East of Farewell, first published in 1942, is a realistic novel of life aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer in the North Atlantic during World War II. The book centers on the officers and crew, their interactions, their routine tasks aboard ship and as part of a larger convoy, the tensions between "regular navy" men and those serving for just the duration of the war, encounters with German U-boats, and the harsh weather and sea. Author Howard Hunt (1918-2007) served as an ensign aboard a destroyer in the North Atlantic during the early days of the Second World War.