From Annapolis to Scapa Flow: The Autobiography of Edward L. Beach Sr [Hardcover]

Edward L. Beach Sr. (Author), Edward L. Beach Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2003

Fans of Edward L. Beach Jr.'s books, including his classic submarine novel Run Silent, Run Deep and his 200-year history of the U.S. Navy, will be drawn to this memoir by his late father, a U.S. Navy Captain, who was a popular novelist of his era. Not only was Beach Sr. a good storyteller but he also was an astute observer of history in the making, and his naval career spanned the sailing and steam navies. Written in the 1930s but never before published, the book is as much about the U.S. Navy as it is about Beach. In his early days Beach served with Civil War veterans aboard wooden ships, while late in his service his shipmates were the future naval leaders of World War II. His account of the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898, the Philippine Insurrection of the early 1900s, Haiti in 1915, the British Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow in 1918, and the wreck of the Memphis, a cruiser under Beach's command that was destroyed by a 1916 tsunami in Santo Domingo Harbor, is eyewitness reporting at its best. As Beach describes the growth of the Navy, he tells not only what happened but how and why things happened. Beach Jr. puts his father's writing in historical context for today's readers and offers insights into his father's feelings. Rarely does a valuable primary source like this come to light so many years after it was written.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The autobiography of distinguished naval historian and submariner Edward L. Beach Jr.'s father, gussied up for publication by the son, is a fine study of the old U.S. Navy. The elder Beach graduated from Annapolis in 1888, when the navy still had wooden ships in first-line service, and concluded his career presiding over the launching of the battleship California of Pearl Harbor fame. He had started as an engineering officer before line and engineering specialties were merged; at the Battle of Manila Bay, he saw little more than another officer's boots. He rose through the ranks with extensive sea and shore duty as well as a diplomatic role in establishing the U.S. protectorate over Haiti in 1915. He lost his favorite command, the armored cruiser Memphis, to a tidal wave off Santo Domingo, and ended seagoing commanding the battleship New York as part of the British Grand Fleet. Told with wit, compassion, and consideration for nonnaval readers, Beach's story, thoroughly fascinating for naval buffs, also adds well to the historiography of the U.S. in Haiti. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"This charming and insightful memoir is among the most vivid and enjoyable portraits of the early twentieth-century Navy ever written." -- Naval War College Review, Autumn 2003

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557502986
• ISBN-13: 978-1557502988
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,566,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing account of an even more amazing career!, April 2, 2003

By 

Bob H. (Mission Viejo, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Annapolis to Scapa Flow: The Autobiography of Edward L. Beach Sr (Hardcover)

Edward L. Beach, Sr., recounts his amazing Navy career. Ten years after he retired, he writes of these events with the clarity of someone who lived them just yesterday. His tale of the Battle of Manila Bay is an excellent first-hand account from a different perspective. The only thing he saw during the battle were the boots of a shipmate in the grating above him, thus his title "The Battle of Irwin's Boots." He tells of the sinking of the Memphis, a cruiser under his command. (His son, Beach, Jr., tells this in a recently published book.) Every account throughout the book is a tale told by this humble sailor that was just doing his job.
It is most incredible that nearly every important Naval and Marine Corps personality of the first half of the 20th century crossed paths with this sailor. Before they made a name for themselves later in life, he knew two future Marine Corps Commandants, four star admirals, CNO's, and Navy Secretaries. He met both Roosevelts, vice presidents, Senators, mayors and other political leaders.
The only drawback of the book (and a minor one at that) is the rather lengthy discussions about his workings in Haiti. These were important issues to the US and to the Navy in the early 1900's and Beach's impact was probably quite large. It just made for some slow reading in the middle of the book. This was not bad enough to change my rating to four stars, but I couldn't pick four-and-a-half.
His son, Edward L. Beach, Jr., (Run Silent, Run Deep) adds just enough comments to provide a little backgound without overwhelming his Dad's words.
This is an excellent autobiography of a man who truly loved the "soul of the Navy" and was very proud to serve his country.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Talented Father, Talented Son, July 27, 2003

By 

RA Fulton (Bend, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Annapolis to Scapa Flow: The Autobiography of Edward L. Beach Sr (Hardcover)

For true history buffs, this is a delight. Edward L. Beach, Jr., the author of "Run Silent, Run Deep" among others, has done a terrific job of editing and annotating his father's diary. I did not realize that both father and son were not only brave naval officers, but successful authors. As an amateur historian of the Philippine-American War, Beach Sr.'s account of the Battle of Manila Bay shed light on a mystery that has concerned a number of prior accounts of the battle: Was Dewey both reckless and lucky in evading the Spanish shore batteries on Corregidor Island when he slipped into Manila Bay? I'll leave it to the reader to discover the answer. And, I did like the section on Haiti, particularly in light of the recent history of that country.