This memoir of James Stavridis' two years in command of the destroyer USS Barry reveals the human side of what it is like to be in charge of a warship—for the first time and in the midst of international crisis. From Haiti to the Balkans to the Arabian Gulf<, the Barry was involved in operations throughout the world during his 1993–1995 tour. Drawing on daily journals he kept for the entire period, the author reveals the complex nature of those deployments in a "real time" context and describes life on board the Barry and liberty ashore for sailors and officers alike.\\ With all the joy, doubt, self-examination, hope, and fear of a first command, he offers an honest examination of his experience from the bridge to help readers grasp the true nature of command at sea. The window he provides into the personal lives of the crew illuminates not only their hard work in a ship that spent more than 70 percent of its time underway, but also the sacrifices of their families ashore. Stavridis credits his able crew for the many awards the Barry won while he was captain, including the Battenberg Cup for top ship in the Atlantic Fleet. Naval aficionados who like seagoing fiction will be attracted to the book, as will those fascinated by life at sea. Officers from all the services, especially surface warfare naval officers aspiring to command, will find these lessons of a first command by one of the Navy's most respected admirals both entertaining and instructive.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4
"The Battle for Leyte, 1944"
"Allied and Japanese Plans, Preparations, and Execution"
One of the largest and most complex military efforts ever undertaken, the Leyte Operation was the Allies’ first and most important major combined operation to liberate the Philippine archipelago. The stakes were high: a successful landing at Leyte was critical to a subsequent assault on Luzon and total control of the Philippines. If Japan lost the Philippines, its supply of ...
Available Formats: Hardcover | Softcover
Crisis in the Mediterranean
"Naval Competition and Great Power Politics, 1904-1914"
Prior to July 1914, the extensive British grip on the Mediterranean Sea was beginning to weaken, leading to a wide-open competition between Austria-Hungary, Italy, France and Great Britain. This change, Jon Hendrickson contends, was driven by three largely understudied events: the weakening of the British Mediterranean Fleet to provide more ships for the North Sea, Austria-Hungary's decision to build a ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
German Battlecruisers of World War One
Their Design, Construction and Operations
This is the most comprehensive study yet in the English language of the German Imperial Navy's battlecruisers that served in the First World War. Known as Panzerkreuzer, literally 'armored cruiser', the eight ships of the class were to be involved in several early North Sea skirmishes before the great pitched battle of Jutland where they inflicted devastating damage on the ...
Available Formats: Softcover
Destroyer Captain
Lessons of a First Command
Available Formats: Softcover