Rating: 
Summary: Good, but could be a lot better
Review: Maybe I expected too much. But the 2nd edition of Jane's Warship Recognition Guide comes up lacking in some respects, especially in comparison to my dog-eared, 1973 Jane's Pocket Warship Guide.First, the good news: As a recognition guide, it does the job well. Line drawings are good, (if a bit too miniaturized) and a description of the ship's unique recognition features are covered in good detail. Full-page photographs of each class of ship are included. Most of the photos are of excellent quality, though a few (example, the converted Russian "Kiev" class carrier) are so washed-out as to be nearly useless. Still, if you're looking for a recognition guide, this book does the job. Buy it. Now, the bad news: the technical information is erratic. Maybe I'm asking too much for Jane's to list each class of ship's main machinery in detail (make, model, horsepower, configuration - though they somehow managed to do so in my 1973 guide) but one would at least expect a one-word comment about the ship's propulsion ("CODOG," "nuclear," etc.). But Jane's offers us nothing - zero. Is France's new carrier nuclear powered? I would assume so, but who knows? Omission of this basic information is just inexcusable, even in a recognition guide. Weapons systems, with some exceptions, are covered in better detail. Aircraft carrier descriptions include information on the types and numbers of aircraft likely to be carried by each particular class. Excellent. But one has to wonder why, after informing us that the "Typhoon" class submarines are equipped with SS-N-20 missiles, they can't bother to tell us how many of these dammed SS-N-20s each boat carries. C'mon, guys, this is kinda important information! The bummer is that there's a real dearth of general-purpose warship books out there, and if you're looking for anything under $50, Jane's is really the only game in town. It's really not that bad - it just could have been so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but could be a lot better
Review: Maybe I expected too much. But the 2nd edition of Jane's Warship Recognition Guide comes up lacking in some respects, especially in comparison to my dog-eared, 1973 Jane's Pocket Warship Guide. First, the good news: As a recognition guide, it does the job well. Line drawings are good, (if a bit too miniaturized) and a description of the ship's unique recognition features are covered in good detail. Full-page photographs of each class of ship are included. Most of the photos are of excellent quality, though a few (example, the converted Russian "Kiev" class carrier) are so washed-out as to be nearly useless. Still, if you're looking for a recognition guide, this book does the job. Buy it. Now, the bad news: the technical information is erratic. Maybe I'm asking too much for Jane's to list each class of ship's main machinery in detail (make, model, horsepower, configuration - though they somehow managed to do so in my 1973 guide) but one would at least expect a one-word comment about the ship's propulsion ("CODOG," "nuclear," etc.). But Jane's offers us nothing - zero. Is France's new carrier nuclear powered? I would assume so, but who knows? Omission of this basic information is just inexcusable, even in a recognition guide. Weapons systems, with some exceptions, are covered in better detail. Aircraft carrier descriptions include information on the types and numbers of aircraft likely to be carried by each particular class. Excellent. But one has to wonder why, after informing us that the "Typhoon" class submarines are equipped with SS-N-20 missiles, they can't bother to tell us how many of these dammed SS-N-20s each boat carries. C'mon, guys, this is kinda important information! The bummer is that there's a real dearth of general-purpose warship books out there, and if you're looking for anything under $50, Jane's is really the only game in town. It's really not that bad - it just could have been so much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Jane's work (which is to say that it is good).
Review: My only regret is the stats are not detailed enough. Other than that, it is a thorough look at the warships of the world's current navies. A must for any nautical fanatic. --don
Rating:
Summary: Typical Jane's work (which is to say that it is good).
Review: My only regret is the stats are not detailed enough. Other than that, it is a thorough look at the warships of the world's current navies. A must for any nautical fanatic. --don
Rating:
Summary: A good general reference for any naval buff.
Review: The book is a good addition to any professional salior or naval buff's library. The pictures, for the most part are of good quality, but some are of little value as they are bow-on or stern-on shots. Also, the author gets the California and Virginia class vessels of the USN (CGNs) mixed together when they are two distinct classes. However, as all vessels of both classes are (or soon will be) no longer in service it is not a big issue. With the rapid pace of naval events a newer edition is needed; say in 2000-2001. The key recognition features of each class is a good feature, allowing the reader to pick them up from the picture on the opposite page.
Rating: 
Summary: Photographs are unclear, if not excellent
Review: this is a good reference book but I would probably have to be soon updated as many warships are likely to be withdrawn as the Superpower competition has ended.Ballistic missile submarines are an obvious category. Future issues of this reference book may include ships such as the USN's proposed Arsenal Ship or amphibious assault ships.
Rating:
Summary: A good guide for warship recognition
Review: This is a wonderful book if your objective is to be able to identify ships. It has a lot of detailed explainations on how to look for distinguishing features such as what type of mast a ship has, how many funnels, locations of weapon systems, what shape the forecastle is etc. It also gives detailed line drawings of the side view of each ship to make identification easy. So, if all you want to do is to be able to recognise the ships, then this is the guide for you. On the down side, it does lack some details a military buff might be interested in, such as how many missiles of each particular type are carried, range of the various electronic sensors onboard, range of the main armament and things like that. Therefore, if you want to know those kinds of details you will have to find another book. On the whole though, this is a very comprehensive book, which covers MOST of the ships in service today, so it's actually pretty useful. It's worth the money spent to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is an excellent guide for those interested in recognition of and distinction between different classes of naval vessels. Some common vessels are missing from the Patrol Boats, but overall this is the best guide on the market for learning vessel characteristics.
Rating:
Summary: limited reference of alot of ships
Review: This was a good basic reference , but if your looking for detail you wont find it in this book.It has a picture of each ships broadside and a rundown of the statistics. IE: range , how many guns, how many in service,ect.
Rating:
Summary: All encompassing guide to modern warships.
Review: Well, as a Jane's Pocket Guide, it pretty much outlines all of the ships currently in service around the world. It breaks them down by type and by nation. It also even lists the individual names of each ship in each class which is pretty cool if you need to find out what ship and what class your loved one is stationed on. The only negative comment I have about the book is that all of the pictures are black and white. Now I realize that some ships from around the world are not that readily available to get a color photograph of, but I must assume that most should be. So why not use them?
| 
