A View From the Deckplates By George J. Chambers (252 pages) Reviewer:  James Healy Overall Rating: Two Stars: Some readers would enjoy it but many would not. A View from the Deckplates is a personal “logbook” of retired Chief Petty Officer George J. Chambers. He has recorded selected times, places and notable events in his 20 year career – first as a radarman, and eventually Senior Chief Firecontrolman. His service included duty aboard five destroyer-type ships, a tender and a stint at a recruiting station in New York, with tours in Korea, Vietnam and the Mediterranean during his 1950 -1970 active duty. Those not familiar with CIC jargon get little help except learning that in a certain concentrated mode one type of radar can “microwave” a seagull. There are footnotes scattered about each chapter to “flesh out” particular details on topics or terms needing greater explanation. Flipping back to read each footnote is a challenge and one is tempted to skip some of them. The author may have better served his reader if he had blended at least some of his footnotes into the narrative. There is an excellent bibliography. Regrettably, events told in animated conversations (sea stories) sometimes don’t carry the same impact in print. Missing too are “people” photos. Only stock photos of the various ships were included. More on the chief’s personable wife, nurse Jackie, and the challenges of married life in the military deserved more attention. But once again, Mr. Chambers demonstrates how the “navy experience” can have a positive influence, as he went from a high school dropout enlistee to ultimately graduating with a MS in Systems Management and an MA in Vocational Education.