Vol. 16, No. 1, Feb. 2010, Page 9

BOOK REVIEW

Steve Robinson

Title:  MORE THAN SCUTTLEBUTT : The U.S. Navy Demolition Men in WWII

Sue Ann Dunford and James Douglas O’Dell have authored a book entitled, MORE THAN SCUTTLEBUTT – The U.S. Navy Demolition Men in WWII, which is unequaled in its detail and accuracy regarding the demolition units of the US Navy during WWII and the men who trained and served as “Demolition Men”. Ms. Dunford’s father was a WWII Demolition Man, and her personal search for information related to her father’s training and service provided the initial inspiration for the work, which ultimately resulted in this amazing book.

Link to book specifics - http://ncdu-udt-ww2.com/

I promised Ms. Dunford that I’d write a review of her book, and I intend to do so, but I’m still going through it. It’s truly a MONSTER at 8 ½ x 11 inches, nearly 1 ½ inches thick, and 575 pages. It contains dozens and dozens of B/W photographs, the complete history of WWII demolition training and units, and a comprehensive listing of more than 4,000 men who served in the various demolition units during the war. I highly recommend the book for anyone who served in the Scouts & Raiders, NDCUs, UDTs, or SEAL Teams at ANY point in history or for anyone who might have had a family member serving in one of those demolition units. The history is fascinating, eye-opening, and unbelievably comprehensive! One of the appendices in the back of the book lists the men who trained and served with the various demolition units - identified by name, training class designation, and unit.  A large number of the photographs in the book are captioned with the names of the men depicted, as well as the activities and equipment involved. The book is absolutely mind-boggling, and it certainly opened my eyes to the complexities of the early history that I mistakenly thought I knew so well.

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