Bruce Fleming is a tenured professor of English at the United States Naval Academy. A winner of the O. Henry Award, he has written for the Village Voice, the Washington Post, and the Chronicle of Higher Education, among other publications. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland.

What really goes on behind the wall that surrounds the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis? Fleming, professor of English for nearly two decades at the academy and a prizewinning author, captures the sights, sounds, colors, and conversations of this tradition-steeped institution.