Having worked for many years in the navy, reading books has occupied a great deal of my time. The first occasion on which I read the book tattoo, I was struck by the sheer depth to the charachters that enabled these american individuals in an alien culture to my own, to be brought to life and appreciated by myself, an english sailor. I have read the book many times since and will continue to do so in the future. Along with Orwell's 1984, it is my favourite.