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Blue Ghost: Photographic Log & Personal Narrative of the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Lexington in Combat Operation.
The Blue Ghost: A Photographic Log and Personal Narrative of the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Lexington in Combat Operation by Edward Steichen, Captain, USNR (ret.)
In this book Captain Steichen writes of his own experiences aboard one of our Fleet's most famous carriers - the Lexington - nicknamed The Blue Ghost by the Japanese who, whenever they claimed they had sent her down, found her cruising again in their backyard. With words and pictures he recaptures the tense atmosphere of the briefing room where the pilots await the order to man their planes; the swift action of "flight stations" when the carrier swings into the wind to launch her planes; the drama of the counterblow when the flat-top takes her share of punishment. He tells of the lull and exhaustion which follow battle, and of the long cruise back to harbor to heal her wounds, and rest her crew, and set her wounded ashore.
Captain Steichen was aboard the "Lex" while she was under the longest sustained air attack of the Navy's Pacific war, during which she was torpedoed.
In this book Captain Steichen writes of his own experiences aboard one of our Fleet's most famous carriers - the Lexington - nicknamed The Blue Ghost by the Japanese who, whenever they claimed they had sent her down, found her cruising again in their backyard. With words and pictures he recaptures the tense atmosphere of the briefing room where the pilots await the order to man their planes; the swift action of "flight stations" when the carrier swings into the wind to launch her planes; the drama of the counterblow when the flat-top takes her share of punishment. He tells of the lull and exhaustion which follow battle, and of the long cruise back to harbor to heal her wounds, and rest her crew, and set her wounded ashore.
Captain Steichen was aboard the "Lex" while she was under the longest sustained air attack of the Navy's Pacific war, during which she was torpedoed.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1947
3 people want to read
About the author
Edward Steichen
99 books5 followersEdward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and art gallery and museum curator.
Steichen was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Together Stieglitz and Steichen opened the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, which eventually became known as 291 after its address.
His photos of gowns for the magazine Art et Décoration in 1911 are regarded as the first modern fashion photographs ever published. From 1923 to 1938, Steichen was a photographer for the Condé Nast magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair while also working for many advertising agencies including J. Walter Thompson. During these years, Steichen was regarded as the best known and highest paid photographer in the world. In 1944, he directed the war documentary The Fighting Lady, which won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
After World War II, Steichen was Director of the Department of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art until 1962. While at MoMA, he curated and assembled the exhibit The Family of Man, which was seen by nine million people.
Steichen was the most frequently featured photographer in Alfred Stieglitz' groundbreaking magazine Camera Work during its run from 1903 to 1917. Together Stieglitz and Steichen opened the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession, which eventually became known as 291 after its address.
His photos of gowns for the magazine Art et Décoration in 1911 are regarded as the first modern fashion photographs ever published. From 1923 to 1938, Steichen was a photographer for the Condé Nast magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair while also working for many advertising agencies including J. Walter Thompson. During these years, Steichen was regarded as the best known and highest paid photographer in the world. In 1944, he directed the war documentary The Fighting Lady, which won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
After World War II, Steichen was Director of the Department of Photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art until 1962. While at MoMA, he curated and assembled the exhibit The Family of Man, which was seen by nine million people.
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September 2, 2014
This summer, my wife and I took a vacation to Corpus Christi, Texas where we basically took every tour you could of the U.S.S. Lexington, a WWII era aircraft carrier which is now a floating museum. I'm not a big fan of military history, but I love superstructures and their engineering. Afterwards, my dad gave me a used copy of this book, which is an essay of Steichen's time on the Lexington as an official Navy photographer. Steichen details a tour of the Lexington during the war in the Pacific.
The photographs, not surprisingly, are top notch, with Steichen excelling at showing the alternation between high activity and drowsy rest on the flight deck. The writing is pretty good as well --- Steichen details a few military actions, including an airstrike on a Japanese base and a hair-raising attack on the Lexington itself. I also appreciated seeing the carrier in action and matching it up with the mental picture of my visit. A good, if short, read for those interested in aircraft carriers.
The photographs, not surprisingly, are top notch, with Steichen excelling at showing the alternation between high activity and drowsy rest on the flight deck. The writing is pretty good as well --- Steichen details a few military actions, including an airstrike on a Japanese base and a hair-raising attack on the Lexington itself. I also appreciated seeing the carrier in action and matching it up with the mental picture of my visit. A good, if short, read for those interested in aircraft carriers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review