Considering when this book was written I really should have read it ages ago. Which is to say that while the loss of "Langley" and "Pecos" is a historical footnote that most students of the period are aware off, it's usually treated as simply another small addition to the tally of damages left in the wake of the initial Japanese onslaught. The author manages to remind you that the loss of no ship in action is a small thing, and the story of these ships and their crews is well worth remembering for its own sake. This is particularly true of the "Pecos," which went down fighting to the end. Messimer also does a good job of putting the loss in the strategic context of the times. ( )