History is replete with lost wars, often caused by rivalries between top decision makers over strategies, type of munitions, tactics, and of course, political turf wars.  It is refreshing to read a book which outlines how five different men, all driven (by patriotism, some also by glory) managed to create the most powerful navy in the history of the world and use it in a manner which contributed to the total victory over the forces of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.  As the book focuses on these five men, the actions of the hundreds of thousands who served under them and were at the “sharp end of the stick” are not covered, but one is struck by the force of their personalities and how those personalities much have inspired many of those lower down the ladder.