From Hot War to Cold: The U.S. Navy and National Security Affairs, 1945-1955

This book discusses the role of the U.S. Navy within the country's national security structure during the first decade of the Cold War from the perspective of the service's senior uniformed officer, the Chief of Naval Operations, and his staff. It examines a variety of important issues of the period, including the Army-Navy fight over unification that led to the creation of the National Security Act of 1947, the early postwar fighting in China between the Nationalists and the Communists, the formation of NATO, the outbreak of the Korean War, the decision of the Eisenhower Administration not to intervene in the Viet Minh troops' siege of the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu, and the initiation of the Eisenhower "New Look" defense policy. The author relies upon information obtained from a wide range of primary sources and personal interviews with important, senior Navy and Army officers. The result is a book that provides the reader with a new way of looking at these pivotal events.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix A Note on Transliteration xiii Introduction 1 I. Wartime Organizational Changes in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations 13 II. Initial Challenges: Postwar and Demobilization Planning 66 III. The Navy and Unification 110 IV. The National Security Act Achieved 142 V. Preparing for a New Enemy 186 VI. War Ends in the Pacific 229 VII. Troubles Emerge in Postwar China, 1945-1946 269 VIII. Assessing and Responding to the Soviet Naval Threat 314 IX. Adjusting to the National Military Establishment 344 X. Living in 'Interesting Times' 387 XI. Slugging It Out on Capitol Hill 428 XII. Events in the Western Pacific 473 XIII. Troubles on the Korean Peninsula 506 XIV. Deciding to Fight 553 XV. Defending NATO Europe: Planning During the Initial Stages 591 XVI. The Eisenhower National Security Structure 644 XVII. Rethinking National Strategy 688 XVIII. Coping with the New Look 717 XIX. A Crisis Abroad and a CNO's Departure 751 XX. Conclusion 791 Abbreviations 798 Notes --- Bibliography 812 Index ---

About the Author :
Jeffrey G. Barlow has been a historian in the Contemporary History Branch of the Naval Historical Center since 1987. He is the author of Revolt of the Admirals: The Fight for Naval Aviation, 1945-1950, co-winner of the John Lyman Book Award for Naval History from the North American Society for Oceanic History in 1995.

Review :
"Reading this minutely researched and detailed history of ten crucial years in U.S.-Soviet naval relations is like watching a rocket spin out of control - just as rapidly as the overall good relations between [United States and Former Soviet Union] declined after World War II...This monograph fills an important gap in our understanding of these previously murky years. The notes are extensive, almost as long and as interesting as the book itself, and the bibliography is comprehensive." - Dr. Elleman, U.S Naval Institute "From Hot War to Cold justifiably deserves the highest possible recommendation. It is a major addition to the literature on the influence of strategy on institutional change. Barlow's insights into the workings of naval high command in an era of dynamic change are worthy of study by military professionals, academics and student alike." - Kenneth P. Hansen, International Journal of Maritime "There is crackling good history between the covers of Jeffrey Barlow's From Hot War to Cold ... The book does an excellent job of describing the policy discussions among the senior leaders of the Navy and Defense Department ... [It] is a valuable addition to the literature of the immediate post-war era. The author's access to resources and his description of the inner workings of the policy developers should not be missed by those looking for a 36-degree view of early post-war national security policy." - Captain Albert Lord, PARAMETERS: U.S. Army War College Quarterly "With strong evidentiary base drawn from extensive primary source material, Barlow's text offers a fascinating and important examination of organization reform within a military organization and the ways in which that reform can influence the direction of national policy. The book should resonate with historians from various fields as well as political scientists interested in the policy-making process. Barlow's arguments also provide grist for re-energizing a debate long overdue in Cold War historiography." - Graig C. Feleker, American Historical Review "Barlow has written an important book that fills gaps in early Cold War history... This book is particularly important for the contribution it makes to the subfield of civil-military affairs." - Mark R. Hagerott Journal of Military History