The Carrier War

The Epic of Flight

by Clark G. Reynolds, Time-Life Books (Editor)

Traces the development of aircraft carriers and their use in WW II

Genres: History, Aviation, Nonfiction, War, Military History, Nautical, The World

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Clark Gilbert Reynolds was a historian of naval warfare, with a particular interest in the development of U.S. naval aviation.

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this copy at the March Air Base Museum Gift shop and bought it. This is part of a larger series that my dad had when I was growing up. He did not have the full series so I was always on the hunt for the rest of the books.

These books are a great primer - 5 short essays and a series of Time Life photos. As primers, it's supposed to whet your appetite and not the full meal.

These books are also very dated; this one was published in 1982. Since then, many, many books have been published that constantly revise and update our understanding. For example, Shattered Sword (first published in 1999-2000) by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully challenged the sanitized Japanese version told to the Americans and relied heavily on Japanese primary sources instead.

American naval historian James Hornsficher before his early passing (he was only 55!) has several great books analyzing the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Leyte Gulf focusing on Taffy 3, and the final 2 years.

Lastly, since 1982, many of the shipwrecks have been discovered. The discovery of the famous Japanese carrier Kaga was pretty electrifying to the historians.

My interest in military aviation stemmed from these books. Yes, I recommend them but also add the caveat that they are dated.

[Rob · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found Reynolds to be a well below standard instructor who should have focused on teaching - as he was employed to do - rather than all his derivative writings and biased, inane deskside nautical musings. He was a waste of time and resources for a student, and he was reported for his substandard teaching practices to the College and, as unfortunately necessary, to appropriate post-secondary academic and administrative oversight entities. Also, should someone misconstrue his career from his various biographies, he had no credible military service, nor, evidently, did he serve in the Vietnam War... . His "PDB" writing is reflective of the nature of that prickish knave, and I would recommend the book Imposters in the Temple (Anderson,1996) to him and his ilk.

[Michael Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

i found this book because i like ww2 and i like reading new things about it. it tells about random people and their struggles in the war. it takes place in the pacific and the islands in it.

its about the war in the pacific. it shows and explains the sea and land battles in the pacific. it tells you about the carriers and how they fought. it details peoples experiences in the war.

i like the book a lot. it provides great detail and is interesting to read. it is very informative.

i would recommend this to people who really enjoy history. i would also recommend that you read other book by this author.

[Tim Carswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells how Carriers came about and fought its way to become the main ship of WW2

[Henry Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

All that I have read about WWII and I still found the a new angle on the Pacific War. I knew the outline but the details were amazing!

[Marilyn]

Excellent source. I typed a lot of this info into my notes.

[Duane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who is interested in the battles that took place in the Pacific should read this book. With a nice description of how aircraft carriers came into use by different countries, the author does an excellent job of explaining each carrier battle that took place during World War 2. Filled with photos I've never seen before in other Pacific books, the reader gets to not only read the action, but see it as well. A great read for any World War 2 historian or fan.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reynold's The Carrier War is a nice summary of how the aircraft carrier replaces the battleship as the central actor of naval war in 20th century. It is a relatively brief book, one of the Time-Life series, Epic of Flight. It reads like a really long Wikipedia article on the Pacific War, only actually vetted by an editor with interesting illustrations. I picked this book up after becoming curious about the Battle of Midway.

[Professor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of the best books in the Epic of Flight series, a fascinating introduction to both the history of the aircraft carrier and the naval conflict in the Pacific. Now I just need to read some more on the subject!