In 1976 eighty-one young women entered the U.S. Naval Academy, ending a 131-year all-male tradition. Now, one of those trailblazing women has decided to speak out about their experiences. She draws on journals and letters from the period along with recent interviews to present a dramatic and sometimes disturbing picture of the women's four-year effort to join the academy's elite fraternity and become commissioned naval officers. From the punishing crucible of plebe summer to the triumph of graduation, Sharon Disher focuses on two female members of the Class of 1980, each with very different...