development of U.S. Aircraft Carriers, analyzes the design and performance histories, starting in 1920, with USS Langley CV-1, continuing to Enterprise, the mass-produced Essex-class, and the large Midway-class of post-World War II.
detailed scale outboard and plan views of each ship class and of major modifications to many classes.

Norman Friedman's book is an excellent work on the history and evolution of aircraft carrier design, from the U.S.S. Langley to the early Nimitz class. He covers both the big carrier classes, the "austere" smaller carriers adopted for the war, and the various proposed designs that were never built. It is an impressive work that highlights the challenges of designing and constructing such warships, as well as how those ships were adapted (with increasing difficulty) for the changing demands of the age. Yet Friedman's analysis suffers from the exclusion of any detailed coverage of how well the designs worked in service, something he did in his later book [b:British Carrier Aviation: The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft|4767275|British Carrier Aviation The Evolution of the Ships and Their Aircraft|Norman Friedman|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1420751952s/4767275.jpg|4832090]. Unlike that work, there is little examination of the effectiveness of various concepts in combat, only a summary of the lessons learned that were applied to subsequent classes. As a result, Friedman's book is frustratingly incomplete, as it denies readers a complete understanding of the factors behind the success or failure of the designs he describes. ( )

Not really a book for browsing; nor an entry-level book on the subject. This is a very deep dive into how the U.S.N. developed aircraft carriers from roughly 1920 to about 1970. It is accompanied by an enormous amount of technical information. As I say, pitched at a very high level, so if you want an introduction to the subject, best to get the Osprey New Vanguard books on the relevant carrier classes. But if you want the nitty-gritty on the designs, this is the book for you. Friedman did a whole series on battleships, carriers, cruisers and destroyers for the Naval Institute Press, and copies of these books are extremely expensive. You have to hunt for bargains. ( )