by Herman Wouk
First published 1992
Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg takes command of the USS Caine, a decrepit minesweeper operating in the Pacific theater during World War II. His erratic behavior and paranoid leadership style alienate the crew and officers. When Queeg breaks down during a typhoon, executive officer Steve Maryk relieves him of command with support from communications officer Tom Keefer. The action splits the ship between those who believe Queeg was unfit for duty and those who view the relief as mutiny. Willie Keith, a young ensign from an affluent background, must choose sides as the crisis unfolds. The officers face a court martial that will determine whether their actions constituted justified relief of an incompetent commander or criminal mutiny. Wouk examines the moral complexities of military authority, the weight of command decisions under extreme pressure, and the human cost of war on both leaders and subordinates.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, military-fiction, action
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Pacific, USS Caine
Period: World War II
537 pages · Paperback · Little, Brown Paperbacks
Content warnings: violence