Wecome to NavyPublishing
Tales Told by an Old School,
Politically Incorrect Navy Chief
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
ISBN: 9781457563188
A brash film producer that gets his comeuppance. A one-night stand with an alcoholic singer that ends badly. A young sailor that can’t seem to do anything the right way. A dilapidated honky-tonk saloon where anything goes on a Saturday night. These stories and more can be found in author Bob Stockton’s ninth book, Sea Stories: Tales Told by an Old School, Politically Incorrect Navy Chief.”
Sea Stories is author Bob Stockton’s remembrances from the U.S. Navy of the Cold War and Vietnam era where sailors aboard ship worked long, hard and often dangerous hours at sea and played equally hard – if not more so – when after long periods at sea they came ashore to blow off steam in the sailor bars and B-girl clip joints in foreign lands thousands of miles from their American home port.
Find your favorite chair, get comfortable and enjoy the often improbable but always entertaining adventures – and missteps - of the young Navy men who went to sea more than a half-century ago. Read More ....
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
“Help me, Marty, Help me.”
Radarman First Class Zack Martin’s physical wounds that were inflicted when his ship was attacked by friendly aircraft while on patrol in Vietnam have healed. His psychological wounds are another story. Recently, the flashback dreams about his friend Campbell’s mortal wounding from that terrible morning have diminished, but the panic attacks have not. His fiancé Camille is pressuring him to leave the Navy and seek help. To add to his dilemma, word has just recently been received that his new ship, a destroyer, is headed back to combat duty in Vietnam waters. Read More ....
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
Radarman Second Class Zack Martin wants nothing more than to sail out to sea on a sleek destroyer now that the war in Vietnam is heating up. Instead of heading to the Western Pacific, he's stuck in a deadend clerical position. When he's ordered to join a new ship, it's not quite what he envisioned, but his attitude changes when he learns he'll finally be getting duty in a combat zone.
Although Martin craves danger and excitement-and a chance to help the war effort in Vietnam-this mission may have more perils than he bargained for. The captain, in charge of a ship for the first time, is anxious to make a name for himself. Misadventures in port pale into comparison with the risks the captain is willing to take when he deviates from the crew's mission. Read More ....
A Man Who Lost His Wife
and Other Stories
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
ISBN: 978-1457536694
A Japanese bar that becomes much more than a place to get
a drink. An unusual dream. A man who lost his wife unexpectedly. An obnoxious
drunk who gets more than he bargained for. Ranging from autobiographical
to allegorical, each of these stories-and more-finds a home in Bob Stockton's
fifth book, A Man Who Lost His Wife and Other Stories.
The book's first section includes stories and comments not previously
published. The second section highlights stories adapted from the author's
first book, Listening to Ghosts, which describes the coming of age of
a boy who lives in a bluecollar neighborhood in the Northeast. The final
section features stories adapted from the author's third book, Counting
Coup: The Odyssey of Captain Tom Adams, based on the adventures of the
larger-than-life nineteenth century scout Kit Carson.
Drawing on author Bob Stockton’s twenty years as a Navy man, Stories from
the US Navy.
Stories from the US Navy: I
A Suicide in the Mediterranean
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
ISBN: 978-1457533556
Radarman Second Class Zack Martin finds himself with time
for reflection while taking a smoke break on a moonlit early morning aboard
a Navy aircraft carrier. He’d prefer to be almost anywhere else than aboard
a “damned bird farm” crossing the Gibraltar Strait. The veteran sailor
is not happy and longs to find a way to get back to destroyer duty in
the Pacific.
The trick will be to accomplish that without sinking his Navy career.
Carrier sailors find it challenging to transfer back to the surface fleet,
and an ensign fresh from training who is bursting with self-importance
isn’t helping matters. Yet another bungled job by a shipmate leads to
a life-altering decision by the brass and before long Martin may have
the opportunity he’s always wanted. In hindsight, however, he might have
wanted to stay right where he was.
Drawing on author Bob Stockton’s twenty years as a Navy man, Stories from
the US Navy: I. A Suicide in the Mediterranean puts readers in the heart
of the action aboard an aircraft carrier and its dedicated crew.
Listening to Ghosts
2nd Edition Now Available!
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
ISBN: 978-1457547294
Colorful memoir from twenty-year navy veteran recounts the author’s
experiences growing up in a northeastern working class neighborhood and
his adventures in the U.S. Navy of the mid-twentieth century
Listening to Ghosts, Bob Stockton’s memoir about growing up in a workingclass neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey, and how he escaped to the U.S. Navy, details the lively ups and downs of a career navy man as he comes of age and learns invaluable life lessons both personally and professionally.
One of the few navy men who has served in the subsurface navy (in diesel electric submarines), Bob also served in the surface (destroyer) navy, in Vietnam in a patrol gunboat, and in the aviation navy on carriers and in reconnaissance attack squadrons.
Fighting Bob
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
ISBN: 978-1-4634-3073-3
“You are most suited to complete the mission that I require.”
With those spoken words I began a ten day journey with the ghost of my great-great-great grandfather Commodore ‘Fighting Bob,’ a journey filled with adventure, danger and conquest. I would witness the duels with British Officers while narrowly avoiding capture and imprisonment, subdue both Barbary Pirates and savage tribesmen and invade the California Territory, wresting it from rebel armies in pitched battle.
Why was I selected? What skills or knowledge did I possess that I was the one uniquely qualified to carry out his mission?
It wasn’t long before the answer to these questions and more would be revealed. I was about to embark on an unforgettable odyssey.
Counting Coup: The Odyssey of Captain Tom Adams
by Bob Stockton, C.P.O., U.S. Navy
ISBN: 978-1-4836-0693-1
The story of the way west in the early nineteenth century was often a tale of danger, death and unspeakable suffering. The early trappers and mountain men forged the trails westward for the pioneers that followed and became part of the legend of the American West. Of this hardy breed of early venturers one name stands out above the rest: Kit Carson. Many stories of his bravery, often wildly exaggerated filled eastern bookshelves
Recommended Reading
Fighting Bob am entertaining ten day journey with the ghost of my great-great-great grandfather Commodore ‘Fighting Bob,’ a journey filled with adventure, danger and conquest by retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Bob Stockton
"I just finished reading Bob Stockton’s latest book, Stories from
the U.S. Navy: II. Friendly Fire. I’ve read everything Bob has published,
and this is his best work yet!
If you ever served in the military, particularly the navy during the
Vietnam era, this is a must-read. I spent my Navy career on Atlantic-based
ships, and never made a Western Pacific (WestPac) cruise. By the luck
of the draw, I never got to serve in the Vietnam war. After my seven
Mediterranean cruises,
many northern Atlantic operations, and an uncountable
number of Caribbean cruises, I always felt that I was missing something
when I heard my shipmates discuss their trips to WestPac. Reading
Chief Stockton’s Stories from the U.S. Navy: II. Friendly Fire,
I felt like I was back in the destroyer navy, and finally doing a
WestPac cruise. Bob actually made me feel like I was there.
I give Stories from the U.S. Navy: II. Friendly Fire my highest
recommendation! "
-Allen F.
Bob Stockton, 2015
