Friedman, a naval historian, revises his 1982 account of the development of all classes of American destroyers to describe the past two decades of designs since the Spruance and Perry classes. He details the design evolution of the Arleigh Burke class, which has become the standard surface combatant, and describes attempts beginning in the late 1980s to develop a follow-on class, culminating in the current DD(X) program. Engineering plant features and complete descriptions of anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons systems are also given, and an entire chapter is devoted to destroyer combat experience in WWII. Detailed ship plans by naval expert A. D. Baker III are included, along with section views that show internal arrangements, and numerous b&w photos. arrangements, and numerous b&w photos. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)