From then on, the book follows the spearhead of the American forces as they move through the Philippines and ever closer to the Japanese home islands. Toll’s writing style and use of first-hand experiences cover both the historical and human aspects of this last year of the Pacific War. Interwoven throughout the book are vignettes that give context to the events transpiring on the front lines. These are not brief standalone descriptions, but substantial contributions and are essential to understanding the nature of the conflict, such as the discussion about training naval aviators. While many histories discuss the number of aircraft produced by the US during the war, without the requisite pilots and support
crews, they were useless. He includes discussions and exposition on other key research points, such as military-press relations, Allied radio and leaflet propaganda, and the lives of evacuated Japanese school children. This turns Twilight of the Gods into much more than simply another World War Two military history book. The Pacific War Trilogy is a magnificent contribution to the literature on the subject. For myself, after recovering from eye surgery due to cataract over the summer, which prevented me from reading anything, my first choice was not to just read Twilight of the Gods, but to reread the previous two volumes and then Toll’s new book. Understand, this is not a definitive history, much
THE NAUTICAL RESEARCH GUILD "ADVANCING SHIP MODELING THROUGH RESEARCH"
Annual membership includes our world-renowned quarterly magazine, Nautical Research Journal, which features photographs and articles on ship model building, naval architecture, merchant and naval ship construction, maritime trade, nautical and maritime history, nautical archaeology and maritime art. Other benefits include discounts on annual conferences, ship modeling seminars, NRG products and juried model competitions which are offered exclusively to Guild members. We hope you will consider joining our ongoing celebration of model ships and maritime history.
Pleasant Stre
For more information contact us at: www.thenrg.org or call 585 968 8111 20
SHIP MODELS Since 1975
Offering an extensive selection of documented, one-of-a-kind ship models by internationally acclaimed marine model artists. CUSTOM MODELS
(YACHT & HISTORIC) APPRAISALS RESTORATIONS DISPLAY UNITS
58
A MERICAN M ARINE M ODEL G ALLERY P.O. Box 6102 Gloucester, MA 01930
978-281-1166 wall@shipmodel.com www.shipmodel.com
like Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy. In Toll’s work you will not get much about the New Guinea campaign, Southeast Asia, China, or India. If that is what you desire, you might turn to Richard Frank’s new trilogy on the History of the Asia-Pacific War, the first volume of which, Tower of Skulls, was released in 2020. I cannot but recommend Ian Toll’s newest series too strongly and I look forward to his next achievement. Salvatore R. Mercogliano, PhD Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Glasgow Museums, The Ship Models: A History and Complete Illustrated Catalogue by Emily Malcolm and Michael Harrison (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 2019, 220pp, illus, notes, index, isbn 978-1-52675-752-4; $64.95hc) One of the greatest ship model collections in the world is in Glasgow, Scotland, once called “the shipbuilder for the world.” A big part of that heritage survives due to pride in the ships that were built along the Clyde River that flows through its heart. This new book by the Glasgow Museum is a lavish presentation about ship models in general, and specifically about the museum’s magnificent collection. Due to the size of the model collection, it has not been displayed in its entirety for nearly a century. In this book, every single model or group is represented. This is an ideal ship model catalog and deserves a wide audience and a place in many public and private libraries. It is thoughtful, comprehensive, colorful, well presented, useful, and beautiful. I enjoyed reading it and then going back to particular models to examine their photos more carefully. Its cost is reasonable—such a bargain! The Ship Models is a large book, printed in color on 374 pages, with hundreds of lush color photographs of the 676 models and model groups in the Glasgow Museums. The heavy-coated paper pages should survive long use and provide protection from model makers’ accidental drool spills as they peruse the pictures. The illustrations have complete, concise descriptions. The dust jacket cover is a gripping detail photo of a half hull model of the 1883 steamer Caridad. The book has a red placeholder ribbon bound into the text block so the SEA HISTORY 174, SPRING 2021