These Military History Books Are a Must-Have

"No, I don't thank you for the fish at all" (notindetroit) 12/08/2015 at 12:46 • Filed to: Secret Senna, Gift Guide, Military History, History Books

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Now that we’re in the middle of the second decade of the century, virtually any tidbit of information is at our fingertips. Having a print-page reference book with extensive photo documentation is still pretty handy and nifty to have, though. These military history reference books are great stocking and book shelf-stuffers alike and provide not only all the basics and detailed history of their subject matter but several pages of photographs with detailed captions as well.

There are two major publishers of this kind of military photo-reference book: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Both overlap only in terms of general subject matter covered and having books from both publishers stocking your shelves is a great start towards a personal military history library.

Squadron Publications are perhaps best known for their In Action series, which are detailed photo-histories of specific military equipment or units from throughout the history of warfare. These include !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and so on. Squadron Publications also publishes and sells numerous scale model-specific references such as paint guides and construction technique guides.

Pictoral Histories Publishing Co, Inc. provides highly detailed photo-reference books on a number of general history subjects, but also have highly detailed references for specific naval vessels. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is a complete listing of every U.S. Navy battleship to ever be on the register, including those that never made it off the drafting board (such as the entirety of the Montana class, canceled after the Navy decided it’d rather have supercarriers) and vessels only begrudingly considered battleships (such as the beginning of armored naval warfare where the lines between “cruiser” and “battleship” were ill-defined). If that’s a little too spread out for you, Pictoral Histories Publishing Co, Inc. also offers specific books on major naval vessels such as USS Enterprise , USS California , USS Los Angeles and so on.

Azrek > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all 12/08/2015 at 12:55

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USS Alabama allowed Boy Scouts to spend the night on the USS Alabama. It was usually one of the highlights of the year (though we drove through multiple states to get there). We could swing on the guns, get in the Clockroom and run around like idiots.

There is also a fantastic documentary on the USS Alabama being a place some people used to spend the week during a Hurricane because...it is a BATTLESHIP. But during Katrina...it moved and everyone panicked.

Also, the USS Wisconsin being activated for the first Gulf War is an interesting read, because they had to get out WW2 veterans to reteach the Navy how to properly load the guns.

TractorPillow > Azrek 12/08/2015 at 12:58

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not to mention that the USS Alabama shares a park with the SR-71 Blackbird! The mascot of Oppositelock!

Azrek > TractorPillow 12/08/2015 at 13:02

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I know some of the planes in the museum were damaged during Katrina, I don’t know the status on the SR-71.

Spoon II > No, I don't thank you for the fish at all 12/08/2015 at 14:07

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I swear, those books in the top picture look exactly like ones I used to get from the library when I was a kid. They were crazy interesting!