David Doyle Books Review - USS Indianapolis CA-35

Legends of Warfare
USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
by David Doyle

Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
November 2021

David Doyle Books has released a new title. This one covers the history of the tragic USS Indianapolis, (CA-35), a Portland-class heavy cruiser, which served during World War II, and was the last US warship sunk in that conflict. The sinking was made famous in the movie Jaws, where the character of Captain Quint recounts the sinking and the ordeal of the survivors in the water. Watching that movie was my first introduction to the story of the Indianapolis.

This book is 128 pages long, and includes a history of the Indianapolis, from keel laying through her sinking and subsequent discovery. There are more than 250 photos, including quite a few in original color.

This book is laid out with an introduction and four subsequent chapters:

- Chapter 1 - The Prewar Years
- Chapter 2 - Pearl Harbor to Okinawa
- Chapter 3 - Kamikaze!
- Chapter 4 - Indianapolis: Lost...and Found

The book is broken into four chapters. Chapter 3, "Pearl Harbor to Okinawa", is the longest chapter, detailing Indianapolis's busy career between these two events, while the chapter on the "Prewar Years" is the next longest chapter. The Indianapolis went through many modification, between her commissioning and her loss, and the changes to the ship are captured in the numerous photos in this book.

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enlarge images

Conclusions:

Yet another nice book from David Doyle. If you are interested the story of the Indianapolis, this high quality, hardcover has a lot of info on the ill-fated ship, and plenty of fine pictures, including some original World War II color photos and color motion picture stills. There's more than a few photos I've never seen before. Both naval historians and modelers will enjoy this book. Highly recommended.

This is USS Indianapolis, CA-35 - Legends of Warfare, by David Doyle. Published by Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7643-6262-0. The book retails for $19.99, and is available to order directly from David's website. Thanks to David Doyle Books for the review sample.