Reading Global Reach is like watching an admired, long-running television series. The dramatic con flicts (in this case, questions surrounding US maritime policy) are contentious and longstanding. Thar's why Global Reach's circuitous road to resolution is dramatic, insightful and, given of the subject's density, a surprisin gly good read. An invariable underl ying question resonates throughout: what government policy is most likely to ensure the economic viabi lity of American maritime industry, thereby en abling it to prov ide v iral auxiliary/sealift capability to a resourceresrrained Navy? Ar its core, the book tackles many pivo tal policy questions such as whether Uncle Sam should own a nd operate a reserve fleet, and if foreign vessels should
the same. Though too short to be an exhaustive study of any of its subjects-a task which would require dozens of volumesit is nevertheless a very useful distillation of several critical elements: cultural process driving maritime activity, the evolution of vessel design, and the inherently hum an quality of stepping off rerra firma and striving for that which is beyond the horizon. ] OHN BRIGHT
Alpena, Michigan
Global Reach-Revolutionizing the Use of Commercial Vessels and lntermodal Systems for Military Sealift, 1990-2012 by A. J H erberger, Kenneth C. Gaulden and Rolf Marshall (Nava l Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2015, 530pp, illus, index, appen, ISBN 978- 1-61 25 1-847-3; $47.95hc)
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Vice Adm . A. J. Herberger, USN (Ret.l, Kenneth C. Gaulden, and Cdr. Rolf Marshall, USN (Rel.)
be enlisted. Global Reach's authors set the stage for analyzing contemporary events by dedicating about 20% of the manuscript to insightful historical background. More specifically, the authors largely and shrewdly focus on the post-1990 era, subsequent to Operation Desert Storm. They do so for two reasons. First, this is a period about which they are experts and during which new demands and related capabilities/technologies were introduced. For example, principal author Vice Admiral A. J. H erberger, USN (Ret.), played vital roles in drafting and implementing many of the policies discussed when serving as first deputy commander of the US Transportation Command and subsequently maritime administrator. Seco nd , the book correctly, though discreetly, acknowledges and occasionally rakes issue with conclusions reached in The Abandoned
Ocean: A History of US Maritime Policy (2000), rhe seminal treatise by Andrew Gibson and Arthur Donovan. Gibson, like Herberger, served as m aritime adminisrraror; Donovan is a professor emeritus at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, Herberger's alma mater. In addition to its thoughtful analysis, Globail Reach's 78-page appendix, charts, data, iglossary and well-chosen photographs make: it a compelling read for m aritime policy wonks. I RA BRESKIN
G reat Neck, New York 62
SEA HISTORY 155, SUMMER 2016