DECATUR OF THE OLD NAVY

At once a biography of a man and of a period. In it our nation as it was in those days -- our foreign policy and the men who made it -- our ships -- public opinion of the day, even the geography of Washington, all as much of the protagonist as Decatur, if not more. Although it may lack the immediate appeal of other more ""dashing"" portraits of national heroes, it is a sound and solid book which should endure, distinguished by good writing and by a complete freedom from jingoism and hero worship. Especially valuable for supplementary reading.