Admiral Arleigh Burke

Considered by many to be the father of the modern US Navy, Arleigh Burke was a sea warrior, strategist, and unparalleled service leader whose impact on the course of naval warfare is still felt today. Noted historian E. B. Potter's biography follows Burke's distinguished naval career from the his early days at the Naval Academy through the dramatic destroyer operations in the Solomons, where he earned his nickname`31-Knot Burke'. He was renowned for his development of high-speed night tactics for destroyers that resulted in what many call the perfect naval engagement at the 1943 Battle of Cape St George. The author also fully examines Burke's postwar service as a United Nations delegate to the Korean truce talks and his tenure as chief of naval operations for an unprecedented six years, from 1955 to 1961, where he was a strong advocate of carrier aviation, nuclear propulsion, and a major force in developing the navy's Polaris missile program. In 1977 he was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and became the first living U.S. Naval officer to have a class of ship named after him- the Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers. Published in 1990 and now available in paperback for the first time, this definitive biography is a worthy tribute to a great man and a great naval hero. The late E. B. POTTER, a longtime history professor at the US Naval Academy and former naval officer who served in the Pacific during World War II, is the author of several books, including Bull Halsey, Nimitz, and Sea Power: A Naval History, which he wrote with Admiral Nimitz.