I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight: A Life of John Paul Jones

Mackay, who has written biographies of such Scottish icons as Robert Burns and William Wallace (Braveheart), turns his attention to John Paul Jones (1747-1792), the Scottish-born first naval hero of the United States. During the Revolutionary War, Jones acquired a reputation for prodigious seamanship and bravery, culminating in a series of daring raids off the coast of England in 1779. In his later years, Jones fought for Russia's Catherine the Great against the Turks before eventually dying of pneumonia in Paris, poor and alone, abandoned by his many mistresses. Such are the bare facts of Jones's life, but the intervening 200 years have added scores of folktales and myths, which Mackay devotes much of his energy to deflating. Unfortunately, he may have deflated too much. Jones comes off, despite his wild career, as petty, self-absorbed and, as Mackay admits, ""a bit of a bore."" The incendiary captain of popular imagination--and of a 1959 film starring Robert Stack--is replaced by a petulant, rank-obsessed narcissist. Mackay largely manages to overcome the unattractiveness of his subject, mostly through riveting accounts of naval battles and instructive descriptions of life at sea. At times, the level of detail may be tiresome to all but the most enthusiastic naval buffs. In general, however, Mackay delivers a fine, unflinching portrait of a man whose deeds were nobler than his character. (Oct.)