The Restless Wave
A Novel of the United States Navy
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4.4 • 120 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“The Restless Wave is not only a stirring and gripping story of the sea, but also of love and war and leadership. Admiral Stavridis’s sweeping knowledge of history and life in the Navy shines on every page, imbuing this work with authenticity and power.”
—David Grann, #1 NYT bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon
“In the engaging tradition of Herman Wouk and Patrick O’Brian, Admiral James Stavridis has given us a fascinating novel of one young man’s—and one great nation’s—war at sea. The book is at once entertaining and illuminating, touching on the most fundamental of human themes with deftness and an appreciation of the immense achievements of the United States Navy in the deadliest of eras.” —Jon Meacham
From the New York Times bestselling former NATO commander comes a riveting historical novel that charts the coming-of-age of a gifted but immature young naval officer as he is tested in the crucible of World War II in the Pacific
Scott Bradley James arrives in Annapolis, Maryland, as a plebe in the class of 1941 without a terribly good idea why he wants to be a naval officer, other than that his father was a sailor, and he wants to see the world, whatever that means. Scott and his roommate become fast friends, and, after surviving scrapes of their own making, the two fetch up at Pearl Harbor. War is brewing, and their class has graduated early. They have been sent to battle stations.
Admiral James Stavridis is an acclaimed novelist, a decorated military leader, and a great student of military history. He draws on it all to capture the experience of being storm-tossed by the first bloody years of the Second World War. Scott Bradley James is a talented young officer, but he has a lot to learn. And war will have a lot to teach him.
The Restless Wave offers a gripping account of the U.S. Navy’s astonishing progress through the first three years of the war in the Pacific, from Pearl Harbor through to the Coral Sea, Midway, and Guadalcanal. A story of character under pressure in the harshest of proving grounds, it is written with careful fidelity to the truths of war that have made tales of the sea essential to the art of storytelling since Odysseus.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Retired Navy admiral Stravridis (co-author of 2034 and 2054 with Elliot Ackerman) delivers a satisfying novel about a Naval officer during WWII. Raised in the Florida Keys, Scott Bradley James is taught sailing lore by his fisherman father, whose boat, Bella, is docked right alongside Ernest Hemingway's Pilar. Scott goes on to attend the Naval Academy, where he makes his mark as a boxer. After graduating from the academy in 1941, Ensign Bradley is assigned to the battleship USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor. There, he begins a relationship with a beautiful half-Hawaiian college student, Kai Wallace. With his ship incapacitated during the Japanese attack on December 7th, Scott is next assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the destroyer USS Fletcher, playing a vital role in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, the Battle of Midway, and the disaster at Tassafaronga. He gains experience as a surface warfare officer, even as his obsession with promotion and medals might cost him Kai's love. The author immerses the reader in the world of the Navy and cannily mixes fictional characters with real ones such as Admiral "Bull" Halsey and Commander Wade McClusky. This well-told tale is worthy of The Caine Mutiny and In Harm's Way.
Customer Reviews
Excellent Book
A well structured read of the beginning of WWII through the eyes of a young naval officer. The details of the birth of Navy’s Combat Information Center and the men who made it possible is a key example of detail seldom found in a book of this type. You won’t be disappointed.
The Restless Wave
The Restless Wave is one of the best novels covering WWII in the Pacific. It reminded me so much of Herman Wouk’s excellent novels. I eagerly await book two.
My imagination needed more creative language
I enjoyed the historical telling of the sea battles. I thought the plot lagged and developed too slowly. Although I served in the USAF therefore understood much of the military jargon, I was often left in the dark by the unexplained frequent use of naval terminology. I thought the writing style was too simple and plebeian and could have benefited from more use of word pictures to stimulate and enhance the reader’s imagination.