H. MICHAEL GELFAND. Sea Change at Annapolis: The United States Naval Academy, 1949-2000. Foreword by JOHN MCCAIN. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2006. Pp. xxix, 382. $34.95

Abstract

In his 1979 book Neither Athens Nor Sparta? The American Service Academies in Transition, sociologist John Lovell used an ancient Greek rivalry to help readers understand where the nation's military schools fit into the larger culture. H. Michael Gelfand takes a similarly metaphorical approach in this volume, whose title suggests shifting tides and, when spoken aloud, an invitation to bear witness. The author applies anthropological and historical techniques of research. Gelfand spent two years conducting “participatory observation” at the U.S. Naval Academy. He attended classes, ceremonies, administrative meetings, reunions, and football games. He read official records and student newspapers. He took advantage of the region's rich archives. He traveled to Wisconsin to watch the 1950s television series Men of Annapolis. He networked among graduates, faculty, and staff to gain access to personal papers and conduct more than three hundred interviews. The perspective Gelfand gained shines especially in the introductory chapter. He displays mastery not only of the Academy's history, traditions, and architecture but also of the evolution of its bureaucracy and curriculum. Throughout the rest of the book, he explores ways in which the institution responded when its traditions were challenged.