Duffy, James P(atrick) 1941–

views updated

DUFFY, James P(atrick) 1941–

PERSONAL: Born July 13, 1941, in New York, NY; son of Michael J. and Dorothy Veronica (Somerville) Duffy; married Kathleen Mary Gallagher, September 21, 1985; children: Alexandra, Olivia. Education: Graduate of University of Syracuse.

ADDRESSES: Home—496 Grove Ave., Edison, NJ 08820-3647. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Greenwood Publishing Group, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881. E-mail—jp@duffy.net.

CAREER: Writer. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1968–72.

WRITINGS:

How to Earn a College Degree without Going to College, Stein and Day (New York, NY), 1982, revised edition, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1994.

How to Earn an Advanced Degree without Going to Graduate School, Stein and Day (New York, NY), 1985, revised edition, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1994.

Cutting College Costs, Barnes & Noble Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Hitler Slept Late and Other Blunders That Cost Him the War, Praeger (New York, NY), 1991.

Learn while You Sleep, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1991.

(With Lawrence R. Reich) You Can Go Bankrupt without Going Broke: An Essential Guide to Personal Bankruptcy, Pharos Books (New York, NY), 1992, Beard Books (Washington, DC), 2003.

(With Vincent L. Ricci) The Assassination of John F. Kennedy: A Complete Book of Facts, Thunder's Mouth Press (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Vincent L. Ricci) Target Hitler: The Plots to Kill Adolf Hitler, Praeger (Westport, CT), 1992.

(With Melvin H. Ross) Sailboat Chartering: The Complete Guide and International Directory, Globe Pequot Press (Old Saybrook, CT), 1993.

(With Vincent L. Ricci) Czars: Russia's Rulers for More than One Thousand Years, Facts on File (New York, NY), 1995.

Lincoln's Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1997.

College Online: How to Take College Courses without Leaving Home, J. Wiley (New York, NY), 1997.

Hitler's Secret Pirate Fleet: The Deadliest Ships of World War II, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2001.

Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States, Praeger (Westport, CT), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: James P. Duffy's books cover a number of nonfiction subjects, ranging from earning a college degree in a nontraditional setting to military history. Included among the history titles is Target Hitler: The Plots to Kill Adolf Hitler, a study of the many assassination attempts against the Nazi leader. Duffy and cowriter Vincent L. Ricci devote much of their volume to describing the actions of a small group of German officers who wanted to rid Germany of its führer, particularly through the conspiracy of 1938–39 and the wartime efforts that culminated in the July 1944 bomb plot. Historian contributor Donald R. Tracey felt that the book presents a good general introduction, particularly for those with no knowledge of the extensive efforts undertaken to remove Hitler from power. Tracey added that the authors "have done a good job of concentrating what is known about the various attempts on Hitler's life into a brief, readable narrative."

Lincoln's Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut is Duffy's history of the career of the Union naval leader David G. Farragut (1801–1870), who was also America's first admiral. The motherless boy from Tennessee was not yet ten years old when he was commissioned a midshipman. His father, who served in the American Revolution, had placed his son with the family of a naval officer who took young Farragut to sea when he fought during the War of 1812. As an experienced adult officer, Farragut made the decision to fight for the Union when the country was split by civil war in 1861. His contribution to the war came through his adaptation of warfare tactics to the shallow rivers of the South. Duffy documents Farragut's capture of New Orleans in April of 1862, his action on the Mississippi River at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and the August, 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay. Farragut was in his sixties when he achieved his greatest accomplishments. Mark A. Weitz wrote in Historian that "the book is an enlightening study of an important military figure of the Civil War." A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted that Duffy's "descriptive writing is often compelling, and includes data on wooden and ironclad warships, cannon and mines, as well as thrilling tales of ship-to-ship action." Atlantic Monthly contributor Phoebe-Lou Adams noted that Duffy "does not altogether overlook the people who worked those ships. After one battle, Farragut looked at the casualties laid out on the deck and quietly wept."

In Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States Duffy collects in one volume the available information about Axis plots, along with speculation as to what would have happened to America had Hitler defeated the USSR. Duffy projects that Hitler would have employed transatlantic bombers, for which prototypes had been built, in addition to submarines that would have curtailed East Coast shipping. Booklist reviewer Gilbert Taylor called the volume "engrossing coverage for readers interested in the weaponry what-ifs of World War II."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Atlantic Monthly, April, 1997, Phoebe-Lou Adams, review of Lincoln's Admiral: The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut, p. 120.

Booklist, February 15, 1997, Roland Green, review of Lincoln's Admiral, p. 998; June 1, 2004, Gilbert Taylor, review of Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States, p. 1689.

Historian, summer, 1993, Donald R. Tracey, review of Target Hitler: The Plots to Kill Adolf Hitler, p. 736; winter, 2001, Mark A. Weitz, review of Lincoln's Admiral, p. 408.

History: Review of New Books, winter, 1998, James E. Sefton, review of Lincoln's Admiral, p. 96.

Publishers Weekly, February 10, 1997, review of Lincoln's Admiral, p. 78.