Conrad Waters's Cruiser Birmingham is recommended especially for its detailed plans. They show orientation and internal arrangement rather than reducing the Town-class cruiser to a list of specifications. A reader can trace how sailors would move through compartments and how functions related to one another inside the hull. The technical drawings present the ship as a working physical space.
Chapter · 1:16:54-1:19:21
Using Cruiser Birmingham to understand ship layout
Detailed plans reveal how a Town-class cruiser worked as a physical space, not just a list of specifications.