Borneman demonstrates comprehensive command of published and unpublished sources, fingertip understanding of the period, and a polished writing style in this unique collective biography of four men who... shaped the modern U.S. Navy. Publisher’s Weekly

Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Fleet Admiral. With vastly different personalities and methods, Chester W. Nimitz, William F. Halsey, Jr., William D. Leahy, and Ernest J. King nonetheless built the modern United States Navy and won World War II. Interacting with one another over four decades, Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King played critical roles in the defining events and new weapons that made victory possible, including submarines, aircraft carriers, and naval air power.

Nimitz, King, and Spruance

USS Indianapolis, July 18, 1944

• “Not since the heyday of Samuel Eliot Morison has a historian painted such a fine portrait....” — Douglas Brinkley

• “Borneman has written a rousing tale of victory at sea.” — Evan Thomas

• “Borneman’s decision to tell the gripping story of America’s war at sea through the prism... of her four greatest admirals is inspired.” — Andrew Roberts

• “This is Walter Borneman at his best. The portrait of the forgotten admiral, Leahy, is worth the book.” — Thomas Fleming