Command Of The Seas

by John F. Lehman Jr.

The former Secretary of the Navy details the behind-the-scenes stories of the events of his term, including the controversial "retirement" of Admiral Rickover, the Libyan bombing, and the General Dynamics scandal

Genres: History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

John Francis Lehman Jr. is a former secretary of the US Navy (1981–1987) during the Reagan administration in which he promoted the creation of a 600-ship navy.

Reviews

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Lehman was born in Pennsylvania in 1942. Lehman began his career in the Air Force Reserve, but ultimately joined the United States Navy in 1968. He rose through the ranks to become a commander, and also served under Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council. In 1981, President Regan appointed him Secretary Of The Navy. He served in that capacity until 1987. During his time in that role, he posited and strongly advocated for the creation of a 600 ship Navy. He did several other things, especially in regard to furthering the Navy during his time as Secretary.

One non-naval thing I learned about the author is that he is the first cousin of Grace Kelly, once removed. I am a Grace Kelly fan, so I thought that tidbit was especially interesting. In fact, he was/still is on the Princess Grace Foundation (USA), which supports artists in film and dance.

I was gifted this book by a friend who served in the United States Navy. She knew that I enjoyed war books, and this was in a box of several books that she mailed me. I am thankful for good friends who like to gift me books! I hate that it took me so long to get around to reading this particular one, but I am diligently working through my unread items in my effort to downsize. As far as this particular book goes, I found it more interesting that I first thought that I would. I am not very well versed on Naval history, so I had hoped to learn a bit about that, and did. I also enjoy personal memoirs about military service, so it was a win in that department as well. I was a little concerned about the content, because of the political affiliation of the author, but it did not contain a slew of hate speech and rudeness, which was a great relief. Learning about the plan for a 600 ship Navy was very interesting, especially since this book gives a behind the scenes look at it. Overall, this was an enjoyable book. If you are interested in the US Navy, this might be one for you!

[Jonnie Enloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of Reagan's cold warriors he basically saved our Navy from the scrap heap and brought it into the new technological age. Great Story

[Robert Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good memoir, if you are interested in the topic.