At Home and At Sea
At Home and at Sea is the story of a young couple, Becky and Royce Singleton, during the 13 months that Royce, a navy fighter pilot, was at sea during World War II. Letters from Becky to Royce capture what it was like to be living at home in Oklahoma City, pregnant, working, managing the finances, preparing for childbirth, then becoming a mother, all while planning for a future with her newlywed husband. These experiences are set against war conditions on the home front, including rationing, the USO, War bonds, Victory Gardens, and the housing shortage. Royce's time at sea corresponds to the Central Pacific offensive. His ship and air group supported every battle, from the first amphibious landing at Tarawa to General Douglas McArthur's return to the Philippines at Leyte, where U.S. and Japanese forces engaged in the largest naval battle ever fought. Ultimately, this is a love story of a couple in their first years of marriage, living apart and maintaining a relationship under the uncertainty and stress of the war.
About the Author
Royce A. Singleton, Jr. (Ph.D., Indiana University) is an American sociologist specializing in social psychology and research methodology who held teaching positions at the University of California, Riverside, and the College of the Holy Cross. His writing credits include numerous publications on topics ranging from racial oppression to grade inflation to alcohol consumption and academic performance. Although most of his articles have appeared in academic journals, he also has written for broader readerships. This includes multiple editions of two co-authored textbooks on methods of social research, published by Oxford University Press, articles in the Holy Cross alumni/ae magazine, an article in Change: The Magazine for Higher Learning, several book reviews, and a few op-eds. At Home and At Sea, about his parents’ experience during World War II, is his first trade book. Besides drawing on his intimate knowledge of his parents to tell this story, he uses his sociological lens to identify influences on their lives and to compare the social conditions of World War II with those of the present day.
