This book is a disappointment. By 1982, there was much known about the evolution of the first new type of warship in thousands of years. Time-Life books are usually much more enlightening but this one fails on many points. ( )

Good overview, excellent pictures with sufficient narrative to be a good overview or first book on this critical ship type that changed naval warfare. A rare mention of the minor but useful role of British Carriers late in the war. Would have benefited from a section on ship differences; armored vs non decks, good fire and damage control vs little or none. This latter being a critical difference between US and Japan successes in saving even seriously damaged ships. ( )

A well illustrated description of the birth of the aircraft carrier,through Japan's use against China, then the US, and finally to the end.An excellent addition to any naval history library. ( )

For what it is (a Time-Life series volume), surprisingly good. I learned splendidly interesting things about Japanese naval strategy and tactics, the causes of Japanese belligerence in the 1930s, and how the war in Europe inspired the expansion of war in the Pacific. The illustrations are all fine; if I had a complaint, it would be that they are too few, but that's not really fair to a T-L series volume. A couple of things I noticed (or thought I did) that I wish had been developed even a little: as far as I can tell, the US went into 1942 with 6 fleet carriers, and by November was down to 2, which must have had some effect on morale and strategic planning; moreover, the book was vague on when the next classes of carriers started joining the fleet. The other thing is that the book leaves the impression that 1943 was a slow year for Pacific fleet operations. Whether that's true or not, a summary of 1943 would have been useful. In fact, thinking back, there were no summaries of any year or any stage of the war. Basically (as one would expect) just a narrative of Pacific War naval events, with the odd bit of (very interesting, to be sure) contextual information thrown in. (Except for the first chapter, which is about the development & evolution of aircraft carriers.) ( )