UNITED STATES AUTHOR
James F. Calvert
James F. Calvert was born and raised in Cleveland. He attended Oberlin College for two years before receiving an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated in 1942 and was assigned to attend the Naval Submarine School at the Naval Submarine Base New London. After graduating, he served for three years on the submarine USS Jack. In 1945 he was assigned to serve as executive officer of the USS Haddo (SS-255). After World War II, he was an instructor in the Torpedo Data Computer at the Submarine School. He was then assigned to serve as executive officer on the USS Charr (SS-328), the USS Harder (SS-568), and the USS Trigger (SS-564). After training by the Atomic Energy Commission, Calvert was assigned to the nuclear-powered USS Skate (SSN-578), which became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole in 1958. Calvert rose to vice admiral and in 1968 he named as superintendent of the United States Naval Academy. He wrote four books he wrote, including Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine, and Surface at the Pole: The Extraordinary Voyages of the U.S.S. Skate.
The cold wind whistled by my ears, and I was grateful for the heavy Navy watch cap I had snuggled down over them.
— from Silent Running
Most acclaimed
Surface at the Pole
The nuclear-powered USS Skate was the first submarine to break the surface of the North Pole. Author James Calvert captained the Skate and his book details a series of exploratory underwater voyages north before he and his crew finally found a way to the top and triumphantly smashed through the polar ice-cap on 17 March 1959.
Best Sellers
Condensed versions of “The Tower” by Richard Martin Stern, and “All Creatures Great and Small” by James Herriot The Tower The World Tower Building rose, slim, graceful, dominating the skyline of Manhattan – a miracle of construction, as disasterproof as the finest architects and engineers could make it. On the day of its dedication, as a glittering cast of VIPs gathers in its Tower Room, an architect learns that there may be electrical flaws in the structure. And then a deranged act of violence threatens catastrophe. All Creatures Great and Small James Herriot was a young veterinary surgeon when he went to the remote Yorkshire Dales to treat animals large and small. He soon discovered that calving could tax the vet as much as the cow. The profession was still relatively primitive. For some complaints, cold water and Epsom salts were the only known remedies. Now Dr. Herriot sets his experiniece down with the skill of a natural-born narrator: The Pekingese who sent out social invitations, the beloved old horses in a sun-dappled meadow, the runaway pigs, Herriot’s own courtship, which began in Yorshire mud and dancing pumps. This warm, often hilarious, thoroughly enjoyable story captures the beauty of moorland and mountain, the plain speech and thought of the Dale farmers, and the daily communion between man and beast. -- Description from inside front cover