I now have several copies of this book in different formats. I bought this one to read, as it's in a handy paperback size (I have the photo-illustrated edition, too, but it's a coffee table book, great for looking at but a chore for reading).
Why? Because the Big E is one of the best books about carrier combat and the war against Japan to be written in the days before Ultra was declassified, giving a whole new perspective to the history of that war. The author, Edward P. Stafford, served in the USN during World War II, serving in both a sub-chaser (a yacht-sized wooden boat used to help protect invasion fleets, and a Destroyer Escort, a kind of down-sized Destroyer, with fewer guns, fewer torpedoes and fewer crewmen, but a scrappy combattant nonetheless. Stafford fought his subchaser in the Med, and the DE in the Pacifiic, eventually rising to command the DE right at the end of WW-II. He has also written excellent books about his service in both of those vessels.
After the war, Stafford became a trained Naval Aviator, and that gives the "hey, I was there" chops to his Enterprise book. Of course, it was decommissioned before he won his wings, but the Big E was a legend, and Stafford was a historian, so it became a match made in heaven. (BTW - Stafford also wrote a history about one of his ancestors, Navy Admiral Robert Peary, one of the pioneers in arctic exploration and arguably the first man to reach the North Pole. Having grown up with a legend, Edward Peary Stafford was a natural to write that book - as he was in all four of his naval history books.
The Big E fought in 22 of the 24 major sea battles with Japan, 1941-45, starting with Pearl Harbor and ending with a Kamikaze strike a couple of months before Japan's surrender. During that time, the Big E won more awards, including the Presidential Unit Citation, and pioneered such then almost-unbelievable field of night-time carrier operation. During several invasions and major battles, the Big E's radar-equipped fighters and bombers defended the fleet and struck at the enemy under the cover of darkness.
I first read this book around the time it came out, 1962, and I don't think I've ever been without at least one copy of this book. I think the best "readable" book is the Naval Institute Press/Bluejacket Press edition, a "trade paperback" a bit larger (and with larger print), to make reading easier. However, for cost, this used mass-market paperback edition is very cost-effective. However, whatever format you choose, this is an excellent book for anyone interested in WW-II naval history.
Highly recommended!
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