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I devoured Ian Toll’s first two books about the naval war in the Pacific during World War II, so I thought I’d try his earlier book about the earliest days of the United States Navy. I don’t know if you have any interest in early American history or in naval warfare, but if you do, this is a great read. Toll is one of those historians who can bring history to life like a good novel, and that is no easy task. He covers the era made famous by the musical Hamilton, but adds some layers to the story that the musical missed. (There are, for instance, zero cabinet rap battles). He also covers the early naval war against the Barbary pirates and several thrilling accounts of early naval battles against the French and the British. What I found most interesting and helpful was the early and vicious rancor between the political parties of the day, Federalists and Republicans (not related to today’s Republicans). We live in such a polarized time right now, we tend to think that surely it has never been this bad. Wrong! Party politics has been threatening to tear our country apart since its inception, and has done so on at least one occasion (the Civil War, obvs.) Adams, Jefferson and Madison faced every bit as much bitter in-fighting, partisan hyperbole, and talk of certain doom as we see today. Fist fists in Congress. Duels. Name-calling. Cries of fake news. They had it all. I guess that’s . . . reassuring? Either that, or it just makes me wonder how we ever made it this far as a nation. At any rate, this is a fascinating look at how the U.S. Navy started from very humble beginnings — just six frigates, one of which is docked right down the street from my house in Boston: the U.S.S. Constitution. And now I know all about her story!