
Mad Jack Percival
Legend of the Old Navy
James Ellis(Author)
Naval Institute Press
Will be published approx. on 1. November 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-68247-343-6 (ISBN)
Description
The colorful Captain John ""Mad Jack"" Percival was a legend in his time. Known as a seaman of uncommon ability and fearlessness, he led such an extraordinary life that he drew the attention of the famous novelists Hawthorne, Melville, and Michener. The fact that his first and last ships are national shrines has only enhanced his reputation. Percival's naval career began in 1797 when he was impressed into British naval service aboard the HMS Victory and ended in 1846 after taking the USS Constitution on her only around-the-world cruise. This book draws from unpublished journals, letters, and logs to provide previously unknown details about his adventures and the formative years of the U.S. Navy.
Hailing from Cape Cod and recognized by Congress for meritorious action in the War of 1812, Mad Jack fought against the French and British and had the Constitution off the coast of Mexico when war with that country broke out. In between he chased West Indies pirates and Globe mutineers, tussled with South Pacific chieftains, policed distant American whalers and merchantmen, charted unknown waters, quarreled with missionaries, educated and trained midshipmen, and skirmished with local forces in what is now Vietnam. This work is just as entertaining as the tall tales about this heroic figure spun by generations of seamen, but it is completely true.
Hailing from Cape Cod and recognized by Congress for meritorious action in the War of 1812, Mad Jack fought against the French and British and had the Constitution off the coast of Mexico when war with that country broke out. In between he chased West Indies pirates and Globe mutineers, tussled with South Pacific chieftains, policed distant American whalers and merchantmen, charted unknown waters, quarreled with missionaries, educated and trained midshipmen, and skirmished with local forces in what is now Vietnam. This work is just as entertaining as the tall tales about this heroic figure spun by generations of seamen, but it is completely true.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Annopolis
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
517 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68247-343-6 (9781682473436)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ellis served in the Air Force during the Korean War, and graduated from the Honors College, Michigan State University. Following E.B. White's advice, Ellis spent ""the first forty years of his life doing something else"" before turning to writing. He headed the Crime Analysis Unit of the St. Louis Police Department; worked as a senior researcher for good government organizations in Hartford and Boston; and headed the Planning Bureau of the Mass. State Police. After, he worked in management positions with the U.S. Justice, Treasury, and Labor departments and was appointed a New England regional director of the Department of the Interior. In addition to his biography of Captain ""Mad Jack"" Percival and histories of the War of 1812 and the Cape Cod village of West Barnstable, he is a frequent contributor to periodicals and professional journals, and he contributed to two police administration textbooks.