An excellent read that is brought to life by the various personal accounts unearthed by the author, who served as the Olympia museum's historian/curator from 1965-75.

Eighty pages of this 277-page book are rightfully devoted to the Olympia's halcyon years associated with George Dewey and the naval victory at Manila Bay, giving an added dimension to the more conventional accounts of the Spanish-American War and its immediate aftermath. The fact that this ship could remain in service for 27 years in an era of constant naval technology change was an accomplishment and a credit to the ship's leaders and crews.

This book only takes the Olympia story to 1999. Unfortunately the ships's problems as a historical ship revealed in this volume have only deepened over the last couple of decades. The problems of historical ship maintenance and management have only gotten worse in the years that have given us 9/11 and the COVID virus. Public perceptions and the place of historical ships in today's culture play an influential role on their financial viability. As the accomplishments of these ships and the crews who manned them fade further in the national memory, can these ships even be saved? One wonders how much longer Dewey's flagship will last. ( )