About this item
The enthralling story of the greatest Civil War battle at sea by the award-winning and bestselling historians Phil Keith and Tom Clavin. On June 19, 1864, just off the coast of France, one of the most dramatic naval battles in history took place. On a clear day with windswept skies, the dreaded Confederate raider Alabama faced the Union warship Kearsarge in an all-or-nothing fight to the finish, the outcome of which would effectively end the threat of the Confederacy on the high seas. Authors Phil Keith and Tom Clavin introduce some of the crucial but historically overlooked players, including John Winslow, captain of the USS Kearsarge, as well as Raphael Semmes, captain of the CSS Alabama. Readers will sail aboard the Kearsarge as Winslow embarks for Europe with a set of simple orders from the secretary of the navy: "Travel to the uttermost ends of the earth, if necessary, to find and destroy the Alabama.
About the Author
Phil has a degree in History from Harvard and has done Masters work at the Naval War College and Long Island University. After graduation from Harvard Phil went directly into the Navy and became a Naval Aviator. During three combat deployments to Vietnam Phil served with distinction and was awarded, among other decorations, the Purple Heart, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Air Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal. After his wartime service he rose to the rank of Commander in the Naval Reserve and was also designated as a licensed Captain by the US Coast Guard. As a business executive he worked for two Fortune 500 firms holding several senior positions in sales and marketing. He was also a COO and CEO for four start-up technology firms specializing in the sales and marketing of high-end software products. In 1999 Phil was selected for the Executive in Residence Program at Long Island University's Business Division and for the next six years taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in business at LIU, Southampton. In 2007 Phil accepted an assignment to teach business topics and writing classes at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence. RI. Phil has authored two major non-fiction works under contract to St. Martin's Press. The first is a Vietnam book entitled "Blackhorse Riders," and is the story of Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, the 11th Armored Cavalry and a battle and rescue operation that took place in March, 1970. It is one of the most exciting stories of heroism to come from that war. "Blackhorse Riders" was the winner of the USA Book News Military History book-of-the-year for 2012; a finalist for the 2013 Colby Award and won the 2013 Silver Medal for History from the Military Writer's Society of America. The second book is entitled: "Fire Base Illingworth" and re-tells the harrowing story of a ferocious battle in the middle of the jungle in Vietnam in April, 1970, where a forward-operating Army fire base is nearly over-run and destroyed by a North Vietnamese Army regiment bent on killing or capturing every soldier. "Fire Base Illingworth" was released by St. Martin's Press on October 29, 2013.In October, 2011, Phil completed a montage of the Harvard Alumni who have been awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for valor. The book, published by Create Space from Amazon, is entitled "Crimson Valor." Eighteen Harvard alumni have earned the Medal of Honor (more than any other college or university other than West Point and the Naval Academy) . "Crimson Valor" was presented to all living Medal of Honor awardees at their 2012 gathering in Boston. Phil has completed an original e-work entitled "Missed Signals," which chronicles the events that led up to the bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in October, 2000. "Missed Signals" was published in July, 2013, under the Kindle Singles program and is also availab
