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Contents

Welcome

Dedication

List of Maps

Prologue: The Banks of the Severn

Saturday, December 6, 1941

Part One: Sailors, 1897–1918

1. Leahy: “The Judge”—Annapolis, Class of 1897

2. King: “Rey”—Annapolis, Class of 1901

3. Halsey: “Pudge”—Annapolis, Class of 1904

4. Nimitz: “Nim-i-tiz”—Annapolis, Class of 1905

5. First Commands

6. Dress Rehearsal

Part Two: Ships, 1918–1941

7. Battleships

8. Submarines

9. Aircraft Carriers

10. First Stars

11. Projecting Power

12. At War All but in Name

Part Three: Admirals, 1941–1945

13. Searching for Scapegoats and Heroes

14. Spread Thin

15. Deciding the Course

16. Fighting the Japanese—and MacArthur

17. From Casablanca to Teheran

18. Take Care, My Boy

19. Driving It Home

20. The Crippling Blow: Submarines or Airpower?

21. Halsey’s Luck

22. Two Typhoons and Five Stars

23. Interim President

24. Toward Tokyo Bay

25. Measures of Men

Photos

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Reading Group Guide

History’s Lesson: Sea Power Defines a Nation

One Veteran’s Story

In-the-Field Research

A Conversation with Walter Borneman

Questions and Topics for Discussion

Suggested Reading

Also by Walter R. Borneman

Praise for Walter R. Borneman’s The Admirals

Appendixes

A. Comparative Ranks of Commissioned Officers in U.S. Military Services

B. World War II–Era General Protocols for Naming U.S. Navy Ships

C. Comparative Tonnages and Armaments of Selected Ships

D. Chiefs of Naval Operations, 1915–1947

E. Commanders in Chief, U.S. Fleet, 1936–1945

F. World War II–Era U.S. Battleships

G. World War II–Era U.S. Aircraft Carriers (CV1–CV21)

H. Ships Named for the Fleet Admirals

I. Major World War II Conferences and Operations with Code Names

Newsletters

Bibliography

Notes