The Norman Friedman Illustrated Design History series of U.S. warships
books has been an industry standard for three decades and has sold
thousands of copies worldwide. To mark and celebrate this achievement,
the Naval Institute Press is proud to make these books available once
more. Digitally remastered for enhanced photo resolution and quality,
corrected, and updated, this series will continue to serve--for scholars
and enthusiasts alike--as the foundation for U.S. naval warship research
and reference for years to come. U.S. Destroyers is one the most
comprehensive references available on the entire development of U.S.
Destroyers, from their early torpedo boat forebears to the mass-produced
Fletcher-class of World War II, through the Spruance and Perry classes
of the Cold War, and to the workhorse Arleigh Burke-class of the
contemporary Navy. Like the other books in Friedman's design-history
series, U.S. Destroyers is based largely on formerly classified internal
U.S. Navy records. Friedman, a leading authority on U.S. warships,
explains the political and technical rationales of warship construction
and recounts the evolution of each design. Alan Raven and A.D. Baker III
have created detailed scale outboard and plan views of each ship class
and of major modifications to many classes. Numerous photographs
complement the text.
