Author Description

In his foreword to this biography about a great friend, Herman Wouk describes the book as "the unadorned truth about... a decidedly human gentleman with human failings, more than balanced by rare willpower, brainpower, and humor." A maverick with less than reverential views of the navy that was his life for more than forty years, Gallery was a man of strong character and sharp wit who never shied from controversies and who became known as a formidable opponent. Through the years he repeatedly took courageous public stands on matters of naval policy, including the "Revolt of the Admirals," that nearly cost him his career. Gallery is best known for his dramatic capture of a German submarine (U-505) on the high seas, the first such taking of an enemy vessel since the War of 1812, and for his forceful support of aircraft carriers after the war. He also is known for his success as a writer, and the best of his work makes up a significant part of this book--excerpts from magazine articles, short stories, and letters that are incorporated into this biography by two English professors who vividly portray the highly original man behind the deeds and the writings. Readers will learn about each stage of Gallery's life, from his days at the Naval Academy when he called the Secretary of the Navy's son a draft dodger--and then knocked him out--to his humorous stories about navy life and his final essays and books on such controversial subjects as the Pueblo incident. They will also come to appreciate his public relations successes in getting U-505 moved to Chicago, in sponsoring baseball competitions, and in establishing the navy's steel band.