There are the daring warriors who live for glory and for battle: John Paul Jones, Stephen Decatur, Jr., and William B. In my view, naval personalities fall into three general categories. These patterns have shaped the service, and through it, America. Those who return are still individuals, but common patterns of temperament are discernible. Then it has put those men together in close quarters in wooden - and now steel - containers and sent them off for years at a time to deal with ferocious storms and deadly enemies. Through American history the Navy has drawn men of all types. Add to this perpetual conflict with the elements the dimension of mortal combat, and we have a unique crucible. The sea is utterly unforgiving of inattention, negligence or ineptitude. This has been true of those who have served only a few years as well as those who have devoted their lives to naval service. My exposure to naval persons aloft and alow, from history, to hearing the stories of my father's service in World War II, to my own many years as a naval reserve aviator, to my six years as Secretary of the Navy, has convinced me that those who have made their profession upon great waters in ships of war are deeply changed by the experience, and some in every era deeply change the experience for all those who follow. In turn, the physical embodiment of that spirit is to be found in great warships, and the people and ships together have shaped history in epic sea battles from the Revolution through the Cold War. The grandeur of the American naval tradition is best found in its people, fighting sailors, technical innovators and inspiring leaders. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. With this chronicle of selfless sacrifice and awesome courage on the war-swept seas around the world, Lehman reminds us that the legends chronicled in these pages were real men and women, that the navy they fought for still sails, and that today their heroism is needed more than ever. He also highlights the warships that have dominated the seas of their day and the battles in which they fought - illustrated by detailed maps, woodcuts, paintings, and never-before-published photographs. Navy the mightiest in the world, using diaries, memoirs, and letters to reveal naval combat as though firsthand. Lehman profiles naval greats from John Paul Jones to William 'Bull' Halsey, as well as the lesser-known sailors who have made the U.S. Former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman gives a sweeping narrative of the service's illustrious past, from the Revolutionary War to the present day, filled with the ships that dominated the seas, equally titanic personalities, and the battles that made history. Navy meets a storyteller worthy of its noble history.

On Seas of Glory by John Lehman