The Monitor Boys: The Crew of the Union's First Ironclad Hardcover – October 26, 2015 by Director Newport News Museums John V Quarstein (Author) (The History Press)

This is an excellent review of the history of the USS Monitor. It is centered around the men who became its crew and their experiences, such as we have left to us, aboard this ironclad. Also included is a nice background review as to how the Monitor came to be as well as its famous opponent, the Merrimack. The prose is straight forward and fact filled without being overbearing with the details. An easy, exciting read as well as a short one. The author is fair and non-judgemental with the leading characters and certainly has no "agenda" or axe to grind regarding his subject. A pity that the only photos we have are exterior, and almost all were taken on the same July day! There are many short biographies included and a lenghty, what happened to who at the book's end. I would have loved a more detailed description of the interior spaces, but what is presented is certainly adequate. I can recomend this book without reservation.

The United States Navy's first ironclad warship rose to glory during the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, but there's much more to know about the USS Monitor. Historian John Quarstein has painstakingly compiled bits of historical data gathered through years of research to present the first comprehensive picture of the lives of the officers and crew who served faithfully in an iron ship unlike any vessel previously known.

"The Monitor Boys," a moniker the men gave themselves, is a reflection of how these hundred-odd souls were bound together through storms, battles, boredom and disaster. Just living aboard the ironclad took uncommon effort and fortitude. Their perseverance through the heat, stress and un-seaworthiness that defined life on the ship makes the study of those who dared it a worthy endeavor. Many recognized that they were part of history. Moreover, the Monitor Boys were agents in the change of naval warfare.

Following Quarstein's compelling narrative is a detailed chronology as well as appendices including crew member biographies, casualties and statistics and dimensions of the ship. Readers can dive into the world of the Monitor and meet William Flye, George Geer and the rest of the men who risked everything by going to sea in the celebrated "cheesebox on a raft" and became the hope of a nation wracked by war.