The Portsmouth book: its really more of a history of the yard itself, not of the boats built here. Modelers won't get much, if any, insight into Gato details, but if you're interested in management, labor relations, and the various administrative facets of running a major shipyard, then this book will be a slightly dry but interesting read.
Gun actions: a fun read. It actually does go into the moral issues inherent in gun attacks against often undefended sampans. It also offers a fairly different account of the Wahoo/Morton convoy gun action from a crewman's illegal to keep on-board personal diary, which if true, does make one whisper the words, "war crimes." The details of the various gun actions can be fairly chilling, at times. modelers will not see any real discussion of the gun armament carried, the various gun fits, etc. This book is really about the gun actions themselves, US Navy policy on them, morality, and so on.
Basically, buy them if their subjects interest you. Don't look to them for modeling information. Both include photos that are fairly stock; you can find most of them at places like Navsource, the NHS, etc. That isn't meant as a criticism; the text is meant to tell the story, no the photos.
