At the Helm

John H. Dalton's memoir follows an American life that began in modest circumstances in Louisiana and went on to take him around the world. His career spanned private business and public service, brought him four presidential appointments, and ended with his appointment as the 70th Secretary of the Navy. The book recounts the successes and setbacks along the way and how he handled each of them.

Running the Department of the Navy meant overseeing both the Navy and the Marine Corps, and his time in office brought several crises. He had to deal with the Tailhook controversy and the cheating scandal at the Naval Academy. He also had to put into practice the new Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and manage the question of women serving in combat. The book presents his handling of these episodes as an example of ethical leadership under pressure.

Dalton wrote the account to leave a record for posterity and to encourage readers at what he sees as a challenging point in American history. He describes the core values that shaped him, the hard lessons those values taught him, and what he understands principled leadership to be. The result is a portrait of a man who tried to live ethically and fully, and to leave the world better than he found it.