by Chester G. Heran
Annapolis: The Naval Institute Press, 1996. xx, 376pp.
Illus, maps, notes, bibliog, index. $35.00. ISBN:1-55750-353-2
The first real biography of the nation’s second admiral in many years, this work provides an excellent look at the energetic, brilliant, almost eccentric Porter, one of Lincoln’s favorite people and one of the most important Union strategists in the Civil War. The author has not overlooked Porter’s wonderful sense of humor (the admiral often traded jokes with Lincoln), nor his ego, and does not overlook blunders. A useful book.