Bull Halsey

Rating:
Summary: A fantastic biography of Halsey's life and career
Review: A biography that retains both the levity of the man and the seriousness of the situation. Potter definitely deserves praise for this great biography.

Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment
Review: I purchased this book expecting it to be on a par with the biographies of Douglas MacArthur, Chester Nimitz, George S. Patton Jr. and Dwight D. Eisenhower that have been written by such authors as William Manchester, Carlos D'Este, Stephen Ambrose and yes, E.B. Potter. Needless to say, I was disappointed after reading this book.

The organization of the book was spotty in the beginning, alternating between the events surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and afterwards and Halsey's early years. I would have preferred it had Potter begun with Halsey's geneaological background and progressed through to his years at Annapolis, his years commanding destroyers, the time he learned how to fly (even though his eyesight did not meet Navy standards), and his leadership during World War II. Or the book could have opened with Halsey issuing his first battle order before the attack on Pearl Harbor and then going to a straight narrative (without shifting back and forth between Pearl Harbor and his early years). The organization of the book, as it is, distracts from the portrait that Potter is trying to paint of his subject, which is colorful enough.

But Potter doesn't let the person of Admiral Halsey truly step forth. There is much that I would have liked to have learned, which this book does not answer. For example, what was his family ancestry? What was his family life like? Why did he develop his prejudices against the Japanese, and did he have any others?

The author has merely scratched the surface of his subject with this work. As this book demonstrates, Halsey was popular with the sailors and naval officers, and did much to guarantee the Allied victory in the Pacific, yet more than once he was reckless with the lives of his sailors and naval officers. A full biography of Halsey,in the style of AMERICAN CAESAR or PATTON: A GENIUS FOR WAR has yet to be written.

Rating:
Summary: NOT disappointed!
Review: I read all three of EBPotter's naval biographies and found the Halsey biography to be on par with Nimitz and Burke. While not as lengthy as other Halsey biographies, I could not put the book down because I found it so interesting and compelling.

Rating:
Summary: Another masterpiece!
Review: In keeping with Professor Potter's work about Admiral Nimitz, this, IMHO, is the definitive work about one of the most controversial admirals in naval history. I consider this book as a THE reference work about Halsey.

Rating:
Summary: Very Enjoyable
Review: Kept me interested from cover to cover. E.B. Potter does an excellent job of bringing history to life with this biography of Halsey.