Publisher's Synopsis
At once a rousing entertaining farce and gentle love story, this novel is set on a remote Pacific island during the waning days of the World War II. It follows the adventures of a group of young officers in the public relations sector of the Navy - described as commissioned without the corrupting influence of any intervening naval training - as they face wartime adversities with comic ingenuity. For these mariners, the Navy’s immortal motto, ""Don’t Give Up the Ship"" had become ""Don’t Go Near the Water."" In combining a colourful cast of characters with absurd situations, the author has created a high-spirited tale of naval service that has appealed to generations of readers since it was first published in 1956.
