The Power and the Glory is the third novel in William C. Hammond's
rousing nautical fiction series. This volume is set in the late 1790s
during the Quasi-War with France and offers listeners a look at the new
American Navy during the Age of Fighting Sail. Following in the wake of
his previous novels, A Matter of Honor and For Love of Country, it
features the adventures of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham,
Massachusetts, and an ever-expanding cast of characters--some real, some
fictional--that includes Lt. Richard Cutler, along with Capt. Thomas
Truxtun, Capt. Silas Talbot, and other naval heroes personifying the
best of American honor and courage as they confront French pirates off
the coast of Nantucket and heavily armed French frigates in the
Caribbean.
Hammond packs his book with electrifying sea battles and daring
challenges to French colonial rule in Haiti and the West Indies. He also
offers captivating glimpses into the everyday life of the era, from the
bedroom of the Cutler clapboard home in Hingham, to the family's
sugarcane plantation in Barbados, to Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's flagship
in Jamaica. And at the center of all the excitement, passion, and
intrigue are two of the finest frigates ever constructed: USS
Constellation and her sister ship, USS Constitution. Lauded for his
careful research, attention to detail, and thorough knowledge of the
ways of the sea, Hammond brings history alive while telling a rollicking
good tale.
