New Season Begins for the Museum's 8 Bells Lecture Series

 The Museum's 2010-2011 8 Bells Lecture Series starts today with a lecture by Milan Vego on his book Operational Warfare at Sea: Theory and Practice. Cutting across levels of knowledge and interest, this volume is a comprehensive look at the key components of operational warfare from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to today. By analyzing the objectives of naval warfare, the book explains the specifics of operating in a maritime environment, in both peacetime and during war. It is a comprehensive analysis of both the theory and practice of operational warfare at sea.

The format of the Eight Bells Lecture Series has the author speaking about 40-45 minutes on the topic of his or her book and the facts leading to its publication. The last 15-20 minutes are dedicated to questions on the topic.  Those able to remain after the allotted hour can stay and discuss the book further or have the book signed. Copies of the books are on sale in the Naval War College Foundation's Museum Gift Shop. As always, this event is a brown-bag affair which is free and open to the public. For those without Department of Defense ID cards, please call the Museum at least one work day in advance at 841-2101 to make reservations for any of these events or to visit the Museum.

Here is a list of upcoming lectures:

2010

September 23  Red Star Over the Pacific:  China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
                         by Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes

Combining a close knowledge of Asia and an ability to tap Chinese language sources with naval combat experience and expertise in sea power theory, Yoshihara and Holmes assess how the rise of Chinese sea power will affect US maritime strategy in Asia. Viewing China as a challenge to US maritime presence in Maritime Asia, their book is a study of current strategic thought about sea power in China and how that is shaping the modern, Chinese Navy.


October 14  To Train the Fleet for War: The US Navy Fleet Problems, 1923-1940
                    by Albert A. Nofi

The eighteenth edition in the Naval War College's Historical Monograph series, To Train the Fleet for War is based research of the Naval War College archives and examines each of the U.S. Navy’s twenty-one “fleet problems” conducted between World Wars I and II. Dr. Nofi elucidates the patterns that emerged, finding a range of enduring lessons, and suggests their applicability for future naval warfare. The book is available for sale by the Government Printing Office’s online bookstore.


October 28   Islamic Militant Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat  CANCELLED

October 27- The Guide to the American Revolutionary War in Canada and New England
by Norman Desmarais:

Speaking about his research and how it compares with previous research, he will discuss the tools he used and the research process and use examples from Newport to illustrate salient points. The Guide covers 403 battles, raids and skirmishes of the Revolutionary War, most of which do not get covered, even in the most detailed history books. The book, which is part of a projected 6-volume set, intends to provide comprehensive coverage of the confrontations of the American War for Independence and to serve as a guide to the sites.




November 2  "Roosevelt’s Relations with his Lieutenants"
                        by Curtis Roosevelt

Mr. Roosevelt’s book, Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor, provides a starting point for looking at the relationships that developed between FDR and his subordinates, both military and civilian. While FDR tried to limit his role to those military decisions that had political implications, it was not always possible. Although the presentation will be limited by the time constraints of the lecture series, there is a unique opportunity to hear about the different ways FDR related to Admiral Ernest J. King, Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, Admiral William D. Leahy, and General Henry "Hap"Arnold, among others. Mr. Roosevelt’s remarks will be laced with personal memories, from lunch with Adm. Leahy at FDR’s desk in the Oval Office to his grandfather’s personal remarks about Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Gen. de Gaulle, Chiang Kai-shek, and more.


November 18  Unmanned Combat Air Systems: A New Kind of Carrier Aviation
                         by Norman Friedman

The US Navy’s Unmanned Combat Air System aircraft currently in development will transform naval aviation, extending its reach while dramatically reducing the cost and performing in ways that manned aircraft cannot duplicate. The X-47B is an extension of the evolving networked form of drone warfare that is capable of a wide variety of missions. Mr. Friedman is an internationally respected defense analyst and historian who spoke at an 8 Bells Lecture in 2009 on his book Network-Centric Warfare: How Navies Learned to Fight Smarter Through Three World Wars.


December 2  One Hundred Years of US Navy Air Power
                      edited by Doug Smith

With the centennial celebration of naval aviation occurring in 2011, it is only fitting that we begin with a review of naval air from its earliest days through the modern jet ear. The book profiles early pioneers, the early bureaucracy that surrounded its development, and discusses the evolution of carrier aviation doctrine and tactics.


2011

January 14      Passport Not Required: U.S. Volunteers in the Royal Navy, 1939-1941                  
                         by Eric Dietrich-Berryman

Prior to December 7, 1941, there were twenty-two U.S. citizens who volunteered and were commissioned to serve in the Royal Navy. Less well known than the Americans who fought with the RAF, these naval volunteers fought in the Battle of the Atlantic and on other fronts following initial training at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich. As foreign military service was against the laws of the United States, their names were never made public and the story of their contributions is being told for the first time.


January 28  Admiral “Bull” Halsey: The Life and Wars of the Navy’s Most
                   Controversial Commander
                    by John Wukovits

The press dubbed him “Bull” and his series of raids played well on the home front. In his 8 Bells Lecture, military historian John Wukovits discusses Halsey’s potentially disastrous decisions in October 1944 at Leyte Gulf, and later recklessness during two typhoons while making a good case that Halsey was the much-needed warrior for America’s darkest hour. While some would say that the WWII hero has grown tarnished or unfashionable, the author stresses Halsey’s ability to inspire loyalty and respect in his men, his skills as a trainer, and his success in developing harmonious inter-service and inter-allied relationships. His mistakes at Leyte Gulf, while not trivial, reflected commitment to decisive action.


February 10  Digesting History: The U.S. Naval War College, The Lessons of World War Two,
                      and Future Naval Warfare, 1945-1947
                      by Hal M. Friedman

Published as the Naval War College Historical Monograph Series, number 17, this book is a study of the contribution of the Naval War College, especially in the presidency of Admiral Raymond Spruance, to strategic thought during the first critical postwar years (between the end of the war and the formulation of the U.S. policy of containment). This transition period is especially valuable as a window to explore institutions such as the College as the nation transitioned from a hot war to a cold one. While seminal studies exist of the College's work in the interwar years, none have been published on this period. The book is available for sale by the Government Printing Office’s online bookstore.

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