion of some of the more flamboyant (or Republican) officers. Morison's work is also firmly rooted in the 1930s-1940s egalitarian belief that the guy at the "pointy end" deserved praise equal to his superiors.

This reader believes it is now time for a more dispassionate analysis of the strategy, tactics, and materiel which won the naval war for America. These titanic battles have never been quantitatively analyzed and technical summaries available in archives have seldom been included in a public offering on the war.

This criticism does not detract from Morison's titanic work. It places a human face on war in a way not seen before.

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Summary: Epic in scope, with brilliant prose
Review: No other work can really compare with Morison's epic for breadth and scope. No doubt there are many books with finer detail for specific campaigns, and a keener analysis of strategy for a given battle, but none offers all of the war's operations in such a richly written fashion.

Morison's textured prose combines the immediacy of the era with a sense of historicity other historians cannot match. Morison is capable of describing the intense feelings which Japanese atrocities engendered in American fighting men in one volume of his history, and yet in another draw analogies between Patton's assault on Agrippa to Rome's attempt to seize the ancient village from the Syracusans.

The naval actions described in the history vary widely in scope -- from the massive battle of Leyte Gulf, to small and little known actions on obscure Pacific islets or unheard of Mediteranean coasts. The beauty is that Morison lends his at times poetic descriptions with equal fervor to both. The apprehension of the sailors, the vision of a bow cutting through the moon's reflection on a smooth sea is not lost to Morison, nor is the epic tragedy of a carrier going down, hissing in a 5000 fathom deep.

Morison's book is an invaluable guide to history, because it can introduce the reader to campaigns and stories of which he was unaware. Morison is not the final word on the campaigns of which he wrote, a fact he acknowledges in his forward. Nor is he totally impartial at times in judging the mistakes or failures of his fellow sailors. Yet his work remains the broadest and most comprehensive on the subject, a joy to read, and a introduction to many fascinating subjects and tales.

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Summary: The core of US Navy history for WWII
Review: Now approaching 50 years old (Some volumes are older than that) Morisons epic history of the U.S. Navy's participation in World War II is still well worth having on your shelf. The Order of Battle information alone justifies the investment. Some may find the prose dated but I like the style. Yes it was written before the complete disclosure of Ultra and Magic and that needs to be taken into account when using it. This still provides an excellent foundation for any naval investigation of WW II.

Rating:
Summary: Worth it, but
Review: The one-volume edition's jingoism is softer in this one. For that reason and for its detail, it should be read in preference to the one-volume edition. And the price is right.

Morison had connections--Beacon Hill brahmin, all the way. But he attended Trinity Church (the Anglican cathedral in Copley Square), not the Church of the Advent (across the street from his house). He chose to worship where he might be seen, contrary to Matt. 6:5. Power was one of his priorities.

Some claim he was given access to documents that were withheld from other historians. Even if untrue, the suspicion behind this claim is that Morison did not always lay responsibility at the right flag. Those who read carefully will want to keep this in mind as they scan the best survey of naval operations in the two ocean war--unrivaled for scope, detail and appreciations.

A serious student would start with Morison's history, but not finish there. Also, there are unusual issues of character. Is this an officer you'd want to follow into combat? What does this have to do with his objectivity as a reporter of naval operations? Do blind spots issue from his New England mindset? Should he really be compared to Thucydides, or is he more like Kipling? Or was it about academic oneupsmanship? How does his son's tragedy relate to the father's achievement? Heavy issues, these; but they pertain, unfortunately.

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Summary: Complete
Review: This is a great set of books and the only thing you need to reference any Navy operation during World War II. I've only recently completed reading two volumes, but I am amazed at the detail and how completely researched these books are. Morison is a true master of the history of the U.S. Navy. Not only does he cover WWII in detail, but he references other Naval battles and clues you into some great secondary sources. I am most interested in operations around the Mediterranean (Salerno and Anzio) and Morison has covered that area better than any other books on the subject. The books look great on a book shelf. There is a volume for reference as well and it is very easy to find what you are looking for. Amazon.com does a good job of packaging this heavy set and I received the books with no damage.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic.
Review: This is the definitive history of US Naval ops in the second world war. It is very well written. Morison was a Harvard history professor interested in maritime matters who FDR appointed in April 1942 as official naval historian and comissioned in the USNR. During the rest of the war Morison worked on the history full time, spending about half the time at sea with various elements of the fleet. The series was published volume by volume until completed in the early 1960s.

When these books were written, the allied successes in breaking axis codes were still secret, so the full reasons behind many command decisions could not be discussed. On occasion this forced Morison into a little obsfucation. So long as the reader is aware that some crucial signals intelligence could not be mentioned, it makes little difference to the work as a whole.

Rating:
Summary: A True Classic Work
Review: This series is a true classic work. It is written in an easy-to-read style that lets the reader hear the sea and smell the salt spray. It is the starting point for anyone who really wants to know about the war at sea. Some parts, like the account of the Battle of Midway are masterly. I have read every volume many times over and would recommend it.

However, the reader should be aware that Morison is no dispassionate, detached historian. He is here to praise the Navy and to defend its record. So he shies away from some unpleasant incidents. The sea story about the Hudson pilot (V:25) has been shown to be false; the horror of the loss of USS Juneau (V:257) is passed over all too lightly; the near loss of two LSTs off the Tami Islands, far from dispelling the fear of land based attack, led to a timid response to the crisis at Finschhafen, which is glossed over (VI:274-5); Commander Loughlin may have been court-martialled and found guilty of negligence (XIV:291) but Morison knew that he had been subsequently promoted to admiral and doesn't tell the reader.