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MWSA Review
In his book The Master Chief's Sea Stories, Vol 1, Master Chief Johnny J. Moye, USN retired, has given us a large dose of career and leadership advice captured inside a memoir focused on his first four years in the Navy. Chief Moye kept a daily journal while at sea. Now, retired from the U.S. Navy, the author has taken a look back at that journal and has elaborated on what he wrote. He does so in the same day by day fashion.
At first, I found it an interesting way to write a memoir. However, as I got into the book, I realized the author was commenting on what was in the journal in a way that points out the lessons he learned as a young man from those experiences. He also explains how the lessons he learned affected his own leadership style later on. The book is a long one and not the fastest read I've picked up, but by the time I finished it I had developed a great respect for the lessons that were in it.
Review by Bob Doerr (February 2025)
Author's Synopsis
Everyone loves a good story…try a thousand! Master Chief Moye masterfully shares his memories of the events that inspired his transition from a timid boy from the hills of southern Indiana into a battle-ready Cold War sailor aboard one of the U.S. Navy’s most battle-efficient ships.
For millennia, sailors have told stories of the sea. Moye’s stories are an autobiographical account based on comprehensive journals he maintained while aboard the USS Manitowoc. This factual account details experiences ranging from tragic to euphoric…sometimes on the same day.
This recounting shares not only the master chief’s life but the lives of his shipmates, capturing an unmatched historical rendering of Navy life in a bygone era. This book is required reading for anyone interested in the Navy, personal growth, happiness, failure, and success. Those stories are all here.
This is the first of a series of books telling the Master Chief’s Sea Stories that detail his 27-year U.S. Navy career during a time when much was expected and accepted.
Hey—listen to this one, it’s a no-shitter.
Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle
Review Genre: Nonfiction—Memoir/Biography
Number of Pages: 520
Word Count: 179223