A pugnacious Pug named Pugsley...

I'm enjoying this book. The story is intriguing, but some of the character nicknames are peculiar: like "Pug" and "Briny". I can understand how Victor might have acquired a nickname like Pug which might be applied to a football player or a boxer (or a funny looking dog), but how do you get "Briny" out of Byron? Some of the acronyms are tricky, like CNO and BOQ. I got the first one (Chief of Naval Operations), but haven't figured out BOQ yet (Bureau of Overseas Quadrants? Border of Quai d'Orsay?). And what are "BatDiv" and "BuOrd" supposed to stand for? If Wouk explained these, I missed it. He also uses strange euphemism like "pink-tea job" and "cookie pusher". These occur especially when the navy guys are engaged in shop talk. I haven't a clue what they mean. Wouk must have had an interest in fashion because almost every scene includes meticulous descriptions of the characters' wardrobe or attire. The women are almost always wearing some shade of pink, reportedly Hitler's favorite color. And, it seems that everybody except the head-strong Jewess, Natalie, is blond. Chapter 14, which describes the siege of Warsaw and narrow escape of the "neutrals" is disturbing. Anyone who might be ambivalent with regard to Arizona HB 2162/SB 1070 should read this chapter and be mindful that history has a subtle and surreptitious way of repeating itself.