Admiral Dennison's memoir is an especially valuable one, because of his close contacts with prominent individuals, notably service from 1948 through 1953 as naval aide to President Harry Truman. Early in his career, Dennison was a submarine officer and acquired postgraduate education, including a doctorate in engineering. He had contact with General MacArthur while on the staff of Admiral Thomas Hart at the outbreak of World War II in the Far East, later served in the Aleutians campaign and with JCS in Washington. Postwar he commanded the battleship Missouri (BB-63). In the 1950s, Dennison was in OpNav and various fleet commands; capped career with 1960-1963 tour as CinCLantFlt/CinCLant/SACLant during Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis.