Rickover: The Struggle for Excellence

by Francis Duncan

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (1900-1986), the “Father of the Nuclear Navy,” was born Chaim Godalia Rickover in eastern Poland to Jewish parents. Fleeing Russian antisemitic pogroms in 1906 with his mother and sister, he joined his father, who had traveled to America since 1897, in New York City. The family soon moved to Chicago where Rickover’s father worked as a tailor. Congressman Adolph Sabath, a Czech Jewish immigrant, nominated Rickover for appointment to the US Naval Academy. Rickover passed the entrance exams and entered the Academy in 1918. After sea duty on several ships and submarines, he served as head of the Electrical Section in the Bureau of Ships and in 1946, was sent to Oak Ridge to start working on nuclear naval propulsion reactors, a program he would lead for the rest of his career. He became a four-star admiral in 1973.Rickover’s work on nuclear propulsion had a profound effect on the post-World War II world and on the development of civilian nuclear reactors for electricity generation. His demand for excellence and accountability was felt far beyond the naval community, yet few other flag officers in the US Navy have been so controversial. Drawing on the admiral’s private papers and the personal insights of friends and family members, this biography examines Rickover’s extraordinary naval career and his private life.“Francis Duncan, in his long-awaited full biography of Hyman Rickover, achieves that difficult dual goal of close personal insight and honesty of distance... Duncan details Rickover’s many controversies, his towering rages, and his contempt for tradition, bureaucracy, and stupidity... a very readable cruise through the life of a notorious curmudgeon who, after all, served his country well and had a major impact on the ships of the U.S. Navy, on the engineering profession, and on the development of nuclear power in the United States.” — Rodney Carlisle, The Journal of American History“This fine treatment of a remarkable man is highly recommended.” — Malcolm Muir, Jr., Technology and Culture“Francis Duncan is uniquely qualified to write the biography of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover... He is the only person to whom Admiral Rickover ever made himself available for interviews and allowed use of his personal papers, including the letters between himself and his first wife, Ruth... This is an enjoyable book, especially for the thousands who served, or serve now, in the nuclear programs, civilian or military. It is also an important addition to the history of a man who was one of the giants of the twentieth-century United States.” — Robert Loewenthal, The Journal of Military History“Victorious in his struggle for excellence, Rickover’s personal baton of highly disciplined professionalism was passed without a hitch to those he had selected, educated, and trained to run nuclear power plants safely and efficiently. We still feel his presence; his legacy endures. This book does him long-awaited justice.” — Admiral James D. Watkins, USN (Ret.), Chief of Naval Operations, 1982-86“Impressively researched, insightful, and readable. Duncan captures the Rickover behind the myths and sea stories. This account of his remarkable life, an only-in-America story, will appeal to a wide audience — midshipman to CEO.” — Admiral Bruce DeMars, USN (Ret.), Director, Navy Nuclear Propulsion, 1988-96“This excellent book offers insights not available to previous authors who did not enjoy Francis Duncan’s close association with Rickover and his family. Particularly useful are early chapters that define the character of the man.

Genres: History

Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Francis Duncan C.B. (1836 – 16 November 1888) was a Royal Artillery officer, lawyer, historian and Conservative politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1888.

Reviews

[Darrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a U.S. Navy nuclear trained person, I've always been fascinated by the legend of ADM Rickover. The Struggle for Excellence was a good overall picture of the life of Rickover. It covers his beginnings in Poland and his early years in New York and Chicago. How his appointment to the Naval Academy was a chance thing and not something that he sought. But most important it covers his military life from graduation from the academy in 1922 until his retirement in 1982. During that 60 years of service his perseverance led to the very successful Naval Nuclear Propulsion program. It was amazing how he overcame the red tape and politics to achieve something so revolutionary. The book also covers how difficult the man could be. Very few of the shipyard executives, scientist and especially his fellow Navy officers wanted to work with him. He was, however, respected and his engineering practices continue to guide the program. In the end, ADM Rickover was a difficult and proud man but you can't argue with his results.

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent account of a deeply impressive man. Necessarily long on the negotiation and politicking of a very distinguished naval engineering career, I found it a bit dull and lacking analysis of the significance of Rickover's career.

[Nate Huston · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the author's third book about Rickover and his admiration for the subject shows throughout the book. Unfortunately, that means the reader is treated to a portrait of a man painted with a very light touch. By all accounts, Rickover was an extremely challenging man to work for, with, or over. While the author acknowledges this in passing, the interpersonal relationships that must have had a significant effect throughout his extraordinarily long career must have had more of an impact than is portrayed in the book. While I'm not looking for dirt, per se, interpersonal relationships are critical when managing a program as complex as nuclear propulsion.

As opposed to Sheehan's book on Rickover, Duncan's near-obsession with Rickover leads the reader to believe that he was nearly a one-man army of organization, without whom nuclear propulsion in the Navy would have been doomed to failure. While Rickover's importance to its development is admittedly enormous, there were undoubtedly other major players who had a hand in it. A reader looking for an in-depth account of nuclear propulsion development will receive it, but from only one angle. I suspect a significant portion of the story is missing. With that said, it is clear how enormously complex the development was and the reader is told of a significant number of obstacles and barriers that had to be overcome, if only to show how well Rickover accomplished such feats.

Be that as it may, this is a biography and as such, it would be disingenuous to expect an all-encompassing history of technological development. Even so, a biography ought to explore all aspects of a person in depth, and this account left me wanting more.

[Marce Scarbrough · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admiral Rickover is a fascinating figure in the history of the modern navy. This book touches on, but does not really explore why this is so. The author does a good job of fleshing out the details of who Rickover was, but doesn't really get into why he was. Someday, someone is going to write the definitive story of the Admiral's life, his opposition within the navy, how he dealt with Congress and his vision for a nuclear future. That is the book I really want to read.