I'm really glad I read this book, it was very interesting. It's basically a field guide on how to be the commander of a ship in the US Navy, written by a former commander. It lays out, in general, the entire scope of what a ship's commander's job is, and it's enormous. Topics covered include: the commander's complete and total responsibility for ALL aspects of the operation of the ship; how to organize and train a crew for a brand new ship; how to smoothly assume command of an existing ship; ensuring that all crew members are trained for day-to-day operations as well as their combat assignments; ensuring that all crew members have opportunity and training to advance in their naval careers; ensuring that all systems operate perfectly all the time; ensuring that all maintenance is done perfectly, on time, every time; acting as the chief engineering, administrative, sailing, maintenance, navigating, and combat leader; all the on-shore duties including interfacing with embassy and US Navy staff and crew member families; etc etc etc. I'm a US Naval history buff, but I really did not appreciate what a HUGE job a ship's commander has. This book was a little dry at points, and used jargon that did not show up in the glossary (Google helped here), but my eyes were certainly opened. Recommended for anyone with an interest in US Naval history. ( )