A Rage for Glory: The Life and Times of CommodoreStephen Decatur, USN,

Authors

Wade G. Dudley

Abstract

Accomplished historian and author James de Kay captures the essence of an age, as well as the spirit of a man, in his biography of Commodore Stephen Decatur. This finely written narrative, aimed at a general readership, may lack the scholarly apparatus expected of his- torical monographs, but it certainly does not lack the scholarship and analysis that is the hallmark of de Kay’s work. Yet if this book sometimes appears to be a cross between an action-thriller and a hagiography, there is a reason. Decatur’s active quest for fame and glory, as well as the deep sense of honor that would clip short his thread of life at age forty-one, earned the commo- dore a place in the hearts of his coun- trymen perhaps more appropriate for a saint.

Recommended Citation

Dudley, Wade G. (2005) "A Rage for Glory: The Life and Times of CommodoreStephen Decatur, USN,," Naval War College Review: Vol. 58: No. 1, Article 22.
Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol58/iss1/22