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I was negligent in not mentioning Admiral Holloway’s MOST excellent book, Aircraft Carriers at War, published by the Naval Institute Press.

From his first years as a commissioned ensign from the US Naval Academy in 1942 and sitting in the hatch of a Mark 47 gun director of the USS Bennion (DD-662) through to his naval aviator flight training in the mid 1940’s and on to his command of the world’s first nuclear-powered warship, his years leading the US Navy as Chief of Naval Operations and finally with his thoughts on future carrier requirements and our global responsibilities in the 21st century, ADM Holloway paints a picture that is both engrossing and captivating.

I’m not trying to sell the book or anything – it sells itself to anyone wanting to learn about or experience what the past 50+ years have been like in and around the US Navy – from a carrier perspective.  From a forward by former President George H.W. Bush:

His lucid views of the grand scheme of things are enlivened by firsthand accounts of combat and tactics.  The breadth of Jim’s experience, and the depth of his wisdom, gives the reader a remarkably broad perspective of naval warfare from cockpits to capitals.  It’s an incredible journey through a period of history that scholars and academics have barely begin to examine.  Admiral Holloway’s book gives all of us a head start on understanding how and why the Cold War was won.