Customer Reviews

Battleship Sailor

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I couldn't lay this book down, once started. Ted Mason put me back in Hawaii during those dark days of 1940/41. He vividly describes how it was to be a sailor in the rigid "pecking order" of the "Old Navy." As a Pearl Harbor Survivor myself, he made that day come alive. More important, he reminded me of the days of the fleet at San Pedro in 1939. Read it if you have any interest in how it was to be a young bluejacket in the pre-war Navy.

This is a great look at life in the Navy just before the outbreak of World War II. Mason provides unique insight to a world that has been obscured by myth and movies over the past sixty years. It really gives a sense of a sailor's life in the old Navy, and his revisitation of the Pearl Harbor attack is simply riveting. A must-read for students of naval history!

My Dad was assigned to the USS California from 1936 until she was sunk on December 7th. The book reads just like the stories he would tell. My Dad past away Nov 2002. He spent 30 years in the Navy and most of the stories he told were when he was on the "Prune Barge". He played football and baseball on the ships team. I always wondered if the sailor Mr. Mason spoke to when he was touring the ship when first assigned was my Dad - he was a MM3 - "snipe" - worked in the engine room. It sure did sound like a response my Dad would give. One of the sailors awarded the Medal of Honor, Robert Scott (Zeke) was my fathers best friend on the California. They were "Battleship Sailors".

Mason gives straight scoop on pre WWII Navy
life. A reserve Radioman, Mason fights for
acceptance among the old salts. Packed with
hero worship, liberty tales of bordello
visits and the tragic events of Dec 7th, 1941
quayside at Ford Island. Old sailors will
smile as Mason tells his story of "growing up
in the Navy." Well told, but a bit disjointed
toward the end.

I really enjoyed this book.There is sure to be a massive wave of new found interest in the suprise attack on Pearl Harbor and the events surrounding it due to the upcoming movie, and anyone who wants to get a feel for what it was really like to be there on the deck of a battleship dodging bullets and bombs, this book is unequaled anywhere. What really makes this an outstanding book is not just the gripping account of the attack itself, but also of the time period just beforehand. Mr Mason does an excellent job of relaying the false sense of security and invincibility that we as Americans held before we were thrown headlong into the most savage and trying war in the history of mankind. Mr Mason's portrait of the life of a sailor in the days of the pre-war "Old Navy" is something to be treasured and preserved especially now that our population of veterans from that period is inexorably fading. I thought that the author could ease off on some of the "50-cent" words, as constantly having to consult your dictionary can interfere with your enjoyment of this book. Overall, a great read, and a must have for anyone interested in Pearl Harbor or naval history.

Like another reviewer, I picked this book up and could not put it down until the end. Mr. Mason is not only an excellent writer, but a superb story teller. The book opens almost like a movie: It's shortly before the Pearl Harbor raid and we are introduced to the characters and know what history will bring, but uncertain of what will happen to our narrator and his friends. The subsequent backstory is must read for anyone who is curious about pre-WWII Navy or about the old Radioman rate. In fact, I rate this a must read for any Navy Sailor today, IT or otherwise. My only missgivings with the book is I would have appreciated a few more anticdotes about Medal of Honor recipient, Chief Radioman Reeves, and that is a minor thing. This rates up there with gripping tales such as "In Harms Way", "Escape From the Deep" and "Tin Can Sailor". 5 Stars!

Mason's book is one of the best written about life in the prewar fleet. The first two thirds of the book deals with his life as a naval reserve in the Navy of the battleship admirals and career senior enlisted. He goes into unpolished accounts of what really went on during shore leaves and the entire system in place aboard ship. The last third of the book covers the attack itself, the sinking of the California, and the confusion of the initial days after the attack when a landing was expected at any moment and missing shipmates were located. One of three books by Mason, this gives a great taste of what life was like for the common sailor leading up to the war and the shock with which they greeted the Japanese attack. A must-read.

This is a very well written book about an enlisted man's life in the US Navy before and during World War 2. It really detailed all aspects of Theodore Mason's time as a Navy enlisted man aboard the USS California. It was interesting and exciting to read.

It's been some time since I read this book. If I remember correctly, Ted Mason was stationed aboard the USS Arizona and was on board the Arizona when she went down in Pearl Harbor. This book is his first-hand account of his experiences leading up to and including that event. Having been in the Navy and also having been stationed at Pearl Harbor for several years, I thought it was very good. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a first-hand, 'bird's eye' view of a major historical event and not a relatively dry, textbook account

This is an excellent first-person account of the life of an enlisted man aboard an American battleship before and during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Mason, a professional writer, writes from the point-of-view of his youthful self. His writing is organized, logical and unforgiving toward those he feels let him down as a sailor or as a man. One of the best first-person accounts of life in the old Navy, where form was more important than function.