The galloping ghost : the extraordinary life of submarine captain Eugene Fluckey

Eugene Fluckey was one of the great naval heroes of World War II.

His exploits as captain of the submarine USS Barb revolutionised undersea warfare and laid the groundwork for the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine fleet that today is the primary deterrent and capability of the United States against nuclear attack.

Now a retired Rear Admiral living in Annapolis, Maryland, he is the most decorated living American, having earned numerous presidential, congressional, and military honours, including the Medal of Honor and four Navy Crosses.

In the war against Japan, Fluckey fired the first ballistic missiles from a submarine, blew up a train after landing submariners-turned-saboteurs on mainland Japan in 1945 and sank more tonnage than any other U.S. submarine skipper, including an aircraft carrier, a cruiser and a destroyer.

The title of this biography is the legendary submariner's nickname,"Galloping Ghost", a reference to the hit-and-run tactics that left his enemies baffled about the direction of his attacks.

Here is the admiral's story, told with the exclusive access to his personal papers and based on interviews with him, his family, Barb shipmates, official Navy documents, and the recollections of his contemporaries.

Carl LaVO spent years researching the subject, and offers not only a dramatic, action-filled account of Fluckey's wartime experiences, but also a lively description of his life before and after that captures the infectious optimism contributing to his many successes.