At times reflective and personal, Woodward imparts his perceptions, fears, and reactions to seemingly disastrous events. ... Read moreHe also reveals the steely logic he was famous for as he explains naval strategy and planning. His eyewitness accounts of the sinking of HMS Sheffield and the Battle of Bomb Alley are memorable.

Many Britons considered Woodward the cleverest man in the navy. French newspapers called him "Nelson." Margaret Thatcher said he was precisely the right man to fight the world's first computer war. Without question, the admiral's memoir makes a significant addition to the official record. At the same time it provides readers with a vivid portrayal of the world of modern naval warfare, where equipment is of astonishing sophistication but the margins for human courage and error are as wide as in the days of Nelson.