Three Minutes Off Okinawa By:  Roy S. Andersen (340 pages, photos, drawings, maps) Reviewed by: James Healy Three Stars: Recommended. A solid effort It was a later time and another war. Sailors just out of boot camp were contemplating their assignments. "I got a destroyer" gleefully shouts one very young sailor. Another turns and says, "You know they can sink in two minutes!" Not certain the green sailor was making a specific reference, but if he were, he many have had the USS MANNERT L. ABELE (DD-733) in mind. This Sumner-class destroyer has the dubious distinction of being the only US Navy ship sunk by a Baka (Okha) - a rocket propelled manned bomb. By itself the Baka might not have succeeded, but only a minute before the ABELE had been hit by a Zeke Kamikaze plane. Two minutes after the Baka hit, the ship was gone. At the time, author Roy S. Andersen Ph.D. was a Lt. (jg) and a member of the special fighter direction team assigned to the ship for horrific radar picket duty around Okinawa. Dr. Andersen has recreated the action in great detail including diagrams of both hits. But beyond describing the terrible day of combat, the author has produced a book with broader appeal to readers by adding details on the weapons and life on a destroyer. He also presents the enemy's thinking behind their decision to defend Okinawa using suicide bombers (not unlike Clint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima detailing the defenders perspective). The author is an Emeritus Professor of Physics and the book's organizational style with extensive footnotes to each chapter betrays his academic credentials. A few minor technical errors in no way detract from this book. Sailors at Okinawa surely gave their all with nearly 5,000 killed in three and a half months of fighting - more than either the army or marines. Was it worth it? Read the book.         Availability: THE JANA PRESS 13 Algonquin Road Worcester MA 01609 508-757-4980 janapress@verizon.net $30.00, including shipping and handling (and sales tax, if applicable).