This latest volume in the Squadron At Sea series concerns the South Dakota class battleship, USS Alabama BB-60. This book has 128 pages, filled with 100's of photographs. The book strikes a good balance between text and images. Sections headings have small informative blocks of text, but do not overburden the book. Each image is also accompanied by an informative caption, many with surprising observations.

The photos are a great mix from different sources, including those shot by the author in Mobile, AL. The USS Alabama is a preserved museum ship there, along with the submarine USS Drum, at Battleship Memorial Park.

The book is filled with mostly black and white photos from a variety of sources, some of which are images rarely seen before. There are a few line drawings and color illustrations as well, clarifing aspects of Alabama's appearance at different times; including her construction and shakedown, wartime shots, and eventualy preservation then restoration as a musuem. Of particular interest are the construction pictures, which comprise about 20% of the book. This section includes pictures of Alabama's molds and patterns in the large lofting room; these are not common images.

Another great book by David Doyle and Squadron, clearly illustrating items of interest to the ship modeller. This book has an MSRP of $24.95 and is recommended!