Like most of you, I am a dabbler. While I have my main interests, I like to dabble in other subjects. One of those is ships in general, and the Cruiser in particular. Though the battleships are the ultimate in nautical guns, destroyers are the swifter and more daring, and submarines have more actual tonnage to their credit, it has been the cruiser that has always caught my fancy. Not so large as to be ponderous to maneuver, and not so small as to be able to be destroyed with one well-placed fall of shot or torpedo, the cruiser is really the major ship type that was used to 'show the flag' during the first half of the 20th Century. 

It was WWII when the cruiser really came into its own. Sure, they were used in WWI, but nearly always in the company of the larger fleets. During WWII, they were used as advanced scouts, shore bombardment and in a number of ship to ship actions. Many times they were the largest ships in the task force. Their speed was such that they could move quickly from one area to another. Their armament such that they could offer meaningful support, and their armor such that shells of ships of similar speed would not put them totally out of action with a single shot.

M.J. Whitley has produced a superb book on those ships extant during some portion of WWII. They could be older ships serving their last years or new ships just under construction at war's end.

Ships of all nations including the smaller ones like Argentina, Netherlands or Siam are included. Under each nation, there is a listing of ships by class depending on the date of the lay down of the keel of the first ship of the class. A chart at the head of each class lists the ship name and number (if applicable), the builder of the ship, date laid down, date launched and date completed as well as the fate of the ship. For some types there is only one entry. For others there are a large number of entries. A profile and overhead drawing are also given. As an aside, it is much appreciated that the book cover itself is a duplicate of the dust jacket.

Following this data, a general specifications chart is given with such things as displacement, armament, armor, speed and other information. Then there is a section on the overall design of each class. This includes differences from earlier classes of ship, the history of the design and any modifications made to ships of that class during normal overhauls. 

The text then proceeds to go into a service section where a brief, but thorough history of each ship in that class is given. The real highlight of the book are the superb photographs. Each one is sharp and clear. They show images of the ships with different modifications as well as different camouflage schemes that were used. 

While many may expect to find a book like this dull and boring, the author has done a superb job of keeping the material interesting. Though I would not recommend trying to read its 288 pages in one sitting, its use as a reference cannot be understated. It would be difficult to find more information on the type in one place. From a modeling standpoint, I would have liked to have seen a section on colors and camouflage, however I do realize that this is not within the scope of the book. It would be a superb project for some enterprising author to undertake and would find much favor in the ship modeling community.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, especially for those who are looking for a lot of information in a single volume.

Review copy courtesy of my ever soaring credit card balance. 

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