Tales from Annapolis

Rating:
Summary: Like a class reunion in print
Review: Assemble alumni from any college, and before long the stories will start flowing like wine (or some other adult beverage). This book is like a USNA reunion, with former Mids from the Class of 1931 all the way to the Class of 1994 trading tales and sparking memories. It's particularly interesting to see the same story told from two different perspectives, as happens several times between these covers.

The subtitle declares this "A Ring-Knockers' Bedside [or, as the title page has it, 'Bedtime'] Companion" and that's appropriate on two counts. First, while this is entertaining reading for anyone with an interest in the Naval Academy, its primary audience is definitely USNA grads themselves. There is a helpful glossary of Annapolis argot, but many of the stories will undoubtedly mean more to someone who's been through the Academy. I can think of at least one tale, involving a bowling ball, that while funny will still be largely incomprehensible to anyone unfamiliar with the internal geometry of Bancroft Hall.

The second reason the subtitle fits is that I think this volume works best as a "bedside companion" for quick dipping-into before falling asleep. While I read the volume straight through from end to end, it seems like shorter, more leisurely visits would be more rewarding. In that sense, and given the vast number of alums who apparently didn't submit stories, it's a shame this book isn't two or three times longer than it is.

If I do have a complaint, it's with the organization and arrangement of the stories. The chapters are divided up based on "The Laws of the Navy" Mids memorize during Plebe Summer, but I seldom saw the connection between a given story and its placement in the book. Also, some submissions are quite long and contain many reminiscences, while other contributors have had their stories divided up among several chapters. This results in, for example, Jeff Conklin ('93) making reference to "the same upperclassman who caught my 'Go Army' blunder" nearly 100 pages before the story of that blunder is told. Similarly, Bob Osmon ('60)'s entry on page 248 begins with the cryptic sentence, "The second episode didn't have such dire consequences" -- cryptic, that is, until the reader remembers to flip back to page 142, where Osmon mentions "Two events that happened to my roomie and me," but then only relates the first of the two.

Those complaints aside, it was nice to see both familiar names like Joseph Taussig (a hero of Pearl Harbor who died very recently), James L. Holloway, and Sumner Shapiro (a household name in my home, anyway) as well as many grads not so well known. These are some funny stories, and a look inside the Academy at things most visitors never see and most books never relate.


Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: I am a fan of the U.S. Navy and especially the Academy. For anyone who wants a glimpse of what life is like there for the Midshipmen, this book is for you. The stories are funny, some sad. You really get a idea of the dedication it takes to make it through a service academy. In one sense, you are a college student - but really you are on active duty already! My hats off to all Annapolis Alumni!

Rating:
Summary: A treasure box of Memories...
Review: This book is something a little different from what you might ordinarily read. It tells the tales of men who served our country in the Navy, from none other than the very people who lived them. It gives a more personal look at the accademy, and paints a warm picture of what happens "behind the scenes" at the accademy.

I would certainly recomend this book of memories to any other retierd officers or alumni. I can assure you that it will bring a smile to your face, and bring you back to those golden days of Annapolis.

Rating:
Summary: Midshipman Follies
Review: _Tales from Annapolis: A Ring-Knockers' Bedside Companion_ (Omega Resources) by Rich Zino ('67) and Paul Laric ('49) is an amiable collection written by former midshipmen about the antics (and some of the antics are more serious than others) of student life at the Naval Academy. The contents will be best enjoyed by former midshipmen, but those who know little about Academy life will get to learn something of what the middies put up with. This is especially true of descriptions of fourth class (freshman) or "Plebe" year, which seem to be disproportionately represented here. My own memory (I am '72) of that year is really rather miserable and not much fun at all. The accounts here are generally upbeat, brightened, I suppose, by many years of chipping away by selective memories. There is a useful glossary which includes some of the tortures upperclassmen used to put us through, like "Shoving out: Positioning one's self in a sitting position without the aid of a chair; also referred to as sitting on infinity." (...)

The most surprising thing about this volume is how similar the tales from fifty years back are to my own memories or to the more recent classes. Mids were always, it seems, crawling down the steam pipe alleys underneath Tecumseh, zipping back just under the wire at curfew, and thinking up get rich quick schemes. The great difference in stories, those with no precedent, are those that involve female midshipmen or officers. Just a hint of sexual scandal is included in these pages.

However, an episode like rolling a bowling ball into the Rotunda through the ranks of the Watch Squad while it was in formation is a unique and classic prank for which a member of the class of '63 takes credit (for a "mystery bowler," of course). This tale was a legend even when I was there, and long may it and the other jolly stories in this book be retold and grow in the telling.