Naval historians and enthusiasts alike will find U.S. Battleships to be the most comprehensive reference available on the entire development of U.S. battleships, from the Maine and Texas of 1886, through the Montana class of World War II, up to the recommissioned Iowas. Like the other books in Norman Friedman's design-history series, U.S. Battleships is based largely on formerly classified internal U.S. Navy records.

Friedman, a leading authority of U.S. warships, explains the political and technical rationales for building battleships and recounts the evolution of each design. Alan Raven and A.D. Baker III have created detailed scale outboard and plan views of each battleship class and of major modifications to many classes. Numerous photographs complement the text.