MWSA Book Review

Banana River - Sea Stories and War Diaries from a World War II Naval Base

Author:  Barbara Marriott

Publisher:  AuthorHouse

Reviewer: Bill McDonald – President of the MWSA

A Smartly Told Piece of Navy History

Author Barbara Marriott has crafted a very unique book about a little known piece of naval history called, “Banana River: Sea Stories and War Diaries from a World War II Navy Base.” She obviously spent many long and fruitful hours talking to former sailors and officers who were stationed at the Banana River Naval Air Station in Florida. Her research and her skillful use of cultural flashbacks through newspaper headlines and historic time lines and some great old photos, brings the reader a full and rich image of this time and place in our nation’s history. The events, the people and history all seamlessly flow together into a very readable story.

She weaves characters and dialog into the mix to make the retelling of the events at this base feel like a novel. It is great technique and style and enhances the reading and entertainment experience. Marriott obviously has some loving interest in the men and people who served there and who originally built the place and it shows in how she shares their stories. She truly honors the men and the base itself in this book.

I have never read any history accounting told in this style before. The author successfully breaks some new ground with her writing style as she captures not just the base history, but a feeling for the people who were there and what their lives were really like. It is a mixture of good story telling and great detailed research that gives this book a different kind of feeling and will make it a reader’s favorite. It is certainly very easy to read and can be read in one sitting from cover to cover. (It is 147 pages long.)

If you are looking for an engaging, and at times even a humorous story that is really a presentation of history, then this is a wonderful little book to buy and read. It is family friendly and actually fun to read. I enjoyed it very much.