A miscellany by a retired Captain with thirty-eight years of Navy service and fifteen books on historical and maritime themes behind him that mixes personal recollections With American naval history and a hearty dose of sea humor and yarn (very little here about Navy blues). The flood of topics includes sea battles of the Revolution and, ""riverine warfare"" in Vietnam (""you cannot fight a war a little""), women aboard and men overboard, U-boats and the saga of PT-109, Seabees and SEALABS, ""Old Ironsides"" and the Pueblo, mutinies, floggings, duels, and the rule of RHIP (Rank Has Its Privileges or Perils, depending on which deck you view things from). Naturally the author agrees With John Paul Jones that ""Without a Respectable Navy -- Alas America!"" Serious armchair sailors might prefer more ballast and balance