First published 2022
The U.S. Navy emerges from World War II victorious but unprepared for the next challenge. Sailors return home and warships sit in mothballs as America celebrates peace. Then Stalin moves aggressively in Europe and Asia. Churchill announces the Iron Curtain. Truman responds with a doctrine of containment that demands military bases worldwide. The Navy must transform itself rapidly for this new kind of warfare. Nuclear tests at Bikini Island reveal the atomic age's naval implications. Submarine warfare advances with new sonar technology. Korean War battles test naval superiority under fire. Surface ships gain missile systems while the nuclear submarine emerges as a game changer. The USS Cochino sinks in Norwegian waters, teaching hard lessons about undersea operations. The USS Nautilus attempts the first submarine voyage beneath the North Pole. Through these dramatic episodes, Hornfischer shows how America's naval forces adapted to protect the free world against Communist expansion.
Genres: 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, naval-history, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction
Setting: Europe, Asia, Bikini Atoll, Norway, North Pole
Period: World War II, Cold War, Korean War
480 pages · Hardcover · Bantam