Another great day at sea

Another great day at sea life aboard the USS George H.W. Bush

Geoff Dyer2022
Part travelogue, part social observation, the author, who was the oldest, second tallest and most self-conscious person on the boat, presents an entertaining look at life on board an American aircraft carrier and the military personal who must adhere to a regimen defined by service and restraint. "As a child Geoff Dyer spent long hours making and blotchily painting model fighter planes. So the adult Dyer jumped at the chance of a residency aboard an aircraft carrier. Another Great Day at Sea chronicles Dyer's experiences on the USS George H.W. Bush as he navigates the routines and protocols of "carrier-world," from the elaborate choreography of the flight deck through miles of walkways and hatches to kitchens serving meals for a crew of five thousand to the deafening complexity of catapult and arresting gear. Meeting the Captain, the F-18 pilots and the dentists, experiencing everything from a man-overboard alert to the Steel Beach Party, Dyer guides us through the most AIE (acronym intensive environment) imaginable. A lanky Englishman (could he really be both the tallest and the oldest person on the ship?) in a deeply American world, with its constant exhortations to improve, to do better, Dyer brilliantly records the daily life on board the ship, revealing it to be a prism for understanding a society where discipline and conformity, dedication and optimism, become forms of self-expression."--
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Photo of Will Vunderink
Will Vunderink@willvunderink
2 stars
Dec 18, 2023