Delilah: A Novel about a U.S. Navy Destroyer and the Epic Struggles of Her Crew (1941), by Marcus Goodrich, is an engrossing novel of the sea. Goodrich served in the U.S. Navy during World War I, although the novel is set just before this time. The Delilah is an old destroyer that patrols the Sulu Sea in the Philippines during a time of racial and religious violence. The novel tells the story of how its crewmen deal with the difficult and demanding situations they face.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour (2004), by James Hornfischer, is an exciting narrative of the battle in October 1944 off the Philippine island Samar, and the larger battle of Leyte, which began the American liberation of the Philippines. Hornfischer also...