Annapolis Autumn: Life, Death, And Literature At The U.S. Naval Academy

What really goes on behind the wall that surrounds the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis? What are all those midshipmen, future officers in the U.S. Naval and Marine Corps and leaders of our society, thinking as they stand in neat ranks at the parades beloved by tourists? What are we actually educating them to do?
In Annapolis Autumn, Bruce Fleming captures the sights, sounds, colors, and conversations of this tradition-steeped institution. For their other classes, the cadets learn how to assemble guns, control armored vehicles, man battleships, and kill other human beings. Nothing is ever less than "outstanding, Sir!" In English class, however, Fleming introduces his students to nuance and subtext, to the gay poets of World War I, and to the idea that not every piece of literature is designed to be "motivational." Sharing stories from his twenty years at the Academy, and contrasting Annapolis with St. John's College across the street (home to the famed Great Books curriculum), Fleming explores questions about teaching, the ultimate purpose of higher education, and the labels of "liberal" versus "conservative" - questions made all the more gripping at a time when many of his students will graduate from the classroom to the battlefield.

Bruce Fleming is a professor of English at the U.S. Naval Academy.