The story is told through the experiences of a boy who helped build Old Ironsides in the Boston shipyards, and later sailed on her as a recruit of the new U.S. Navy, first to prove her might against the Barbary pirates, later against the British in the War of 1812. The bloody pirate battles, the rush of wind in the sails, the loud report of heavy shells, all are there to please any boy who revels in stories of the days of sailing ships and battles. Gordon Grant (no relation of the author) has done grand line drawings and a beautiful portrait of the ship jacket in color.

From Foster's Crossing, Antiques and Books, Sandpoint Idaho, June 2016.