Carrier Battles considers the transformation of the U.
Navy from a defensive-minded coastal defense force into an offensive risk-taking navy in the very early stages of World War II.
Noting that none of the navy's most significant World War II leaders were commissioned before the Spanish-American War and none participated in any important offensive operations in World War I, Douglas Smith examines the premise that education, rather than experience in battle, accounts for that transfo.
Us Naval Institute Press Carrier battles: command decisions in harm's way, paperback/douglas v. smith
