MWSA Book Review

Humble Heroes: How the USS Nashville (CL-43) Fought WWII

Author: Steven George Bustin

Publisher:  Booksurge

Reviewer: Rob Ballister--MWSA Board Member

Well told history of a proud ship.

Steven George Bustin's debut book tells the story of USS Nashville, a Brooklyn class light cruiser that fought hard for victory in the Pacific in WWII.  The author does an excellent job of combining historical research with personal anecdotes from surviving members of the crew, and in doing so weaves an educational and enjoyable story in a relatively short time (approx 200 pages).  Surprisingly, only a very few of the stories are from the author's father, who served as a gunner's mate aboard the ship. 

Nashville was commissioned just before the war began, and took part in some of the most key actions in the Pacific Theatre.  General Douglas MacArthur himself used the ship several times as his flagship, and Nashville was very close to being the ship that received the Japanese surrender delegation (instead of the much bigger USS Missouri) because of the general's love and respect for ship and crew.

This book brings the reader right along with the crew through training, liberty, battle stations, and even the hell of a kamikaze attack that claimed 133 lives.  Well-researched and organized, this book will appeal to navy historians and WWII historians alike.