Battleship Oklahoma, BB-37 by Jeff Phister, with Thomas Hone and Paul Goodyear; 2008; 256 pages; University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK; 978-0-8061-3936-4; 7/2/09-7/2/09

A comprehensive history of the USS Oklahoma from the time it’s keel was laid in 1914 to it’s ultimate demise in 1947.  Particular attention is paid to the fate of the Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, one of the authors, Paul Goodyear was stationed on board at the time.  He helped contact other survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack and they give a blow by blow account of the attack and damage.  The Oklahoma suffered major damage and was capsized at the pier and only a few of those trapped were ever rescued.  During my junior high and high school years I did several reports on the Pearl Harbor attack and this is the best account of the attack and damage to the Oklahoma I have ever read.  The Oklahoma was sold for scrap in 1947 and was being towed from Pearl Harbor to California to be recycled when it broke free of the ocean going tugs and sank in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on May 16, 1947.  This is a truly moving account of the men who worked hard to rescue their fellow crewmen and those whose lives were sacrificed that December morning long ago.  RRRR