Book excerpt: Hard Charger is the story of a Cold War cruiser, the USS Biddle (DLG-34), the last Navy cruiser powered by conventional steam, the last of the single-ended guided missile frigates, the last ship of her class, but the first on the front lines. Biddle's story is traced from when her combat systems were conceived soon after the end of World War II and then designed and built during the 50's and 60's, to her construction, commission, shakedown, combat assignments in Vietnam, her battle at PIRAZ, overhauls, upgrades, training exercises and cruises to the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, and finally her decommissioning. The story is told by the officers and men who served aboard her - captains and deckhands, technicians and engineering officers, chiefs petty officers, plankowners and her decommissioning crew. Though Biddle is gone, her remarkable story remains, as does the freedom she helped protect. Historians, those currently involved with Navy combat systems, and those who served aboard a similar ship or during the Cold War will find Biddle's story interesting and thought provoking. Hard Charger is the only book written about Biddle or any Belknap class cruiser.