JOHN PAUL JONES Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy

The hero buried beneath the chapel at the American Naval Academy was a study in contradictions. Selfless in battle, he was notably self-regarding in society. John Adams called him "leprous with vanity." Jones fought brilliantly to create a new world yet so yearned to please the aristocracy of the old one that he returned Lady Selkirk's silver plate after having risked his life to capture it on a raid on the coast of Scotland. Dan Cashman's voice is a fine, clear instrument, but his performance is marred by its ambition. The light brogue with which he italicizes Jones's own words is welcome. His attempt to affect a different accent for every character--French/Russian, man/woman, young/old--is markedly less successful. B.H.C.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 04]