The lead writer of the New York Times’s award-winning “Disunion” series introduces William Barker Cushing, the Civil War’s most celebrated naval hero. October 1864. The confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle had sunk two federal warships and damaged seven others, taking control of the Roanoke River and threatening the Union blockade. Twenty-one-year-old navy lieutenant William Barker Cushing hatched a daring plan: to attack the fearsome warship with a few dozen men in two small wooden boats. What followed, the close-range torpedoing of the Albemarle and Cushing’s harrowing two-day escape downriver from vengeful Rebel posses, is one of the most dramatic individual exploits in American military history. Theodore Roosevelt said that Cushing “comes next to Farragut on the hero roll of American naval history,” but most have never heard of him today. Tossed out of the Naval Academy for “buffoonery,” Cushing proved himself a prodigy in behind-the-lines warfare. Given command of a small union ship, he performed daring, near-suicidal raids, “cutting out” confederate ships and thwarting blockade runners. With higher commands and larger ships, Cushing’s exploits grow bolder, culminating in the sinking of the Albemarle.A thrilling narrative biography, steeped in the tactics, weaponry, and battle techniques of the Union Navy, Commander Will Cushing brings to life a compelling yet flawed figure. Along with his three brothers, including one who fell at Gettysburg, Cushing served with bravery and heroism. But he was irascible and complicated―a loveable rogue, prideful and impulsive, who nonetheless possessed a genius for combat.In telling Cushing’s story, Malanowski paints a vivid, memorable portrait of the army officials, engineers, and politicians scrambling to win the war. But he also goes deeper into the psychology of the daredevil soldier―and what this heroic and tragic figure, who died before his time, can tell us about the ways we remember the glories of war. 8 pages of illustrations

Product Description: Only the best officers are given command of U.S. Navy ships, and only the elite of these are selected for aircraft carriers. The USS America was the third of four Kitty Hawk-class super-carriers. Commissioned in 1965, decommissioned in 1996, she served three times in Vietnam, and once each in Libya, the Persian Gulf and Bosnia...read more

"I share the country's admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew. His courage is a model for all Americans." --President Barack ObamaApril 12, 2009, on Captain Phillips' RescueIt was just another day on the job for fifty-three-year-old Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, a United States–flagged cargo ship sailing down the coast of western Africa. That all changed when armed Somali pirates boarded the ship, setting off a tense five-day standoff and a series of life-or-death feats by Captain Richard Phillips and the group of Navy SEALs who would ultimately rescue him. A Captain's Duty follows Richard Phillips' adrenaline-packed tale of adventure and courage during his days as a hostage. When the pirates boarded his ship, Captain Phillips did everything he could to safeguard his crew. And when he was held captive, he marshaled all his resources to ensure his own survival, withstanding intense physical hardship and an escalating battle of wills with the pirates. This was it: the moment where training meets instinct and where character is everything. Richard Phillips was ready.

The former commander of the U.S.S. Benfold describes the management principles that he used to command one of the U.S. Navy's most modern warships and explains how these principles can be used in a business environment to handle such challenges as excessive costs or low morale by empowering one's employees. Reprint.

Product Description: This is the first biography of Captain Thomas Tingey, a seminal figure in the early development of the U.S. Navy. It is at the same time a biography of this important American naval figure and a history of the first quarter century of the Washington Navy Yard, which Tingey commanded for that period...read more

Product Description: Stormy Seas by: Capt. Wayne Raybourn