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Vigorous and highly readable, this portrait of the enlisted man's life aboard the U.S. battleship California depicts the devastation at Pearl Harbor from the hazardous vantage point of the open "birdbath" atop the mainmast.
"Battleship Sailor" is Theodore Mason's wonderfully written, first-hand account of the US Navy Pre-WWII from the Blueshirt perspective. Mason, a Radioman in the USNR, volunteered for active duty a year prior to Pearl Harbor and gives his vivid portrait of life, liberty and duty as both a Sailor and a Radioman. His personal stories and recollections of his Shipmates (and his Chief, Medal of Honor winner Chief Radioman Thomas Reeves) debunk a lot of movie myths about Sailors (and confirm a few others) and provide perspective for today's Navy and it's Sailors. His re-visitation of Pearl Harbor is simply riveting. "Battleship Sailor" is a great prequel to Mason's excellent "We Will Stand By You" and a must read for any Navy veteran, historian or Radioman.
