Nothing Too Daring

Commodore David Dixon Porter made history when he took the USS Essex into the Pacific and crippled the British whaling industry during the War of 1812. The first to suggest that the U.S. Navy force Japan to open, Porter was also court-martialed and convicted on charges arising out of his unauthorized invasion of Spanish Puerto Rico. He later sought to reverse his fortunes in the Mexican navy, and consistently suffered chaos in his personal and financial affairs. As the first U.S. chargé d'affaires in Constantinople, he established direct diplomatic relations between the United States and the Ottoman Empire. Porter was courageous, passionate, intelligent, farsighted, dedicated, and generous. Yet he was also impulsive, avaricious, hot-tempered, conceited, sometimes vicious, and, finally, paranoiac. Nothing Too Daring offers an objective, thoroughly researched biography of one of America's most colorful naval officers. David F. Long was a professor of history at the University of New Hampshire. He authored several books, including Sailor-Diplomat: A Biography of James Biddle; Ready to Hazard: A Biography of Commodore William Bainbridge; and Gold Braid: Diplomatic Activities of U.S. Naval Officers, 1798-1883. He died in 2001.