There are two reasons that almost every man in the Coast Guard gives for joining. . . One is that the Coast Guard is a peacetime job; the other is that it is the smallest of the military services, and a man is not overlooked."" A nice feeling for what makes the Coast Guard special distinguishes this from the Bergaust Coast Guard in Action, which is similar in format and content--that and much more attention to the training and specialties of enlisted men. Otherwise both describe the curriculum of the Coast Guard Academy, the roster of ships and boats (all called cutters), and the several functions of the service. Bergaust includes more history. Compton has the edge in currency. Also, for isolating information Bergaust has the advantage of a table of contents and an index. But a boy is more likely to enlist after reading What Does a Coast Guardsman Do?