A newspaper correspondent turned water and port commissioner in Albany, New York, Cross tells the story of a new kind of warship, designed by someone who had no formal training in ship design, untested, and manned by recruits with no experience on the water led by Ivy League college boys accustomed to yachts who in the end are credited with sinking 70 u-boats, 26 Japanese submarines, and fought in every major battle in the Pacific War. Among his topics are like lambs to the slaughter, reversing the time, the only man on the place, off the shores of New Jersey, sailors in the shadow, and pink streaks of afterglow. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)