Review
"John Noone tells a robust and bold story of the Barry family, the island of Key West and its ports. It is a story of ships and the sea, of the United States Navy, the Naval Academy, piracy, wrecking and hurricanes...The author unfolds the role and history of Key West through a novel that is skillfully crafted. The Navy strongly influences the saga of the Barrys in war, peace and piracy...This is a hard to put down historical novel that affords the reader pleasurable consumption." -- Sheldon Kinney, Rear Admiral USN [Ret], Eagle Island, Sunset, Maine
"To my knowledge, this is the only historical novel of Key West and the Navy from the beginning to modern time. As a Key West historian and a retired Lieutenant Commander this story covers both of the worlds I have loved and lived in. John Noone has made it a real page turner." -- Tom Hambright, Historian, Key West, Florida
"Watch a family tree growing in the middle of an historical description our our country's growth focused around Key West and its development. Its maritime interest naturally ends up at the Naval Academy and Annapolis on the Chesapeake Bay. Great reading!" -- Bill Busek, Captain USN [Ret], Annapolis, Maryland
About the Author
Dr. Noone served in the navy during World War II, making landings in Leyte and Linguyan Gulf. His five years of active duty were followed by twenty years in the reserves. At present, he counts a fifty-five year association with the navy and is a frequent visitor in the Yard at the naval Academy. He is a member of the U.S. Naval Academy's Officers' Faculty Club.
Now retired from his professional career, Dr. Noone looks back on a life spent working with persons having physical and mental handicaps. He has been the superintendent of two residential facilites for the mentally retarded, the first Chief of Mental Retardation at the Nationa Institute for Mental Health, Executive Director of the American Association on Mental Deficiency, Administrator for the university affiliated program at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Senior Research Fellow with Hawkins and Associates.
Dr. Noone was one of the early members of the Maryland Writers' Association and served as the Association's president in 1988. He frequently contributes articles to the Association's newsletter. Dr. Noone, a native of Massachusetts, presently resides in Annapolis near the Severn River.
