Description: America's preeminent naval historian offers a history of the Second World War based on the experiences of the young officers-fresh out of the United States Naval Academy-who served on its front lines.
Review Quotes: "One of the most authoritative historians of our time weaves an epic of adventure and sacrifice around selected midshipmen of the Naval Academy Class of 1940. Craig Symonds puts readers into the lives of these young men--what they learned, endured, and achieved in this unique educational crucible, then their experiences with the horrors and triumphs of mortal combat in submarines, destroyers, Hellcats, and Marine landings in the battles of the Pacific and Atlantic wars. This is a hugely entertaining work of biography and history yet drawn from original research and exhaustive scholarship. A future classic." -- John Lehman, Former Secretary of the Navy
"An intensely personal history of the Annapolis class of 1940, which felt the brunt of World War II. Beautifully rendered, deeply moving, exciting, ironic, and above all consequential, this account of 'The Forties' is at once the story of America, of a great war, and above all of a heroic generation." -- Admiral James Stavridis, 16th Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and author of The Restless Wave: A Novel of the U.S. Navy"Annapolis Goes to War works brilliantly on two levels, for it sets the story of the rapid transformation young Midshipmen graduating into an all-consuming war within the larger story of the rapid transformation of the United States' military. Perhaps the greatest naval historian of our era, Craig L Symonds crafts a poignant, page-turning narrative that is suffused with deep knowledge, mastery of detail, and wise insight into the human heart and soul." -- Tami Davis Biddle, Professor Emerita and Distinguished Fellow at the US Army War College"Craig Symonds again demonstrates why he is the dean of American naval historians, skillfully weaving a tale both grand and human, of promising young men coming of age against a backdrop of darkening global portents, who find themselves unexpectedly fighting the largest, most crucial war in history. Captivating." -- Jonathan Parshall, Author of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway