Author: Leon Cooper

Publisher: 1^st Books Library

ISBN: 1-4107-2875-7

The following review was contributed by:  SHELDON (SHELLY) WAXMAN & click to view Shelly's reviews.

This is a gem of a book, especially if you are interested in what war is all about. This is the memoir of a WWII naval officer out of the 90-day wonder school. He would never make it to the gentleman status of the Annapolis and West Point officers.

War is brutal and the book leaves nothing to the imagination. Sometimes those who are supposed to be your friends sometimes become your enemies. This is about a dispute between Cooper and his Captain, Boda.

The thing that is so great about this memoir is that within it there is a real, fascinating, murderous plot line that underlies the tales of ship duty. This is not common with most memoirs that lack a common thread.

His Captain is a Captain Quig like character—for those who remember Bogart’s famous portrayal of a sociopathic ship captain. Boda is a stupid lifer, who won’t even see his son. Cooper makes an enemy of Boda, who mistreated his sailors. Everybody was on his shit list and Cooper made it to the bottom of the list.

Through an odd series of circumstances—many years after the end of the war—some scary stuff starts to happen. And the plot starts to unravel.

This book is also how war brutalizes those who are in it. Cooper is a classic case of what is now known as PTSD. Cooper doesn’t explain the diagnosis of the psychologist he sees. He does state that he was prescribed Lithium, so it may have been something else. Cooper’s anger at times becomes activated by little events. I wouldn’t want to get him angry with me. As part of his mental illness, Cooper obsesses over the Captain and starts to stalk him.

Also tied to the story is the romance that existed between Cooper and his wife. It was a very special relationship.

It was a fast read and I was pushed through to the end. The plot against Captain Boda, though, did come as a surprise near the end. I wasn’t expecting it, which is good. Mr. Cooper is a fascinating character with much insight into his innermost thoughts. He holds back nothing.

I loved it.