Doug Tennant has written Single Up primarily to entertain. Drawing heavily on his own experiences in the Navy, aboard submarine, and as a feckless college drop-out, he uses Dave Roberts to tell a witty coming-of-age tale based in the time centered on 1961. In this book, Dave fails in his initial attempt at engineering school. Although he is clearly willing to work hard to master the material, he lacks the discipline to perform consistently in an...