Sense of Honor

by James Webb

Book Overview

A fascinating portrayal of a gung-ho first classman's campaign to shepherd an unprepared plebe through the Academy's complex and unforgiving ethos. It stands as a testament to those whose devotion to duty, honor, and country is only strengthened by their willingness to question it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557509174
• ISBN13: 9781557509178
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

In the shadow of Vietnam

"A Sense of Honor," the novel by James Webb, tells a story of life at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis and is set in 1968. Webb looks at the fiercely regimented life of the school's midshipman, who prepare to become Navy and Marine Corps officers as the Vietnam War rages on. The book jacket notes that Webb is himself a graduate of the Naval Academy and a highly decorated Marine. The main characters in the novel include the following. Bill Fogarty is a first class (senior) midshipman; he is a tough, disciplined man who boxes and aspires to be a Marine Corps officer. John Dean is a fourth class (freshman) midshipman; he's academically brilliant, but also a whiny misfit who enrages the upperclassmen. Ted Lenahan is a Marine Corps captain, a combat veteran of Vietnam whose job is to mentor midshipman. These and other characters are among the elements that make this a gripping novel. Webb has crafted a vivid and revealing portrait of Annapolis life--the rituals and slang, as well as relationships among midshipmen, academic faculty, and officer mentors. Through his characters Webb asks piercing questions about leadership and character. Particularly interesting is his presentation of a contrast between "technocrats" and "warriors" in the officer corps. Webb captures the pain, loneliness, frustration, pride, and triumph of military life. He evokes a sense of the midshipman forming a "tribe," a sort of highly specialized subculture within the larger military culture. Although over 20 years old, this book remains powerful and relevant as a new generation of midshipman continue to learn and train in the shadow of the war on terror.

Awesome

Being a huge fan of military colleges, I was pleased as punch at finding this book. I have never been to Annapolis neither do I know anyone who has gone there. But I can not help but feel that this is what it really must have been like to attend the school at least in the 1960's ... Anyway some of the reasons I feel that this is an accurate description of the school is that James Webb is a decorated member of the military and one of the schools most illustrious graduates. He isn't some disgruntled man who wants to get back at the school by writing a bitter memoir as is the case with Lucien Truscott "Dress Grey" (based on his time at West Point). Another thing I loved about this book is how Webb rips off the shinny veneer of Annapolis being an elitist institution. Too many times when you read a book about the service academies the author makes it look like paradise on earth. There is none of this in a Sense of Honor. Yes you can get the sense that while Annapolis is a great school it is certainly not perfect and without its probblems. I think that this book is one of the most balanced books I have ever read. A Sense of Honor basically covers three stages of men who have attended Annapolis. There is Ted Lenehan a marine corps officer and Annapolis grad who has returned to the school as Tactical officer after being injured in Vietnam. Bill Fogarty a gung ho fourth year or first class midshipman who though he sometimes complains about the life he has to endure at Annapolis is whole-heartedly devouted to the military and can not abide those who are not ship shape. John Dean a first year midshipmen or plebe who has transfered to Annapolis simply for the "education" he hates the military life but by the end of the story he finds out what he is made of. The story takes place over the period of about at week, but amazingly Webb seems to cover every facet of the school its traditions, to the pranks that the mids play on their commanding officers.Why this book has not been made into a film yet is beyond me. It really is that good.

A must read for all those involved in today's Navy

Incredible book. As a Citadel graduate, I am partial to Pat Conroy's The Lords of Discipline as the pentultimate account of life in a military college, but Webb's work is neck and neck. Where Conroy takes four years and multiple twisting plots, Webb takes only five days out of the life of the Naval Academy to make his points. The struggle between the warriors and the technocrats that Webb writes about in the late sixties still exists today. As an member of the faculty as an active duty officer in the mid 90's, I can attest that each of Webb's characters were alive and well in the Yard during that time, only the backdrop was the tamer Gulf War, as opposed to the Vietnam conflict. The war between the "geeks" and the "grunts" rages on. The military is more apt to recruit the skinny kids with the 4.0's in computer science (Webb's John Dean) than the all-around, rough and tough, swashbuckling athletic warriors (Bill Fogarty). Cadets and midshipman are starved for the leaderhip provided by Fogarty and CAPT Leneman, yet the deck is stacked against them by the CDR Pratt's of the world.A must read...I dare you to put it down.

An invaluable insight into the soul of military life

I've read this excellent work three times - each reading has provided me with inspiration and valuable perspective for different stages of my life. I first read this novel as a high school student in 1986, when I was pursuing an appointment to the Academy. I went to my local library in New York and checked out what proved to be the only book about the Naval Academy. It provided me with the "big picture" prior to immersion in the hell of Plebe Year. Boy was I glad that I had read it - braced up against a bulkhead in the 120 degree heat of a "hotbox" (metal connector between two wings of Bancroft Hall) holding my M-14 straight out ahead of me, desperately hoping that I wouldn't be the "weak link" in my platoon to drop his piece. Later on in Plebe year, I read it again - it gave me the resolve to persevere through the "dark ages" - and survive a solo comearound with the Brigade Commander. Finally, I read it after graduating the Academy in '92, and it gave me a completely different view on what I'd just survived - not as a Plebe, desperately trying to make it to Herndon, but as a leader with responsibilities to do the right thing - damn the consequences... and it also allowed me to finally understand the original dedication that is completely cryptic to all but Academy graduates. This is a perfect gift (that, until this edition, has long been out of print) for anyone contemplating attending the Naval Academy or for someone who needs to garner an understanding about the neccessary "harshness" of military life.

Gritty commentary on the U.S. social change of the late 60s

I read this book first - at the "invitation" of my First Set "firstie", Scott Brooks - during my 1982 plebe summer at the US Naval Academy. I come back to reread it about every 5 years; it takes me back to a time which still both saddens and thrills me. The book's description of ordinary life at Bancroft is enough to entertain; yet the contrast in Dean and Fogarty provides a gritty method of exposing the difference in thought among men only three years removed, men developing during the social upheaval of the 60's. It is hard to determine without some thought who (Dean or Fogarty) possesses the "moral high ground". Perhaps both are right. More certainly, both are flawed. In any case, the story clearly gave notice of the "shifting plates" vis-a-vis the "old guard/new guard" military. In any case, it is a story whom anybody associated with Annapolis could instantly understand; on the other hand, those with no affiliation with the service academies will read Webb's story and come away with an appreciation of both the sacrifice, suffering and intense pride of those who chose this "type" of education.