Fighting Bob

by Bob Stockton, Chief Petty Officer, USN (Ret.)

Many things may be said about Bob Stockton, but one of them can never be that he doesn't have a copious imagination. Throughout the pages of Fighting Bob, Stockton takes the reader on a nonstop, action-packed literary thrill ride rife with danger, suspense, and the all-too-familiar machinations of political intrigue.

Led by his great-great-great grandfather, Commodore "Fighting Bob", Stockton embarks on a daunting quest that takes him everywhere from the front lines of the War Of 1812 to the throes of battle with Barbary Pirates - all in the midst of an hallucinogenic, drug-induced state.

Readers should not be fooled, though: Fighting Bob features a host of eye-opening true-life accounts, highlighting the very real events that played a pivotal role in the birth and subsequent evolution of our very own United States. As such, Stockton's epic narrative paints a vivid, compelling picture of living, breathing history at it realest - and most raw. An enjoyable, adventure-laden read.

Reviewed by US History Files, 2012.

Author: drbob456x@gmail.com
Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2011

Ordering Info: Amazon or contact the author for payment and shipping information.

A Call to the Sea: Captain Charles Stewart and the USS Constitution

by Claude Berube, John Rodgaard

Charles Stewart’s life of sailing and combat on the high seas rivals that of Patrick O’Brien’s Jack Aubrey. Stewart held more sea commands (eleven) than any other U.S. Navy captain and served longer (sixty-three years) than any officer in American naval history. He commanded every type of warship, from sloop to ship-of-the-line, and served every president from John Adams to Abraham Lincoln. Born in Philadelphia during the War for American Independence, Stewart had met President Washington and gone to sea as a cabin boy on a merchantman before age thirteen. In March 1798, at age nineteen, he received a commission one month before the formal establishment of the Department of the Navy. Stewart enjoyed an illustrious naval service. Thomas Jefferson recognized his exploits in the Mediterranean during the Barbary Wars, while James Madison sought his advice at the outset of the War of 1812. Stewart trained many future senior naval officers – including David Porter, David Dixon Porter and David Farragut. In his eighties, he served as a pallbearer at President Lincoln’s funeral. Yet, Stewart owed his reputation to the time spent as the most successful fighting commander of the USS Constitution. Undefeated in battle, including defeating the British warships HMS Cyane and Levant simultaneously, both ship and captain came to be known as “Old Ironsides”. Stewart’s service both mirrors and shaped the early history of the navy and country.

Auhor: john_rodgaard@yahoo.com

Publisher: Potomac Books, 2005

Ordering Info: Amazon, or directly from John Rodgaard at john_rodgaard@yahoo.com or 321.591.6123

PEARL: The History of the US Navy in Pearl Harbor

by Don Landauer

PEARL shows how the original natives came to Hawaii. Then it describes how European and American explorers and seamen came and affected Hawaiian culture. Then it documents how and why and when the United States Navy came, and subsequently how the two cultures related to each other. You Marines may be interested in the fact that the first ship (a captured British ship) into the Honolulu/Pearl Harbor area (in 1814)was commanded by a US Marine! Later the first US Marine detachment in 1906 deployed to the Honolulu area described Waikiki as a, " damned mosquito infested swamp" . The latest edition includes the Ehime Maru incident and the attack on New York and the Pentagon. The author was in the US Navy in 1945,6 and taught aboard 14 ships from 1990 to 1995 as a PACE instructor.

Email: Dontahoe@oakweb.com (summer) Donkauai@msn.com (winter)

Publisher: Flying Cloud Press, 1999, 3rd printing 2001

Ordering Info: Flying Cloud Press, Box 624002, S Lake Tahoe CA 96154 or USS Arizona Memorial, #1 USS Arizona Mem'l Place, Honolulu HI 96818. Price $21.95 + $2.50 S& H. Ten percent discount for USN & USMC veterans or Amazon

Undefeated: "Old Ironsides" in the War of 1812

by Ty Martin

The story of USS Constitution's victorious service in the War of 1812.

Email: timonier@teleplex.net

Publisher: Tryon Publishing Company, 1996 (3rd printing, 2001)

Ordering Info: Amazon

The USS Constitution's Finest Fight

by Ty Martin, Editor

The edited journal of Acting Chaplain Assheton Y. Humphreys describing Constitution's final war cruise of 1815, including her defeat of HMS Cyane and HMS Levant and her narrow escape from a British squadron.

Email: timonier@teleplex.net

Publisher: Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company, 2000

Ordering Info: Amazon