1 comments about Coast Guard Follies.

1. Ken Smith joined the Coast Guard in the early 1950's and served for three years. In his book, he shares entertaining stories of his peacetime duties in exotic places in the South Pacific. What is interesting to note is the difference a few years can make in the conditions of military service. For example, if he had served a few years earlier, Smith would have endured extreme danger while German and Japanese vessels roamed the seas. If you are interested in exciting Coast Guard stories, also look at:
   Alcohol, Boat Chases, and Shootouts! How the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs Fought Rum Smugglers and Pirates (Part I: 1919-1924)

No comments about The Last Lincoln Conspirator: John Surratt's Flight from the Gallows.

5 comments about Thach Weave: The Life of Jimmie Thach.

1. I am fairly well-read on the U.S. Navy in World War II. But prior to this book, all I knew about John S. "Jimmy" Thach was that he invented the "Thach Weave" air combat maneuver and fought in the Battle of Midway. It turns out that Thatch was one of the truly great U.S. Naval Officers, with a career filled with significant achievements.
   
   The book started a little slow but soon became very interesting. Overall it reads well.
   
   It's not unusual for books of this type to idolize the subject, causing the reader to wonder if the subject was as great as the book implies. I don't get that from this book. If anything, I felt the book understates Thach's amazing achievement on June 4, 1942 in the Battle of Midway. Of the three VF squadrons that escorted the USN attack against the Japanese carriers, only Thach's engaged in combat. Thach's six Wildcats were jumped by approximately 20 Zeros. Despite being outnumbered in a slower, less maneuverable fighter against experienced pilots, Thach shot down three Zeros and his wingman one using the Weave tactic that he had developed. Later in the day, Thach shot down a Kate Torpedo plane, probably that of flight leader Tomananga's. It was one of the great individual performances of World War II.
   
   Amazingly, Thach never flew in combat again. Immediately after Midway, he was sent to Florida where he had a big part in setting up the training pipeline that produced the thousands of naval aviators who manned the new 1943 and 1944 carrier air groups. I was struck by the contrast with the Japanese training system. Their aviators stayed in the fight until they were killed, after which there were no fully trained aviators to replace them.
   
   After two years ashore, Thach went back to sea in one of premier jobs for someone of his rank - Air Operations Officer for Task Force 58, the Navy's main striking force in the Pacific. I was impressed by how the U.S. Navy in World War II hand-picked promising young officers who had proven themselves in combat -- men such as Arleigh Burke, Jimmy Thach, and James Flatley -- and put them in charge: Burke as Chief of Staff and Thach and Flatley as Air Operations Officers of the gigantic Task Force that won the war in the Central Pacific, routinely deploying eight Essex class fleet carriers and eight Independence class light carriers.
   
   The book never says it directly but Thach must have been a very good public speaker. The book continually remarks on his speaking to various groups, briefing Congress or advising Admirals.
   
   One cannot help but notice Thach's devotion to the Navy and wonder how his absence affected his family. The book says says very little about this. Thach did well in the Navy, earning four stars and holding important, meaningful positions. But he surely paid a heavy price, being at sea so much, and working long-hours in the Pentagon.
   
   If what this book says is true, Thach was a founding father in the U.S. Navy's anti-submarine warfare infrastructure and organization. Not something you would expect from an officer with a fighter pilot background. I was a naval officer for 20 years, specializing in maritime patrol ASW. This book described the creation of the system I spent my career in.
   
   This book deserves to sit alongside those of Spruance & King (Thomas Buell), and Nimitz, Halsey and Burke (E.B. Potter) for those interested in World War II Naval Officers. Recommended.



2. Pacifists and cheeseparers in the 1920s and '30s left Hawaii without adequate defenses when the Japanese attacked in 1941.
   As the aircraft carrier Saratoga rushed from California to still smoking Pearl Harbor, the planes of Fighting Squadron 3 had only 24 rounds per gun for their Wildcat fighters -- not even enough to "charge" the guns in preparation for combat.
   Within a year, 12 of the 19 pilots in VF 3 were dead, killed partly by Japanese aggressors, partly by American politicians and moralizers.
   That more young Americans' lives were not lost in the early days was due in large part to three remarkable Navy aviators, Butch O'Hare, Jimmy Flatley and the commander of VF 3 in December 1941, Jimmie Thach.
   Of the three, all subjects of biographies by Steve Ewing, curator at Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Charleston, Thach may have been the most remarkable.
   O'Hare was the matchless marksman in battle, and Flatley was a superior teacher and lobbyist for new tactics. Thach was the originator of those tactics, a man who figured out how to substitute technique for technology.
   His solution, worked out over a kitchen table with matchsticks, was put to the test at the Battle of Midway, and with it a few Wildcats were able to hold off four times as many Japanese Zeros, though they were unable to fulfill their mission of protecting American attack planes.
   The maneuver, the "Thach Weave," was a lifesaver in the next year of ceaseless combat in the South Pacific, until newer, better planes were delivered.
   The weave was not wholly original with Thach; but his version was superior to the technique adopted shortly before by British pilots fighting the Luftwaffe.
   As a staff officer, Thach distinguished himself in the western Pacific, becoming part of still debated controversies about how the war was fought. Ewing dives into this fight with relish, as he has before.
   In a long career, Thach rose to the highest position in naval aviation, but possibly even more important, he was the leading tactician as the Navy struggled to adapt antisubmarine warfare to the challenges of fast, nuclear opponents.
   During years at Pearl Harbor in the 1960s, his antisub planes and ships tracked Russian opponents as if war might break out any second. He, at least, never forgot the surprise at Pearl Harbor.
   But the lessons Thach learned in a long, arduous career have too often been forgotten; and still are. Recalling the early days of the war in the Pacific, he wrote, "Early in the last war it was brought home to me that it is the untrained who are needlessly lost in combat, and who contribute little or nothing to the cause in which they are lost. I would rather have 12 properly trained aviators with me to fight 20 planes of an enemy than to have twice or three times that number of half trained or poorly trained pilots."



3. Since I was a child, John Thach was my hero. He is only sparsely mentioned in survey history books on World War II. Finding articles about him, or detailed accounts on his history, was always challenging. At age 8, I actually tried calling his house in Coronado, California (he wasn't home).
   
   As I grew older and read more in-depth histories on Midway and other battles, I learned much more of the significant role Thach played - what a master tactician - but there was no biography on him or any information on his early life or life after World War II.
   
   Finally, there is a biography - sort of. While finally getting detail on the full life and history of this Hero, in every sense of the word, is great, there is a lot missing.
   
   This book, along with Reaper Leader (on Jimmy Flatley) and Fateful Rondezvous (on Butch O'Hare) completes a trilogy on the great Navy fighter pilots in early World War II. Ewing's prime interest is clearly with Flatley, but the three men were good friends and worked closely together so that the research lent itself to creating biographies on each man.
   
   To Ewing's credit, he did help discover a treasure trove of Thach's personal papers, adding a wealth of information to the key role that Thach played in saving Naval Aviation (revolt of the Admirals in response to the USAF takeover of military aviation) and in advancing anti-submarine warfare to counter the serious nuclear threat of soviet submarines. In fact, those who know of Thach from his fighter pilot fame, will be surprised to find how much more he did for naval aviation and the US security AFTER the second world war.
   
   The author traces Thach from his childhood in Arkansas, the son of professional teachers, to his time at the Naval Academy, and solves the mystery of why John Thach was called "Jimmie Thach" when his older brother, who also attended the Naval Academy was named James Thach. Ewing describes his early service and wartime career in detail, and then goes on to describe the 20 plus years of service to the Navy after World War II.
   
   Unfortunately, the book seems stale, almost like a high school report summarizing an entry from an encyclopedia. Stories that should be vivid and memorable, seem remote and cold - like when as a young pilot, Thach exited the cockpit in flight because he didn't have time to go to the bathroom before leaving the field. After reading numerous exploits of young pilots from both world wars, and the fraternity type antics, a reader expects the story to be told as if an old joke or `war story' from somebody who lived it - not as a dry legal brief.
   
   While some of this might be from the author's style, it is more likely due to the challenge of describing an anecdote heard third or fourth person. Both Thach and his wife died in the early 80's, and they were only infrequently interviewed prior to their death. Few of their contemporaries are still around to impart the true and full color of the events.
   
   Therein lies the tragedy of this history and many more - as the "greatest generation" passes, we are loosing a wealth of history told by the people who lived it. This is a tragedy, but there is no government program or agency to `fix' the problem (nore should there be) - it is life.
   
   Still, the book is very worthwhile and thoroughly readable even if somewhat disappointing in the attenuation of the stories that you expect to bring the history to life. History buffs and fans of naval aviation will enjoy the book, or regret not getting it once printing ceases. Ewing justly deserves credit for this book which gives a wealth of otherwise unavailable information on a great American that gave 100% effort and his entire adult life to the security of America.
   
   By the way, as a cordial response to a comment by a fellow reviewer about the Wildcat being "vastly inferior" - inferior, yes, but not vastly so.
   
   It still remained in front-line service well into 1943, equited itself well when in sufficient number with the right tactics (i.e. Thach Weave), Joe Foss thought very highly of it, had a career kill to loss ratio of 7 to 1, and was one of the few pre-war fighters at the beginning of the war still in combat service at the end (the Hurricane and the P-40 were long gone). Give me a break, it wasn't like the Brewster Buffalo, Chance Vought Vindicator, Boulton Paul Defiant, Fairey Swordfish, Douglas Devastator, most of the French and Russian planes, or Bell Aircobra - now those were "vastly" outdated and inferior machines that should never had been put in combat!



4. At the beginning of World War II, the allies were in very poor condition to face the Germans or Japanese. Due to years of neglect, the American fighting forces, generally speaking, had vastly inferior equipment, and in many cases even worse tactics.
   
   Against the Japanese Zero fighter, the Americans fielded the vastly inferior Grumman F4F Wildcat. The Wildcat suffered in three vital areas to the Zero: climb, maneuverability and speed. The Wildcat did have advantages in firepower, due to the excellent .50 caliber Brownings, and in overall toughness. Jimmy Thach was able to come up with a flying mode to take advantage of those points in favor of the Wildcat while minimizing its disadvantages. This was called the Thach Weave after the inventor and the way he conceives of having two planes each fly a serpentine path that brought the planes together facing each other at frequent intervals. Thus any Japanese pilot falling in behind one of the planes would soon be facing the nose, and the machine guns of his partner. This enabled the American pilots to survive in the years it took to get more capable aircraft into service. The Thach Weave continues today, with todays far more capable aircraft but with the same basic principles and the same name.
   
   Mr. Thach survived the war and went on to ever higher positions within the Navy. This book uses just about half of its 338 pages on The World War II era, and the rest on his work at improving the Navy's aircraft afterward.



5. To start with I will admit that I am only half way through this book but wanted to rate what I have read so far and I can say that what I have read is very interesting. For those who are interested in Naval history and its heroes in particular will enjoy this book. Its nice to be able to learn more about Jimmie Thach because there aren't may books on the guy and he has a fascinating life that needs to be told. I would also highly recommend Steve Ewing's book on Butch O'Hare titled "Fateful Rendezvous". I do know that I will soon be ordering the third book in this trilogy on the Reaper leader Jimmie Flatley.

2 comments about Tanks on the Beaches: A Marine Tanker in the Pacific War (Texas A&M University Military History Series, 85.).

1. great book well researched honors the men who fought in some of the most
   horrible conditions in WWII



2. Tanks On The Beaches: A Marine Tanker In The Pacific War is the memoir of Robert M. Neiman, a United States Marine Corps combat commander, who served in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. A tale of struggling against an implacably determined foe, tracing the journey from the deadly fields war in the Pacific, to the uncertainties of war's aftermath, to the voyage home, Tanks On The Beaches (written with the assistance of Kenneth W. Estes) offers a vivid and firsthand account and is a welcome and highly recommended contribution to the growing library of World War II battlefield autobiographies and memoirs.

2 comments about The Temptation: Edgar Tolson and the Genesis of Twentieth-Century Folk Art.

1. Whether you are a fan of Edgar Tolson's work or of woodcarving in general, this is an essential book to have if you are interested in folk art of the 20th century. The thorough research done on Edgar Tolson is fascinating and through his art and career the world of 20th century folk art is examined. From key folk art collectors to various museums and institutions, the 20th century folk art movement was created and sold to the buying public. By the time the "important" artists were established all of the "important" early work was already in the hands of a few collectors and the museums. It's no accident that Tolson's work ended up in a prestigious Whitney Biennial and his artwork sky-rocketed in price. The same with Howard Finster. By the time his work was presented as being important to the general public, a narrow group of collectors and critics had already hoarded the first few thousand of his numbered pieces which the critics then deemed as the most important of his career. And the story continues to this day with collectors / critics buying early key works, then recommending them to the general folk art buyers. This book is perhaps the best analysis of why and how a folk artist becomes "important" in the 20th century. It may or may not sour your view on 20th century folk art but is a great read either way. As with all art or decorative objects, if you just buy what you like and ignore the critics, you'll be happy. Who's to say 10, 20 or 50 years from now if anyone will even care about "20th century folk art."



2. Ms. Julia S. Ardey has put together an extraordinary work -- filled with stories and pictures of a poor Kentucky man who whittled stuff to which other folks took a liking. My grandfather Edgar Tolson will always remain an elusive character both in life and in death hard to explain and to understand. As all great artists he was not one dimensional. Ms. Ardey did a fine job of grasping enough bits and pieces of his life, through the eyes and hearts of those who knew him, to give a reasonable representation of who Edgar Tolson was and why he whittled. Ms. Ardey interviewed scores of people and personalities who all have their own opinion of Edgar Tolson the Man and Edgar Tolson the Woodcarver and the times in which he lived. Ms. Ardey managed a remarkable feat in compling those interviews into an a very good work. She included many pictures that give insight into an artisan and his art. Many pictures capture Edgar's soul in his eyes -- others show a family life of just real folks who just have a Daddy that whittles in the living room and lets the shavings fall to floor. As a granddaugther of Edgar Tolson, beloved Kentucky woodcarver, I am very pleased with the work Julia S. Ardery managed to put together on his life and extraordinary talent. With a family as large as he had I am sure that this book will be debated into generations, however, it is a real good starting point at which to kick off the debate of fact or fiction. The papaw I knew was a wonderful minister; he loved his God, knew his bible and had a passion for sharing the Biblical Truths of his God with others through his work. He managed to reach the very far corners of the earth with his renditions of Adam & Eve in Garden of Eden, Their Fall, and Noah's Ark among a few--how many ministers can stake that claim. He carved what was upon his heart to carve. He was discovered by others who marketed it to a world who craved his carvings and what they represented to them. I am so pleased that Ms. Ardery managed to compile so much ! of his life and work into this book. It makes for really good reading and gives the reader the opportunity to linger with story and photo's of Edgar Tolson and his artwork long enough to gain an understanding of why so many are so drawn to it, him and living upon this earth. Thank you Ms. Ardery for a job well done.

1 comments about The Mysterious Private Thompson: The Double Life of Sarah Emma Edmonds, Civil War Soldier.

1. "The Mysterious Private Thompson" is a first-rate, riveting book about a woman who ran away from home to avoid an arranged marriage and disguised herself as a man to make her way in the world. She first became a successful traveling book salesman and then, astoundingly, served as a Civil War soldier for two years. Not only is the story fascinating as to how someone could maintain a disguise so effectively for so long a period of time, but the story's historical context is so carefully researched and deftly conveyed that you are almost unaware that this is a history book as well as a human interest story. I learned more in this book about the Battles of Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of Fredericksburg, plus Generals McClellan and Burnside, than I had in all my years of school. Laura Gansler is a brilliant, gifted writer and I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about America at Night: The True Story of Two Rogue CIA Operatives, Homeland Security Failures,Dirty Money, and a Plot to Steal the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election- by theFor.

1. This book has some very interesting insight into a real story that depicts how some things work in this world... how someone can get all the way to the "kitchen" with the Bush's and be an outlaw. Very well written novel also! Only con would be some far fetched conspiracy theeories laid out at the beginning of the book and never proved during the book.



2. I'm sure most of what Mr. Kolb says is true about Hirschfeld and Sensi but I suspect he uses this capital to serve his ultimate goal -- to trash everything Republican. As a hit piece of this magnitude he is unconvincing. Ironically, if the picture Kolb has painted of these two con men is accurate and their abilitiy to use powerful figures is proven, then why is he not looking to find innocence in the many Republican politicians that seem to have been used? Why does he automatically see conspiracy on a wider scale within the GOP?
   
   He seems to trust "The Gray Eminence" and other people he has actually talked to like Engin Yesil. John Kerry is a war hero (Bush a poseur). He uses the term neo-con as a perjorative. Wolfowitz, Rice et al are war mongers out of touch with what....the omniscient benevolence of the Kerry team? A balanced outing of the "facts" would have at least included some rebuttal. There is none. He says at the beginning he is non-partisan. Nice try.
   
   He believes he is saving the world from evil. Has Kolb read Bill Sammon's book "At Any Cost - How Al Gore Tried To Steal The Election"? How that egalitarian and progressive organization, the Chicago Daley Machine was called in as a fixer for the Florida recount? There is no paucity of evil in America. Why be seletive?
   
   The fact is that both parties have operatives. Both parties are involved in scullduggery. And because of the hightened political climate both parties have a stake in deeming the other an enemy. I think the day of a mere advisarial relationship between left and right is over.
   
   We all pick sides. Kolb is on the Democratic team.



3. An entertaining book, as long as you don't believe the far-fetched conspiracy theories. The author takes a fact here, a factoid there, on and on and tries to put them together for a grand conspiracy. As far as I could tell, it's really just the story of some con men, talented and interesting though they were.



4. This started off as interesting, but I lost interest when he started writing page after page about Muhammud Ali as the greatest man who ever lived. Toward the end, the book became a reason to bash the right, although the author claims he isn't. Kold is a left wing partisan, and it shows. Too bad, as the books holds real promise.



5. America at Night is one of the most riveting books I've read in a long while. I absolutely couldn't put it down. Not only is the story completely intriguing, but Kolb--unlike many true crime authors--can really write. The man is obviously a born storyteller. And in this case, the story he's telling happens to be true--which makes the book all the more fascinating. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in how politics really works in this country, or anyone that just enjoys a compulsive, compelling read.

No comments about Hindenburg: Icon of German Militarism (Military Profiles).

No comments about Winds of Destruction: The Autobiography of a Rhodesian Combat Pilot.

5 comments about Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama.

1. Stephen Fox (who, I assume, is either a Yankee or has Yankee sympathies) has written a superb, sympathetic and pretty well true (I have read with interest the review by O.J. Semmes and I respect it) thriller based on the exploits of Captain Raphael Semmes (O.J. Semmes's great great grandfather) and that of his principal and most important command, the C.S.S. Alabama, the extraordinary Confederate raider that wrought havoc amongst Yankee shipping during the War for Southern Independence. It's the sort of book that's almost impossible to put down as, though one knows how the ship's story ends - sunk off Cherbourg, France, by the U.S.S. Kearsarge, on Sunday, the 19th of June, 1864 - the Alabama's creation at Liverpool and her career at sea makes for endless fascination, as does the life of Captain Semmes himself. For this Britisher, however, one of the most interesting aspects of the book is the careful cataloguing of the Confederacy's many supporters who were 'over here,' some of whom I knew of but about some of whom I knew next to nothing. Any present-day supporter of the cause of the Confederate States of America should remember with pleasure the parts played on 'our' side of 'the pond' by such as (in alphabetical order) James Dunwoody Bulloch (an uncle of Theodore Roosevelt), William Ewart Gladstone, M.P., Henry Hotze, the Laird ship-building brothers of Liverpool, William Schaw Lindsay, M.P., Senator James Murray Mason, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Senator John Slidell, James Spence, and, of course, the Revd. Francis William Tremlett and his sister, Louisa. These fine folk played their parts in the great drama and I am proud of all of them, British and American, but it was Semmes and his ship that nearly turned the tide of history and, despite losing the last battle, had lasting effects on both Great Britain and the United States. Read this well-written book: you'll love it like I did!



2. Raphael Semmes is/was my great great grandfather. It is a matter of pride, if of no other significance, that I share a birth date of September 27th with him. An appreciable amount of my 78 years has been consumed in correcting error and wrongful expressions relative to Raphael Semmes, often by authors who borrowed liberally from his memoirs. For example the use of the words "notorious" instead of "famous"; the term "pirate" by authors better deserving the term; "rebel" by persons purporting to be historians. Fox appears, at times, to have used the philosophy of no proof to the contrary in his conclusions, especially his conjecture that one of Semmes's children had been born out of wedlock. This musing was based upon his time at sea and the unlikelihood of a 10 month pregnancy. Had one read all the error in the advertising of the book, this would come as no surprise. Semmes's character is best described in the words of Warren F. Spencer who wrote a factual book about Semmes during the Mexican War and the War between the States: "One other person inspired me to complete this writing:Raphael Semmes. His personality comes through all of his writings; his strong intellect constantly challenged me. I have learned from him the meaning of honor and the value of sacrificing one's self for the sake of one's convictions. My travel through Raphael Semmes's life has, in the sunset of my career, given me a new meaning to this period of my own existence. And for that, I thank Raphael Semmes". Spencer provided an accurate recounting of the life of a good man. The value of Spencer's thoughtful approach is well expressed through words of John Paul II: "People have always needed models to imitate, and that need is all the greater today, amid such a welter of confusing and conflicting ideas".



3. This book is an outstanding account of the little known actions of the Confederate Nany during the war between the states. The book is very well written and offers a "Southern Perspective" of Captain Semmes actions during this tragic time. I found the book riviting and highly recommend it to history buffs.



4. ~Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama~ is a fluid and captivating tale of the Confederate Raider helmed by the Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes. This book, in particular, focuses on his almost two-year stint as captain of the infamous Confederate privateer, the Alabama.
   
   In 1860, the Union strategist Winfield Scott devised a shrewd plan to strangle southern commerce with a naval blockade. The Confederates answered by building up their tiny Navy, though they never really could effectively counter the formidable power of New England shipbuilders. The South lacked the shipyards and iron foundries to build great ships, and had to turn to England for naval implements of war. One such ship was the CSS Alabama that set sail from Birkenhead, England in 1862 after being built by John Laird Sons and Company.
   
   At the onset of the war, Semmes was first placed in command of CSS Sumter. That tour would last six short months. He raided commercial shipping while eluding pursuing Union warships. In January 1862, the Sumter required a major overhaul. Semmes attempted to have her repaired at Gibraltar, but the arrival of U.S. warships ended her career, and Semmes narrowly escaped to England, where he was promoted to captain. There he acquired a sizable commercial vessel. He then went to the Portuguese island of Madeira in the Atlantic and had that vessel converted into a formidable warship that became world-famous as CSS Alabama.
   
   The CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead, England in 1862. At capacity, it had a crew of some 145 officers and sailors. All told, the Alabama sunk 62 vessels, mostly merchant ships. Its captain was the illustrious Raphael Semmes. Stephen Fox gives a nice background to Semmes' life leading up to the war. Semmes had spent his early years in the U.S. Navy, and was married to an northern woman. A native of Maryland, Semmes practiced law in Alabama. When Alabama seceded in 1861, he served the Confederacy as a blockade runner and had great success raiding Union merchant vessels in the Caribbean and Atlantic. Playing cat-and-mouse games in the vast gulf of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Alabama preyed upon Union commercial shipping. The ship bounced around ports from the Caribbean to England to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
   
   On 11 June 1864, Alabama arrived in Cherbourg, France. There Semmes requested permission to dock and overhaul his ship. Pursuing the raider, the American sloop-of-war USS Kearsarge lied in wait. Eventually the two met, and though the Alabama fired more shots at the Kearsarge, the Union ship plowed a deadly shot at a section of the Alabama's waterline sending the ship hurling to the bottom. The Union ship received the vacating crew of the Alabama.
   
   All things considered, this is an intriguing and fascinating account of Raphael Semmes and the notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama. The book is engaging and it has some nice pictures and illustrations, which enliven the narrative.



5. first off...it bugs me to no end that official and customer reviews refer to both Semmes and the CSS Alabama as "privateers." The Alabama was a ship built and comissioned in England by the Confederate States of America, and Semmes, her captain, was a Confederate Naval Officer. What she did, and did quite well, was commercial raiding, which was to destroy the enemy's commerce whenever possible. The Union ships did the same when they found Confederate blockade runners, and one can say they were performing the nautical version of what Sherman and others were doing on land.
   
   That said, this is one outstanding book. I'm not partial to historical biographies, and even less to military ones, but I tore through this one in two days. Military, political, and sexual intrigue--a real flair for characterization---Fox has all of the ingredients for an old-fashioned potboiler--and this is all a true account of an overlooked Civil War navy commander of whom little was thought until late in his career.
   
   Semmes and the Alabama are both fascinating characters--but the supporting roles of the crew--and those that love them--and those that plot aginst them--and the exotic ports of call the lovely Lady Alabama finds herself in and her many harrowing escapes until her final battle--all make for a book you can't put down.
   
   Most historical tomes by Brown history professors aren't devoured like the latest beach novel. For me, this one was, but it was a far more satisfying experience.