The Golden Fleece: High-Risk Adventure at West Point Hardcover – September 1, 2017

Tom Carhart's book is not just about cadets "stealing" the Navy mascot ( a goat if you don't know) but about the lives of these young men during their four years as cadets at West Point. These cadets and those a few years before and after 1966, faced serving our country during the escalation of the Vietnam War. The author describes the West Point years with passion as their experiences create character, courage, AND commitment while the mantra: DUTY-HONOR-COUNTRY takes hold. Because cadet life intertwines with the heist, the reader grasps an understanding of the struggles and accomplishments of these young men. There are terse moments and hilarity during the adventure itself, thus the book is a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book to all, but especially those with any West Point connection as myself. I am a daughter of West Point '37 and a brother in the author's W.P. class of 1966.

This book was highly rated and was a great gift for a West Point graduate! It tells a story that anyone who has been a part of the Army Navy football rival will identify with.

Review of: The GOLDEN FLEECE, High – Risk Adventure at West Point.By Tom Carhart West Point 1966This book, well written by a ’66 Grad who is an accomplished author, is about the purloinment – not an actual theft since the property would be returned after the escapade – of the mascot of The Midshipmen of The U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis -- a goat named Billy XIV-- one week before the Army-Navy football game in 1965.The book actually starts out that way, with the cadets who planned the project, including the author, reconnoitering the habitat of the animal at the most secure section of the Severna Park Naval Security Station (SPNSS) in Maryland.The tale then swiftly changes to a very accurate and detailed rendition of cadet life at West Point – one of the very best that the reviewer has ever had the pleasure of reading – from the time a young man – no females were allowed until the 1970’s – entered on their first day, until graduation, 47 months later. It details just how difficult the operation would be to pull off, with the rules, regulations and lack of time facing West Point cadets.Indeed the cadets did succeed in capturing the goat and housing him at a farm a few hours from West Point. Then they put out the word to other cadets that they had the Navy Goat, a fact later confirmed by radio and newspaper articles.This information found its way to the academy Superintendent in record time. The man became almost apoplectic, ordering his chain of command to find the culprits. Pressure built, so the Goatnappers left after taps one night, brought their prize back to West Point and hid him in the Mule barn to get through the morning and present Goat to Corps at High Noon inside Washington Hall. But someone turned them in, and suddenly there were M.P.s everywhere.The Navy Goat, having been found, was taken back to Annapolis in a convoy, so the six cadets decided to hold a rally, with Army/Navy weekend coming up. And during that rally, they told the Corps of their deed – and identified themselves – which set themselves up for punishment.The six men were punished but the reviewer declines to specify how, preferring the readers find out for themselves.This is a relatively short book, extremely well written, a treat for any graduate of USMA, an eye opener for anyone else, a real page-turner.The reviewer, Thomas W. Leo, CPP, is a Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.The book is available at the West Point Cadet bookstore, and wherever books are sold, including Amazon. 2017

A summary of the review on StrategyPage:'In this rather amusing book, West Point graduate (1966) Carhart, who left the Army after several tours in Vietnam, and is now an attorney and the author of numerous books on men at war, reaches back to his academy days and one of the more notable pranks in its long rivalry with Annapolis; the kidnapping of the Navy’s goat mascot on November 21, 1965, by six cadets, including himself. Carhart gives us a very detailed account of the “mission”, a risky undertaking punctuated by some funny moments, taking us through its genesis, planning and execution. He describes the consequences, which proved much less dire than they might have been, given that the miscreants had a lot of covert admirers in the military hierarchy. He sets these adventures within the framework of life at the academy, and gives us short biographies of his fellow conspirators and some of the other people connected with the incident. This amusing yet informative tale makes for good reading, and tells us something about how Army officers are made.'For the full review, see StrategyPage.

I had the honor/pleasure of meeting Tom Carhart at West Point as he was following me in a book signing at the cadet book store. In about three minutes of visiting with him I said, "I have to buy your book!" As I turned around to get one a friend of mine had already purchased one for me as well as himself. Two days later, I had completed the book. If you want to know about the United States Military Academy during the time of our early involvement in Vietnam then this is the book for you! If you want to find out about the true story of the kidnapping of the Navy mascot then this book is for you! While it's an emotional roller coaster, it is well worth having in your library. I just hope a movie is made about this wonderful adventure