Sense of Honor

Excellent read

Well-written and insightful in a difficult time

While this book is a novel, and all the characters imaginary, many of the scenes and circumstances were very close to real events. Some of the characters certainly resembled real people, or were composites of several persons at the Naval Academy in the late 60's and early 70;s. It describes the lot of Plebes during the transitional period between the legal termination of the hazing system and the actual end of hazing. The class of 1972 was the last to suffer under the hazing system but there were certainly many who felt the old system was better than the new Plebe Indoctrination (PI) system. Reverberations from the old system were still apparent to some members of the class of 1976 and probably some later classes. The book showed how the PI system with integrated with the academic curriculum and sports. Upper class Midshipmen and non-faculty officers often winnowed out "unsuitable" plebes who were academically or athletically proficient. Of course, the rub was defining "suitability". Many of the alumni officers felt the PI system lacked the most useful tools available to correct or remove Plebes who didn't fit the mold of the ideal Naval Officer. Mr. Webb demonstrated how the system was manipulated or outright violated to cause the resignation or removal of unwanted Plebes. It is s good read and it will evoke memories of the Academy for alumni of that era.

Eventhough this book takes place in 1968, and things may have changed since then. It is a must read for someone interested in attending the Naval Academy, it gives you an idea of what life is like there as a midshipman.

My son has accepted an appointment to the USNA, so, as a parent, I wanted to get a look inside what he might expect. I've read this and several other books on the plebe year, so it sounds like the experiences are relatively "normal" for a plebe. Some things in this book still puzzle me, like how a plebe got to the dark ages and was still giving excuses, and how in only a short part of a week he finally gets it. The ending was a bit disappointing as it seemed to say the values of society will triumph over the time tested values of the academy, and the 40 years since the time memorialized in this book puts the lie to that conclusion. However, if you want to get a good read with a weak plot on what a plebe is going through, this may be a good choice for you. Otherwise, try the Return of Philo T. McGiffin instead for a somewhat more humorous view of many of the same sort of things. If you are a parent who wants your child to apply, you may not want to read this until you have had a chance to read something like "Brief Points" that help you understand what is being accomplished, rather than start with something that shows the sheer hell the plebes go through. Another thing that was really our of place was the prelude with Dean spotting his first year nemesis. The book appears to be trying (weakly) to make the point that the responsibility passes on from one generation of plebe to the next, but it doesn't work well. So, four stars instead of five.

This is a hard core read and a good one. I was Air Force and after reading this - I could say I made the right choice for me. The Academy is destined and designed for those with an inherent discipline to be the best and drives home the sacrifices and pain a solder endures. Some can push past the pain. This book is a wide lens to the making and breaking of a solder. While fictional - it does a good job to take the reader on an endless journey of tough decisions and living with those choices. It's not a romantic view of this life - that is for the movies to do. Senator Webb thanks - I just purchased another book

I read this book back in the 70's shortly after it was written. It was a big deal among many of my close friends because the book was about us. I was a plebe at Annapolis in 1968, the timeframe of the book, and it describes life there to perfection. We could actually identify a lot of the characters from their descriptions. The names were changed, but we all knew who was who. I often read stories or reports about things I participated in and usually think the writer got it second hand and didn't understand anything. Not Webb. He lived it, he's an astute observer and talented enough to bring it to life. A must read if you want to know what Annapolis was really like.

This book is loosely based on our senior year at the US Naval Academy in 1967 - 1968. The names have been changed (to protect . . . ) but the story is well choreographed. The boxing championship was in 1967 during our Junior year and was between the author (the Hon Jim Webb) and Ollie North. The senior who was kicked out for hazing a plebe was actually in another class (1967), but we were there and it was a bitter-sweet situation to see someone who had put in 3-1/2 years be booted out so soon before graduation. Good book, a definite read for anyone who is considering applying to any service academy.

Having studied at the Royal Military College of Canada (Canadian equivalent of the U.S. service academies) a few years after the time when this story is set, I really enjoyed the book, and could personally relate to much of it. I could almost take off the names of the characters, and substitute the names of guys I knew in real life. If you admire James Webb - or even if you don't - this book is definitely worth a read,