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• Amazon.com customer review • 2013-06-24

• Amazon.com customer review • 2013-06-24

  4.0 out of 5 stars Fine narrative of this lesser known conflict., June 23, 2013

  By Peresvet "Ship Model Builder" (Oregon USA) - See

  Detailed coverage of the Russo-Japanese naval conflict is comparatively rare and this book does a fine job of filling that gap. The actual events are covered chronologically in great detail down to the effectiveness of the guns via tables outlining the numbers of hits obtained by caliber. Period photographs accompany the text and numerous maps are included although they often appear pages after the relevant text. Not a deal killer, but it does interrupt the flow of battle narratives to have to flip through pages to find the relevant map. In all fairness to the author I read the Kindle version and this may have been a function of the electronic version.

  Mostly though there was that nagging thought that this book could have been better. Perhaps its the translation from Russian but the narrative feels well.........clinical. Backgrounds are provided for the key players but we're not given the chance to know them better or their actions and personalities in context to overall events. I really would have liked a narrative more like Harmsen's 'Shanghai 1937' where I almost felt as if I were seeing the events unfold first hand through personal anecdotes and brisk narrative.

  The above said, Olender's book is probably one of the best records of the naval actions of the Russo-Japanese war and I'll definitely be picking up up volume 2 which picks up after the battle of the Yellow Sea and covers Russia's disastrous performance at Tsushimaand the end of the war. These books will definitely help the reader to understand the events leading up Japan's conflict with China and Japan's entrance into WWII.

  Recommended.