New Arizona Book is due soon

[Tracy White]

SS_Arizona_Book.jpg

This should be out around the end of the month. MSRP is $24.95 for a softbound copy with 288 photographs, 5 line drawings, and seven color illustrations in a 120 page book. Hardbound is due out at $10 more. Don't try and order it quite yet as it's not in their system.

A little background. For the last couple of years I had sworn off Squadron books; crappy photo reproduction, captioning, and accuracy in general (some might remember this review I wrote. I was contacted by David Doyle, an "armor guy" (not a builder, but he digs armor in a serious way and has a bunch of books on various subjects out) a few months ago, looking for some extra eyes on an upcoming Iowa class book. We chatted for a while before I agreed to help; I heard his philosophy (quality) and told him of my reservations and sent him the link to the above review. I wound up reviewing the Arizona book a couple of times as it came together.

I can't promise it will be totally accurate, but I will say that David is dedicated to accurate text and producing books of good value, and he spent a lot of time on the book before I even had a chance to proof read it. There was no pixelation in any of the preview copies I read. There were a few caption goofs, but he fixed all of the ones I sent corrections on, so it should be an excellent reference even for those who have every other Arizona book out there (he found some pictures I'd never seen before). If there are any factual errors on it, you can blame me and not him.

So, as a endorsement/sales pitch, I'd like to say that I looked over a bunch of David's books for both Squadron and other publishers, and I find him to be a good author who cares about his product and has driven squadron to improve their game. I would say that any ship book that comes out with David's name on it that is of interest to you will be well worth considering.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'll get a free copy of this book, but am receiving no compensation otherwise; I did this one out of my love and respect for the ship and her crew. I'm recommending and mentioning the book simply because I think it is a good product.

[JohnD]

Wow! A new Arizona book, can't wait to see it! I agree with your comments on Squadron/Signal books, but this one is a must have. What is the authors' opinion on the 5D/5S arguement?
John

[Tracy White]

He asked me for mine; I sent him this and they took the safe road of Measure 1 on the cover
http://researcheratlarge.blogspot.com/2 ... -blue.html

[JohnD]

Thanks Tracy, I think I'll play it safe and stick with painting my Arizona 5D. Good luck at NARA, I hope you find the answers to the questions we've all been asking!
John

[Tracy White]

Me too! The original hope was that they'd hold off until after my October trip, but printing and distribution being what it is, they wanted it out enough in advance of December.....

[MartinJQuinn]

A man can never have enough books. David's Iowa class book is nicely done, so I will be picking this up, for sure.

[JohnD]

True, a man can never have enough books. But I think a man can have too many models, well, a few too many. I have models, unbuilt, sitting on the shelf, for years. I'm still in the early stages of my Trumpeter USS Arizona, and since I've started the build, I've purchased the Dragon 1/350 USS Laffey and the Trumpeter 1/350 USS Saratoga. Now I'm wanting to get the Warspite, Queen Elisabeth, Dreadnought and there's still the 1/350 Pennsylvania to come. Where will it end?
Addicted to plastic, John

[guest]

Sorry but don't we have enough of Arizonas, Bismarcks, Yamatos?
Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda and cinch.
Will anybody write a profound book about BB26 - BB33 Battleships .
Or about Northampton Class CAs or 1500 T Gold Platers or CL Brooklyns?

[MartinJQuinn]

But I think a man can have too many models, well, a few too many.

John,

You'll get your man card revoked by talking like that!

Sorry but don't we have enough of Arizonas, Bismarcks, Yamatos?
Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda and cinch.
Will anybody write a profound book about BB26 - BB33 Battleships .
Or about Northampton Class CAs or 1500 T Gold Platers or CL Brooklyns?

What are you waiting for? Get started on your research and get writing!

[JohnD]

Well I certainly don't want my man card revoked. Let's see, there's that Revell 1/144 Fletcher, maybe the 1/72 Gato, the Italeri PT Boat or perhaps some kind model company will produce a 1/350 Baltimore class heavy cruiser along with any of the US battleships pre- USS North Carolina.
Won't stop buying or building!
John

[mark_sch]

Just called Squadron today to order the soft cover book. Both hard cover and soft cover books are already out of stock. That sucks. I'll have to check other on line sites to see if I can get this book.
Mark

[oneslim]

My copy came yesterday. Very Very Nice. Really liked the section on the construction of the 14" guns. Lots of photos of the construction of the hull and fitting out. I'm only about 25% into the book.

A very good book.

Bob W

[ddoyle]

Just called Squadron today to order the soft cover book. Both hard cover and soft cover books are already out of stock. That sucks. I'll have to check other on line sites to see if I can get this book.
Mark

Mark,
I believe the stock situation has now been resolved, and you should be able to order without difficulty.
Bob W.,
I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the book so far, and hope that you find the remainder interesting as well. This effort required a lot of help from a number of old friends - and a number of new ones as well.

Best wishes,
David Doyle

[mark_sch]

Thanks David. However I found one on Evilbay and bought it.
Mark

[Tim Jacobs]

Freetime has them in stock (as of this moment anyway)...

[BB61]

I just ordered this, should be here in a few days.

[BB61]

Received it yesterday, and I love it.

[BB61]

All things considered, this book does represent great value for money; tons of great pictures, and a lot more pages that I would have thought for the price.

[Dan K]

I flipped thru a copy on a vendor stand last weekend at JerseyCOn. I thought it pretty good. In retrospect, I probably should have picked it uop.

[BB61]

I may have to snatch the 1:200 kit that's out. What a classic vessel.