Tales from a Tin Can By: Michael Keith Olson (320 pages,  maps) Reviewer: James Healy Overall Rating: Three Stars--Recommended. A solid effort. World War II crewmen from the USS DALE DD-353 have provided individual oral histories of their time aboard the DALE. The son of one of the crew, Michael Keith Olsen has threaded these stories into a surprisingly readable form, matched with the DALE’s war diary (ship’s log) plus added concise historical perspectives on the numerous important engagements involving the destroyer. The DALE was one of eight Farragut class destroyers built in the early 1930s – some 14 years after the last flushdecker was commissioned – and still utilizing pressurized boiler-rooms. All eight were at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Dale went on to participate in the U.S. Navy’s earliest counter strikes and in the invasion of Guadalcanal. Perhaps her greatest test was the many months in the Aleutians, including a lengthy gun and torpedo battle with Japanese cruisers. Oral histories from aging warriors are not easily blended into a 320-page book. The author has done his father proud along with the other men of the USS Dale. No particularly new insight here, but their “take” on the action just makes a good read.   Availability: www.overstock.com