Row, Row, Row Your Boat

By Patricia Linder

"Get down, Jim. He has a gun." Alone and under siege in their quarters, the author could only watch the television screen, which showed her husband being assaulted by a mob of angry Chinese students... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 140336754X
• ISBN13: 9781403367549
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: 1st Book Library
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 1.07 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Behind Every "Good Military Man" There Stands "A Great Woman"!

Did you ever wonder what life would be like for the admiral's wife and family, or for all officers for that matter? "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is an insider's look at that world and the author happens to be the admiral's wife. Patricia Linder uses her wonderful writing skill and style much like a great novelist to paint in words and emotions that picture for us of what life is like for a naval officer's spouse. Her memoirs run from the late 1940's through the time her husband retires after having fought in three wars and 37 years of service. Patricia lets us feel what she went through waiting for her husband while he was flying missions in Korea and over North Vietnam over a decade later. She allows us to follow her emotionally as she tries to raise her children alone and to be a good supportive military wife. It is a tale of great personal sacrifices and trials but one she took on like a good soldier without too many major complaints. The author endures moves across country, the uprooting of her children from schools and having to face many things all alone without her husband's help or support. She is a trooper for sure and she gets nothing but my fullest respect. The telling of her story unfolds like a love story even though she does not gush over and make that issue obvious in her story telling. It is in the background of what she writes and you can feel and sense it in their relationship. This is a book that all family members could read. It is a well written accounting of her life as a supportive military spouse and after reading her story you will understand that was no small act to pull off. I recommend this book to all military families to read. There is much wisdom gleamed from decades of military experience and living. I give this book the MWSA's HIGHEST BOOK RATING - FIVE STARS!

Don't miss it!

Rear Admiral James B. Linder's brilliant career spanned thirty-six years. By his side, stood his wife Pat, who handled the demands and challenges of their Navy life with great aplomb. As the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the threat of a Chinese Communist invasion of Taipei unfolded, these events reshaped and changed the direction of their lives. Admiral Linder's career moved forward at a steady pace. While he was stationed far away from home, Pat's ever-present sense of humor, and her unique determination to make any situation an even better one, gave the Admiral permission to "carry on" without unnecessary concern for his family's well being. Her honest and humorous highlights of their long Naval experience bring laughter and tears. Her efforts to "row, row, row," whether in an attempt to reach her husband in spirit to support him in his endeavors,or to actually stand beside him to offer her support, were accomplished "without making waves," a no-no for Navy wives. This was a small miracle in itself.The author is an extraordinary woman who penned a beautiful blueprint of Navy life - possibly a "Navy Wife 101." She lived it; she loved it. Pat's wit and wisdom are evident on every page. It is a book to be enjoyed by all, young and old. It is a book that is not bogged down by unending, detailed descriptive passages, but one that is filled with honest accounts of a career and a marriage that endured happily for many years. Pat, please do not let this be your last book!

A WINNER FOR ALL

I really enjoyed this book. Having been a military wife and now involved in education at the University of California, Santa Barbara, it felt both familiar and new. Ms. Linder has had an exciting life and knows how to bring us into it. Her Taiwan experiences are described with an accuracy that is spell binding, particularly if the reader has an interest in US/Chinese/Taiwanese politics and how it got to where it is now. I happened to have been there some years earlier in a more comfortable time. She knows exactly where to inject some humor to keep the narrative zipping along. The book snaps up the reader's attention and never really lets it go. I am anxious to see her next book and heartily recommend Row, Row, Row Your Boat to any and all ages and persuasions. For a really good read, buy this book, you won't regret it!Tippi LawrenceUniversity of California Santa BarbaraSummer Sessions, Manager, Outreach Programs

Informative and funny

What a delightful, informative, funny book! Sure, this is THE book for Navy (and all military) wives, I can just imagine, how they nod, laugh, and probably cry remembering. But it might be even more insightful for people like me who didn't know the first thing about life "in the trenches". After reading this book I'll never look the same at military personnel - and especially their families.(Did I mention the book is funny?)

Reality!

When you begin reading 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', you soon think that it is the detailing of the life of a Navy wife and you may conclude, dull, dull, dull. Wrong, wrong, wrong! After the first few pages, you realize that you in fact, have a 'page turner' in hand.. Linder spent thirty plus years looking after her Naval officer husband and their two children. In addition, as her husband advanced in rank and assumed command positions, she essentially became the proxy mother of the wives of his connnands. This could involve everything from organizing wives' clubs to offering advice or even to consoling a wife who had just been informed that her husband had been shot down in combat. The possibility of someone coming to inform her that her husband was lost was also on her mind on more than one occasion. In addition to these assumed responsibilities, she found time to teach school, do volunteer work for the Red Cross, work for a Congressman in Washington D.C., volunteer for work with the White House staff, etc., etc. And this doesn't even begin to cover the routine things like moving every two years, getting children into new schools, taking care of things that normally would have fallen to her husband, had he not been at sea. Pat Linder writes of a life filled with love, worry, challenge, with the satisfactiion of many accomplishments, and writes about it all with an inviting style. To say that she is an unusually capable person would be a gross understatement. Her book is informative, is enjoyable reading and, as stated earlier, is a page turner. Try it. You'll like it!