A Call to Arms
By William Hammond
Naval Institute Press, 2012
256 pages, hardcover
A Call to Arms is the fourth novel in William Hammond’s historical fiction series following the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Mass.
Primarily set in the Mediterranean Sea during the First Barbary War, it chronicles the growth of the USN and its then state-of-the-art frigates as they battled pirates on the high seas.
The plot is fast moving, going from New England, to the Mediterranean and beyond. Hammond weaves in historical events such as the naval bombardment of Tripoli, the burning of USS Philadelphia, and USS Intrepid’s last voyage. As a work of fiction the book is a captivating narrative, but it is also a fascinating look back at an important chapter in our naval history by a gifted writer and historian.
