Casten shows us, again, in Ship to Sky, the real life environment of naval soldiers during World War II, maintaining the human and compassionate perspective he used in USS Helena. This time, however, the subject of his personal memoirs is a new ship and an entirely different environment. In Ship to Sky, as the title may suggest, Casten recounts his time aboard an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. The USS Hornet lacked some of the heart that the USS Helena had, and Casten’s not afraid to tell you that. Rather than telling the story of a fallen ship, here Casten tells the story of fallen people, both those that were lost and those that simply, in his view, dishonored themselves.

Ship to Sky is a more interesting work precisely because it focuses more on human foibles and less on the glory and prestige of the ship. Casten does keep his humor here, and often lays out lessons to be learned from the adventures and misadventures of his crewmates. A cloud that hangs over the book, however, is his perception of his new captain, Captain Browning. At times, the informal and personal writing style slips into judgment and derision in this regard, which taints the otherwise friendly subjectivity in the book.

Though he often tells more than he shows, Casten offers us an intimate look at the people that helped shape his life and gives us a human look at the military and soldiers in it. Ship to Sky is well-written for anyone with an interest or a history in WWII, the Navy, or just a love of friendly memoirs.

TB Koskie
T & R Reviews

Author Biography

Ray J. Casten

Author Biography Coming Soon!