Maritime history Books

Book SynopsisSet atop the rocky plateau of Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, the Old Light stands proudly - a monument to the skill of its builder, Joseph Nelson. It is of a pleasing construction, both solid and graceful, and when built in 1820 it had two lights - an upper and a lower, and was the highest lighthouse in the country. In this fascinating history of the old lighthouse and the fog signal station, the author has combined her wide knowledge of the island's history with information gleaned from extensive research into Trinity House's archives. Some tantalising insights into the life of the keepers and their families have emerged - the keeper who was too tall for the lantern room; the keeper's wife who tragically died of water contamination, and the gunners who poached their dinners and hid their numerous children when the Elder Brethren came to inspect the cottages! Interwoven throughout the story are details of the numerous wrecks from the 15th century until 1897. Accounts from newspapers are often included, and the wrecks are linked to the lighthouse keepers of the time and the heroic rescues performed by the lighthouse staff. There are also some wonderful snippets of island history - one owner regarded Lundy as independent of mainland authorities and issued his own 'puffin' coins and stamps - the latter are still in use to cover postage to the mainland although the coins are now collectors' items. The height of the Old Light soon proved to be its downfall and eventually the reason why it was extinguished. Due to Lundy's plateau-top fogs which completely obscured the lantern, although there was clear visibility at ground level, a programme of alterations and intensifications took place under the advice of Professor Faraday. In 1862, a fog signal station was built on the west coast, providing shipping with another warning. This was not wholly successful either and it was not until 1897 that the Old Light was replaced by new lights on lower levels at the north and south ends of the island. Since the light was extinguished, the Old Light and the fog signal station reverted to the owners. The Landmark Trust restored the lighthouse and holiday-makers can now stay in the keepers' quarters, climb the 147 steps to the lantern room, and enjoy the breathtaking views across the whole island to the coasts of Wales and Cornwall. Owned by the National Trust, Lundy Island is an outstanding area of great natural beauty which attracts many visitors, who frequently return year after year to enjoy this special place.Trade Review'... an ideal 'coffee table' book to dip into... I found the whole book thoroughly fascinating from beginning to end. I was totally engrossed from the very first paragraph of the introduction. ...The book is crammed with an amazing amount of detail and information ...Dr Ternstrom has very successfully combined a wealth of factual information with tantalising insights into the life of the keepers and their families, the latter also giving a glimpse of what life in general must have been like at the time for families living and working at lighthouses and fog stations.' World Lighthouse Newsletter

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Book SynopsisThe history of pearling is inextricably linked to the history of Bahrain, the strategically-located Gulf archipelago set amidst one of the richest and most plentiful pearl fisheries in the world. Sea of Pearls tells the story of pearl fishing in the Gulf, and the role that this timeless industry played in global commerce, fashion, urban development, political struggles and the earliest ever long-distance maritime trade. From the 18th to 20th centuries, the industry boomed, as pearls were fished by ever-increasing numbers of tribesmen and townspeople to feed an expanding international market. Bahrain was at the centre of this activity before the industry's collapse in the early 20th century with the introduction of cultured pearls from Japan. The influx of traders, migrants, merchants and political advisors - each seeking to partake in the booming trade - left an indelible mark on the Gulf, germinating new city-states with cosmopolitan communities, which are now the global metropolises that we know today. Launching with the generous support of the Bahrain Authority of Culture and Antiquities (BACA), Sea of Pearls spotlights Bahrain's UNESCO-listed 'Pearling Path', a 3.5 km pathway taking visitors on a journey from the oyster beds of Muharraq to the historical merchant homes and other structures involved in the pearling economy. Lavishly illustrated, this book covers in unprecedented detail the history, development, impact and florescence of this ancient industry before it died out and was eclipsed in the age of oil. It is essential reading, not only for those wishing to understand the historical growth and geopolitical dynamics of pearl fishing, but also for those interested in the history and origins of the Gulf states. It is the fascinating, seldom-told story behind the world's enduring desire for one of humankind's most prized precious stones.

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Book SynopsisA sailing classic, of real life adventure, beautifully illustratedTV Presenter JULIETTE FOSTER: "Captain George P Boughton's maritime career began in 1881 at the age of 12, and thanks to his grandson, the founder of GB Publishing Org, this intriguing memoir of a life at sea is now available to a new generation of readers." THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: "His book is genuine sea salt...warm colours of Mr Shoesmith's pictures accord well with the romantic story [of days before steamships]" THE SPECTATOR: "recalls emotions [on sea-life] that have fleeted from the minds of most" First published in 1926, Seafaring - The Full Story reveals that a life on the ocean waves was anything but jolly: conditions were tough, the food was just about edible while the work was back-breaking - although the salt-of-the-earth camaraderie helped. As much a one-man reminiscence as it is an elegy for a forgotten way of life, it's not hard to imagine a gravely-voiced Boughton recalling the era of the 'large sailing ships'. and why the world stopped being a better place when they were forced off the sea. Boughton died in 1940 at the age of 71, having worked his way up to the position of Superintendent to the Shipping Federation of Britain. With the publication of these memoirs, his contribution to our understanding of this area of history will surely live on." In this edition of Seafaring, which deals with ships and life aboard ships in the days before steam had conquered sail, a Prologue is added that tells of the tragic circumstances that led up to the author going to sea when aged twelve. An Epilogue also reveals his fortunes since writing the book. The men who spent the best part of their lives on sailing vessels are now gone but fortunately Captain Boughton, as one of them, committed to writing his first hand account of what their lives aboard were really like. The salt of the sea is in these breezy pages; they reflect the virile enjoyment with which the men of whom Captain Boughton writes faced the hardships of their existence. ~*~ The inclusion of several of the traditional sea "chanties", with the musical scores, and the end-papers that illustrate sailors' knots, add the final flavour to an inspiring and enduring book.Trade ReviewTV Presenter JULIETTE FOSTER: "Captain George P Boughton's maritime career began in 1881 at the age of 12, and thanks to his grandson, the founder of GB Publishing Org, this intriguing memoir of a life at sea is now available to a new generation of readers. "THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT: "His book is genuine sea salt...warm colours of Mr Shoesmith's pictures accord well with the romantic story [of days before steamships]". THE SPECTATOR: "recalls emotions [on sea-life] that have fleeted from the minds of most"

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Book SynopsisBefore Raffles, before Rajah Brooke, there was Francis Light, the 18th-century trailblazer in the Malay Archipelago. 'Dragon', the first volume of the Penang Chronicles, charts Light's colourful adventures in the decades before the settlement of Penang island, the Company's first possession in the East Indies.

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Book SynopsisThis anthology places the works of such well-known figures as Captain James Cook and Robert Louis Stevenson alongside the writings of lesser-known explorers, missionaries, beachcombers, and literary travellers who roamed the South Seas from the late 17th through the late 19th centuries.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Cole does a magnificent job in this book. . . . An excellent study of dockworkers in port cities in California and South Africa, and their respective struggles for social justice." --International Journal of Comparative Sociology"Dockworker Power is the first book that specifically compares South African and American ports as a site of workplace activism. . . . The inspiring story of Dockworker Power provides the optimism needed for contemporary activists to fight and win twenty-first-century battles." --Journal of African American History"Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area is a sparkling exercise in comparative labor history. Informative and informed, morally anchored, and successfully mastering two sets of literature, it is also a pleasure to read." --American Historical Review"Cole's book is a tremendous first step in understanding the parallel struggles of dockworkers in both locations and their ongoing importance in the face of global containerized trade." --African Studies Review"The combination of labour, comparative and global history, framed by the political economy of containerization and technological change, makes this book most timely and worthy of deep reflection. . . . Peter Cole's book will inform and motivate." --Review of African Political Economy"The first three words of this book read: 'Dockworkers have power' (p. 1). They capture the essence of this fascinating and closely researched work by Peter Cole, Professor of History at the Western Illinois University. With this brilliant work on dockworkers' power, Cole implicitly invites other labour, social and economic scholars to pick up from where he leaves off and maybe develop a new analysis of labour strategy for transnational solidarity. Hopefully, scholars will meet this challenge with the same degree of verse and insight as that displayed by Peter Cole." --International Review of Social History"Peter Cole's superb examination of dockworkers in San Francisco and Durban, South Africa, provides an excellent model of how to write comparative labor history, weaving together a compelling tale around issues of racial justice, intentional labor solidarity, and resistance to job-destroying technological change." --H-Net Reviews"A sweeping, panoramic narrative . . . This book with have wide appeal, for historians of South Africa and the US, for those interested in workers struggles in a global context and how technology transforms the lives of working people, and for those looking for evidence that workers maintain power, even in our increasingly connected globalized world." --Reviews in History "Cole's book is a valuable contribution to the relatively thin field of global union comparisons." --In These Times "Dockworker Power is worth the read. It's riveting and distinguishes itself from the mainstream labor and civil rights history we have come to know." --48 Hills "Dockworker Power is highly recommended . . . The book is ambitious in execution and delivers new perspectives through a comparative and transnational approach." --The Northern Mariner "Persuasive and compelling. . . . Dockworker Power makes an important contribution to the development of the interdisciplinary field of working-class studies." --Journal of Working Class Studies "Dockworker Power is a book of vital importance to labor scholars, educators, and activists." --Labor Studies "The fascinating stories [Cole] centers in Dockworker Power capture the dynamics of global social movements, the significance of black internationalism, and the power of grassroots organizing." —Keisha N. Blain, Black Perspectives "Dockworker Power is worth the read. It's riveting and distinguishes itself from the mainstream labor and civil rights history we have come to know." —48 Hills "Compelling." —Salon "Dockworker Power suggests that the rising global white supremacist menace cannot be defeated without a confrontation at today’s docks—the mechanized ports, trucking networks, and warehouses where racial capitalism does its work." —Dissent Magazine "Cole makes a strong case for the importance of studying ports and their workers in global history. His research is meticulous—not a minor feat when you compare two ports in very different contexts. " —Black Perspectives "Peter Cole has done us a great service in his comparative history. He has demonstrated that the social and political context of unions is important in determining their course of struggle, and he has highlighted the great impact that dockers have had on social justice struggles." —Jacobin "Cole’s book shows us the possibilities that anti-racist labor organizing had and has for attacking and analyzing how systems of racial and capital oppressions are intertwined. " —Africa is a Country "The importance of Cole's study and topic are undeniable. " —History: Reviews of New Books "Peter Cole has written a cutting-edge work that combines labor, maritime, comparative, and global history in brilliantly illuminating ways. The edge is the waterfront, whose workers make the world economy go 'round."--Marcus Rediker, author of The Slave Ship: A Human History "Peter Cole's study of port labor and capital accumulation is the most useful US-SA comparative analysis I've seen in years. By tracing containerization, the book also clarifies ways that new technology can tear asunder socio-ecological relations, and in turn occasionally be foiled by creative, solidaristic workers—offering vital lessons from courageous dockworkers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era."--Patrick Bond, University of the Witwatersrand

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Cole does a magnificent job in this book. . . . An excellent study of dockworkers in port cities in California and South Africa, and their respective struggles for social justice." --International Journal of Comparative Sociology"Dockworker Power is the first book that specifically compares South African and American ports as a site of workplace activism. . . . The inspiring story of Dockworker Power provides the optimism needed for contemporary activists to fight and win twenty-first-century battles." --Journal of African American History"Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area is a sparkling exercise in comparative labor history. Informative and informed, morally anchored, and successfully mastering two sets of literature, it is also a pleasure to read." --American Historical Review"Cole's book is a tremendous first step in understanding the parallel struggles of dockworkers in both locations and their ongoing importance in the face of global containerized trade." --African Studies Review"The combination of labour, comparative and global history, framed by the political economy of containerization and technological change, makes this book most timely and worthy of deep reflection. . . . Peter Cole's book will inform and motivate." --Review of African Political Economy"The first three words of this book read: 'Dockworkers have power' (p. 1). They capture the essence of this fascinating and closely researched work by Peter Cole, Professor of History at the Western Illinois University. With this brilliant work on dockworkers' power, Cole implicitly invites other labour, social and economic scholars to pick up from where he leaves off and maybe develop a new analysis of labour strategy for transnational solidarity. Hopefully, scholars will meet this challenge with the same degree of verse and insight as that displayed by Peter Cole." --International Review of Social History"Peter Cole's superb examination of dockworkers in San Francisco and Durban, South Africa, provides an excellent model of how to write comparative labor history, weaving together a compelling tale around issues of racial justice, intentional labor solidarity, and resistance to job-destroying technological change." --H-Net Reviews"A sweeping, panoramic narrative . . . This book with have wide appeal, for historians of South Africa and the US, for those interested in workers struggles in a global context and how technology transforms the lives of working people, and for those looking for evidence that workers maintain power, even in our increasingly connected globalized world." --Reviews in History "Cole's book is a valuable contribution to the relatively thin field of global union comparisons." --In These Times "Dockworker Power is worth the read. It's riveting and distinguishes itself from the mainstream labor and civil rights history we have come to know." --48 Hills "Dockworker Power is highly recommended . . . The book is ambitious in execution and delivers new perspectives through a comparative and transnational approach." --The Northern Mariner "Persuasive and compelling. . . . Dockworker Power makes an important contribution to the development of the interdisciplinary field of working-class studies." --Journal of Working Class Studies "Dockworker Power is a book of vital importance to labor scholars, educators, and activists." --Labor Studies "The fascinating stories [Cole] centers in Dockworker Power capture the dynamics of global social movements, the significance of black internationalism, and the power of grassroots organizing." —Keisha N. Blain, Black Perspectives "Dockworker Power is worth the read. It's riveting and distinguishes itself from the mainstream labor and civil rights history we have come to know." —48 Hills "Compelling." —Salon "Dockworker Power suggests that the rising global white supremacist menace cannot be defeated without a confrontation at today’s docks—the mechanized ports, trucking networks, and warehouses where racial capitalism does its work." —Dissent Magazine "Cole makes a strong case for the importance of studying ports and their workers in global history. His research is meticulous—not a minor feat when you compare two ports in very different contexts. " —Black Perspectives "Peter Cole has done us a great service in his comparative history. He has demonstrated that the social and political context of unions is important in determining their course of struggle, and he has highlighted the great impact that dockers have had on social justice struggles." —Jacobin "Cole’s book shows us the possibilities that anti-racist labor organizing had and has for attacking and analyzing how systems of racial and capital oppressions are intertwined. " —Africa is a Country "The importance of Cole's study and topic are undeniable. " —History: Reviews of New Books "Peter Cole has written a cutting-edge work that combines labor, maritime, comparative, and global history in brilliantly illuminating ways. The edge is the waterfront, whose workers make the world economy go 'round."--Marcus Rediker, author of The Slave Ship: A Human History "Peter Cole's study of port labor and capital accumulation is the most useful US-SA comparative analysis I've seen in years. By tracing containerization, the book also clarifies ways that new technology can tear asunder socio-ecological relations, and in turn occasionally be foiled by creative, solidaristic workers—offering vital lessons from courageous dockworkers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era."--Patrick Bond, University of the Witwatersrand

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Book SynopsisThe communities along the coastline of Ghana boast a long and vibrant maritime culture. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the region experienced creeping British imperialism and incorporation into the British Gold Coast colony. Drawing on a wealth of Ghanian archival sources, historian Kwaku Nti shows how many aspects of traditional maritime daily lifecustomary ritual performances, fishing, and concepts of ownership, and landserved as a means of resistance and allowed residents to contest and influence the socio-political transformations of the era. Nti explored how the Ebusua (female) and Asafo (male) local social groups, especially in Cape Coast, became bastions of indigenous identity and traditions during British colonial rule, while at the same time functioning as focal points for demanding a share of emerging economic opportunities. A convincing demonstration of the power of the indigenous everyday life to complicate the reach of empire, Maritime Culture and EverydaTrade Review"This book provides an in-depth study of maritime culture as well as everyday life in 19th and 20th century coastal Ghana, with an emphasis on the social history of Cape Coast. Kwaku Nti, its author, deserves high commendation for his meticulous research and laser-sharp analysis."—A.B. Assensoh, Emeritus Professor, Indiana University"Maritime Culture and Everyday Life in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Coastal Ghana puts Ghanaian fisherfolk, gender-based organizations, and traders front and center in the making of a 'colonial' city. Trying to explain to students how to mine colonial documents and read between the lines for African ideas, frames of reference, goals, and agency? Teach this book. It is a stunning model."—Laura Fair, Columbia University"Maritime Culture and Everyday Life in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Coastal Ghana, Kwaku Nti makes an important contribution to the social history of indigenous African institutions and figures, and the conflicts and compromises brokered between them and British imperialists on Africa's Gold Coast/Ghana. Using the optics of Cape Coast, broader historical patterns are insightfully revealed."—Kwasi Konadu, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Endowed Chair, Colgate University"Maritime Culture and Everyday Life in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Coastal Ghana is a well-written, engaging, compelling book that brilliantly centers Akan people in the telling of their history. Kwaku Nti's use of Akan sources, coupled with his skillful reading of European sources through an Akan lens, opens new vistas for considering Africans' historical experiences. A must read for Africanists and maritime historians, alike."—Kevin Dawson, University of California, Merced

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Book SynopsisThe communities along the coastline of Ghana boast a long and vibrant maritime culture. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the region experienced creeping British imperialism and incorporation into the British Gold Coast colony. Drawing on a wealth of Ghanian archival sources, historian Kwaku Nti shows how many aspects of traditional maritime daily lifecustomary ritual performances, fishing, and concepts of ownership, and landserved as a means of resistance and allowed residents to contest and influence the socio-political transformations of the era. Nti explored how the Ebusua (female) and Asafo (male) local social groups, especially in Cape Coast, became bastions of indigenous identity and traditions during British colonial rule, while at the same time functioning as focal points for demanding a share of emerging economic opportunities. A convincing demonstration of the power of the indigenous everyday life to complicate the reach of empire, Maritime Culture and EverydaTrade Review"This book provides an in-depth study of maritime culture as well as everyday life in 19th and 20th century coastal Ghana, with an emphasis on the social history of Cape Coast. Kwaku Nti, its author, deserves high commendation for his meticulous research and laser-sharp analysis."—A.B. Assensoh, Emeritus Professor, Indiana University"Maritime Culture and Everyday Life in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Coastal Ghana puts Ghanaian fisherfolk, gender-based organizations, and traders front and center in the making of a 'colonial' city. Trying to explain to students how to mine colonial documents and read between the lines for African ideas, frames of reference, goals, and agency? Teach this book. It is a stunning model."—Laura Fair, Columbia University"Maritime Culture and Everyday Life in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Coastal Ghana, Kwaku Nti makes an important contribution to the social history of indigenous African institutions and figures, and the conflicts and compromises brokered between them and British imperialists on Africa's Gold Coast/Ghana. Using the optics of Cape Coast, broader historical patterns are insightfully revealed."—Kwasi Konadu, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Endowed Chair, Colgate University"Maritime Culture and Everyday Life in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Coastal Ghana is a well-written, engaging, compelling book that brilliantly centers Akan people in the telling of their history. Kwaku Nti's use of Akan sources, coupled with his skillful reading of European sources through an Akan lens, opens new vistas for considering Africans' historical experiences. A must read for Africanists and maritime historians, alike."—Kevin Dawson, University of California, Merced

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Book SynopsisA riveting tale of danger, adventure, and connectionIn 1835 young Chinese scholar Cai Tinglan was caught in a typhoon while sailing across the Taiwan Strait. He and his shipmates spent a harrowing week at sea before drifting to the coast of central Vietnam. With an escort of Vietnamese soldiers, Cai traveled north along the famous Mandarin Road, meeting governors-general of each province he passed through along his overland journey to Fujian Province in China. Cai documented his experiences in Miscellany of the South Seas (Hainan zazhu), a vivid account of clothing, food, religious practices, government affairs, and other aspects of daily life in early Nguy?n dynasty Vietnam. Cai's encounters with diasporic Chinese show the Hokkien merchant community's penetration into Vietnamese society, while his warm embrace by Nguy?n officials illustrates a shared elite world of classical culture across international borders. In this first English translation, Kathlene Baldanza and Zhao Lu provide Trade Review"This excellent translation by Kathlene Baldanza and Zhao Lu is simultaneously a pedagogical tool and a work of scholarship that contributes to our understanding of the historical connections between East Asia and Southeast Asia, specifically China and Vietnam…[H]ighly recommended to specialists and non-specialists alike." * Journal of Chinese History *"Baldanza and Zhao’s introduction, a precious addition to the original document, offers detailed information on the historical and cultural context, which helps readers understand Cai’s significance in Taiwan’s history and his interactions with local Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants. Altogether, this book is an invaluable source for researching and teaching the environmental history of Southeast Asia, the shared Confucian commonwealth spanning Vietnam and Qing China, and transnational migrants and trading communities, as well as precolonial Vietnamese society." * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This excellent translation by Kathlene Baldanza and Zhao Lu is simultaneously a pedagogical tool and a work of scholarship that contributes to our understanding of the historical connections between East Asia and Southeast Asia, specifically China and Vietnam…[H]ighly recommended to specialists and non-specialists alike." * Journal of Chinese History *"Baldanza and Zhao’s introduction, a precious addition to the original document, offers detailed information on the historical and cultural context, which helps readers understand Cai’s significance in Taiwan’s history and his interactions with local Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants. Altogether, this book is an invaluable source for researching and teaching the environmental history of Southeast Asia, the shared Confucian commonwealth spanning Vietnam and Qing China, and transnational migrants and trading communities, as well as precolonial Vietnamese society." * H-Net Reviews *

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Book SynopsisA sweeping maritime history that demonstrates the far-ranging impact that the tools and infrastructure developed for navigating the Great Lakes had on the national economies, politics, and environment of continental North America.Trade ReviewMastering the Inland Seas offers a broad panorama of the conflicts, policies, and personalities that created the modern navigation system on the Great Lakes. Far more than just lighthouses, it draws in the political storms of antebellum America, the federal government's role, and the long-term impact of these encounters." - Matthew Lawrence Daley, Grand Valley State University"Magnificently researched and written with clarity and high energy, Karamanski's Mastering the Inland Seas tells the hidden history of how generations of maritime peoples-from indigenous canoe paddlers to modern mariners-navigated and domesticated the watery wilderness of the Great Lakes." - Robert Michael Morrissey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Book SynopsisJeremy Black considers how the ocean affected British exploration, defence, trade, commerce and the role of the navy, as well as the attitudes and perceptions of the British people themselves.Trade Review“Black is refreshingly unapologetic about the British Empire and this book is a valuable contribution to the debate about its merits and demerits”—The Sunday Telegraph“A nuanced, well-researched history of the ways in which Britain’s maritime industry influenced its foreign policy and public culture. . . . The result is not only an important contribution to military history, but a reminder that we are all part of a long historical narrative.”—Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisA vivid account of the forgotten citizens of maritime London who sustained Britain during the Revolutionary Wars In the half-century before the Battle of Trafalgar the port of London became the commercial nexus of a global empire and launch pad of Britain's military campaigns in North America and Napoleonic Europe. The unruly riverside parishes east of the Tower seethed with life, a crowded, cosmopolitan, and incendiary mix of sailors, soldiers, traders, and the network of ordinary citizens that served them. Harnessing little-known archival and archaeological sources, Lincoln recovers a forgotten maritime world. Her gripping narrative highlights the pervasive impact of war, which brought violence, smuggling, pilfering from ships on the river, and a susceptibility to subversive political ideas. It also commemorates the working maritime community: shipwrights and those who built London's first docks, wives who coped while husbands were at sea, and early trade unions. This meticulously reTrade Review“This book inexorably ties the lives of citizens to the life of the port, and you will never see London in the same light. It is enlightening, well-written, gripping and down-to-earth. This is a must-read for anyone whose ancestors lived in not just London but any busy port during the 18th century, by an author who really knows her stuff.”—Janet Dempsey, Who Do You Think You Are“This is a vivid evocation of the riverside life of eighteenth-century London, with sailors and landmen, rich and poor, bankers, merchants, stevedores, wharfingers and boatmen living and working cheek by jowl in the middle of the biggest and busiest port in the world. Many have glanced at this lost world from a distance, but few can equal Margarette Lincoln’s intimate knowledge of it.”—N. A. M. Rodger, author of The Command of the Ocean“[A] marvellous account . . . enlightening”—Steven Simon, Survival“Those of us who love south-east London will enjoy Margarette Lincoln’s Trading in War: London’s Maritime World in the Age of Cook and Nelson, which uncovers the lost world of the London docks in the period when Britain first became a world empire based on maritime trade.”—Jonathan Sumption, Spectator, “Books of the Year”Winner of the Outstanding Academic Title for 2018 award sponsored by Choice“A rich and vibrant study of the riverside boroughs of London to the east of Tower Bridge, the world’s greatest maritime city, in an age of revolution and social change. Lincoln catches a transient world of moving people, changing work, and the integrated lives of sea captains and servants, shipwrights, stowaways and thieves.”—Andrew Lambert, author of Nelson and War at Sea in the Age of Sail“Written at a fine, taut pace, this account of the industrial and trading powerhouse of maritime London at the end of the eighteenth century demonstrates that living then was at times far from comfortable, even for those who prospered. This is a new and comprehensive social analysis, with wonderful stories taken from unusual sources. Here, too, is the underside of society, riot and murder, poverty and theft, alongside the economic vibrancy along the banks of the Thames, capitalists and workers taking advantage of the business stoked up by lengthy wars.”—Roger Knight, author of Britain Against Napoleon“A fascinating glimpse of a part of London that is so often overlooked. Margarette Lincoln takes us into the minutiae of the lives of ‘ordinary’ citizens, and shows how they are in fact far from ordinary: shipbuilders, sailors and explorers and many others who made Britain the leading maritime nation of the period. And even more remarkable, we get to know the women of this watery world, often the unsung heroines in turbulent times.”—Margaret Willes, author of The Curious World of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn

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Book SynopsisA deeply researched, analytically rich, and vivid account of England's early maritime empire

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Book SynopsisW. Jeffrey Bolster, master mariner and historian, shatters the myth that black seafaring in the age of sail was limited to the Middle Passage. Rescuing African American seamen from obscurity, this stirring account reveals the critical role sailors played in helping forge new identities for black people in America.Trade Review[A] first-rate contribution. Bolster…spent a decade pulling together for the first time two centuries of seaborne black history… [T]he book crackles with enough drama for many novels or plays. -- Carla Davidson * New York Times Book Review *For the past 10 years, W. Jeffrey Bolster…has labored obsessively to unearth the rich and long-forgotten history of America's black mariners. His newly published book…may prove the most instructive historical offering of the year. It reminds Americans that black seamen, like black cowboys, labored long and to great effect at one of the cultural linchpins of American history… [W]hat's most remarkable about Bolster's book is both the numbers of black sailors he found in the past and the extraordinary wealth of evidence documenting their lives. -- Ken Ringle * Washington Post *[An] extraordinary story… Bolster's writing is intelligent and strong, as he stresses his central point that the life of a black sailor in the age of sail was essentially a dignified one… Bolster argues convincingly that for any ambitious African American trapped in the plantation world of the Americas, the life of a maritime sailor represented a huge leap forward in circumstances and possibilities… The real achievement of Black Jacks is to remind us that black seafaring in the age of sail was not limited to the middle passage, and that black sailors were the eyes, the ears, and the mouthpieces of the African American community at a time when America was attempting to stifle the community's collective cry of outrage… Bolster shows us that for over a century, while seafaring remained a contemptible occupation for the white man, it was a noble occupation for the black man, and it played a central role in the creation of an African American identity. -- Caryl Phillips * New Republic *Himself a master mariner, Bolster presents us with an area of the African diaspora which as been overlooked even by scholars of African American history. His book is important at a number of levels. It is a most original piece of work, based on careful scholarship, yet it also tells a cracking yarn. The subject may seem, at first glance, marginal. In fact it is central, not least because all Africans who survived into the Americas had themselves endured a major maritime experience. We now know, thanks to Bolster, the degree to which maritime experiences formed a continuing theme in African American life from first conquest until the mid-19th century. -- James Walvin * Times Higher Education Supplement *Black Jacks is one of the most significant historical works published thus far in this decade. That it is about an important group of maritime workers—black seamen—is an added bonus. The fact that it is also a joy to read provides a third excellent reason to recommend this book… [It] is an exhaustively researched, beautifully written volume that cries out to be read by a broad cross-section of historians… All in all, this is a book worth owning and returning to repeatedly. Most important, it is that rare book that deserves to be savoured, literally and figuratively. In short, Black Jacks is a magnificent scholarly achievement that can be commended to readers with no serious reservations. -- Lewis R. Fischer * The Northern Mariner *This long-overdue book takes us on a voyage of discovery in what we thought were familiar waters as W. Jeffrey Bolster—a veteran seaman and University of New Hampshire associate professor of history—lifts our collective awareness of a little known maritime subject… Bolster eloquently articulates his keen knowledge of 18th- and 19th-century American sea history as it relates to those of African descent, slave and free, seamen, laborers, statesmen, and entrepreneurs… Black Jacks intellectually broadens our perspective by bringing this unsung saga to a bright light and its rightful position on American and sea history's horizons. -- Steven W. Jones * Sea History *This highly readable book and thoroughly researched study offers interesting details of shipboard racial interaction and surprising information on the reception afforded African Americans in Atlantic and Caribbean ports. -- John C. Walter * Seattle Times *A fascinating, untold, and important story. -- Geoffrey Elan * Yankee Magazine *This book is an excellent combination of scholarship and engagement, always informed by the author's first-hand knowledge of the sea. -- Frank McLynn * Literary Review *In Black Jacks, historian and master mariner W. Jeffrey Bolster tells the long-ignored story of black seamen in this country between 1740 and the end of the Civil War, revealing the critical role that they played in helping to forge a black identity. At the beginning of the this period, Anglo-American deep-sea labor was largely white, and virtually all sea-faring blacks were slaves. By the turn of the nineteenth century, almost one in five U.S. seamen were black, and most of them were free. And at the end of the period, the tide had turned again, and a combination of different factors squeezed most African-Americans out of the maritime labor force. Professor Bolster never loses sight of the larger picture, but he also recognizes the collection of compelling stories that he has gathered—stories of the famous (such as Frederick Douglass, who escaped from slavery disguised as a sailor), of the nameless, and of many more in between. * Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce *Black Jacks fills a big gap in Atlantic maritime history. It wonderfully describes the heretofore untold contributions of the tens of thousands of free and enslaved black men who served on board ships in the coastal trade and on deep-sea expeditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. Inspired by the tales of elderly black sailors in the Caribbean heard while he was a tall ship captain, Bolster vividly details the adventures and experiences of African American sailors throughout the seafaring world. * U.S. Magazine *Licensed master mariner Bolster writes a descriptively rich, engaging narrative of African American seafarers from the 1740s to the 1860s. He recounts how tens of thousands of African American sailors formed an important sector of the maritime labor force, shaped mariner culture and the identity of free black communities, and linked the Atlantic world of the black diaspora… This excellent study is highly recommended. * Library Journal *Many black sailors were sophisticated linguists, entrepreneurs in port, ready raconteurs; and Bolster draws from a range of literate, often lyrical voices in this little-known labor force… [A] well-researched book. * Publishers Weekly *In Black Jacks, W. Jeffrey Bolster tells an almost unknown side of blacks and the sea, stories of African American slaves, free men, and runaways who worked as seamen from 1740 to 1865. It's the story, he says, of a phenomenon that in all the generally accepted books and museum exhibits was basically being ignored… [Black Jacks] is thoroughly researched and documented. But Bolster knows that history is story, and he has turned out a highly readable book that focuses on the lives of many remarkable men. The black sailors' dedication to freedom is a recurring theme of the book… Black sailors brought the news of the world, especially the black world, to the plantation slaves when they stopped to pick up or discharge goods, giving the isolated slaves a sense of being part of a much larger community. They provided role models of pride and independence to those who felt beaten down by the rigors of slavery. And they frequently hid slaves aboard their vessels, enabling them to escape to freedom. As Bolster says in his conclusion, black sailors 'contributed to a larger sense of black collectivity… [They] were crucial cultural mediators in the creation of black America.' -- Pat Parnell * King George Journal *Ten years were spent in researching and writing Black Jacks, and the result is a major contribution to African-American and American maritime histories. It is unlikely that readers of the book will ever again limit their view of slavery to field hands and domestics or associate blacks at sea only as victims of the dreaded Middle Passage. The overwhelming number of black seamen prior to the American revolution were slaves… In vivid detail, this book relates the contributions black jacks made to African-American society as sources of pride in accomplishment, as dispensers of knowledge of a world beyond the sea, and as contributors to the formation of a distinctive black culture in America. Bolster has produced a work of sound scholarship that tells a very important story in a most exciting fashion. -- Frederick M. Binder * Journal of the Early Republic *Jeffrey Bolster's personal seafaring experience lends vibrance to his gorgeously detailed account Black Jacks. This deserving analysis of Africa-American sailors, who totaled twenty thousand men and composed one fifth of the United States' maritime labor force by the early nineteenth century, illustrates important ways of conceptualizing both early African-American and maritime history… These is no doubt that Black Jacks will have a powerful impact on the field. Bolster's portrayal of maritime work culture is a significant contribution to our understanding of early African-American work settings. His imaginative research and use of sources, neglected in this review, set a high standard for future work in maritime history. Most importantly, as interest in the fields of both African-American and Atlantic history continues to surge, Bolster has written the best overall assessment to date of African-American seafarers. Black Jacks introduces Bolster as an important figure in these vibrant fields of research. -- Thomas Buchanan * Journal of Social History *W. Jeffrey Bolster charts new ground by examining in detail the role and experiences of African-American seamen in a crucial phase of American history. To support his main argument that 'the rise and fall of African American seafaring in the age of sail was central to the creation of black America,' Bolster skillfully teases out from numerous primary sources material on African-American mariners in Africa and the diaspora… [His] important book provides a fascinating glimpse of the experiences of African-American seamen. His interesting and detailed description of the thousands of captured black sailors held at Dartmoor Prison during the War of 1812 recalls the dangers that often accompanied these individuals, for whom no eighteenth or nineteenth-century society had a clearly defined legal position. Rather than being simply maritime history, this is social history at its most eloquent… By successfully mining many traditional sources, [Bolster] has helped us understand the multifaceted nature of the African-American community. -- Edward L. Cox * American Historical Review *Almost nothing has been set down on the important role both slaves and free blacks played in the maritime trades in the 18th and early 19th centuries… Jeffrey Bolster has now moved to fill that notable gap with a volume sure to make its mark in maritime history. Well researched, carefully documented, precise in its distinctions and pleasantly readable, this book will stand as a tribute to America's seagoing blacks, as well as to its author… As a bonus—reflective of Bolster's 10 years at sea—it vividly portrays life before the mast… For a vicarious experience of life on a sailing vessel…during America's days of sailing glory, this book is the one to read. -- James M. Morris * Daily Press (Hampton Roads, VA) *Black Jacks is more than the story of African American seafarers between 1740 and 1865. It is a vivid account of the fluid and multi-dimensional nature of black identity… Bolster's book is a marvelous and readable account of a previously neglected segment of American history. It convincingly forces us to reconsider the roles blacks played in forging the modern identity of America. Take together with Luraghi's History of the Confederate Navy, these important studies are worthy additions to the bookshelf of anyone who professes an interest in southern history. -- Gene A. Smith * Journal of Southwest Georgia History *From time to time, a new book picks up a long-neglected thread of history and carefully traces the way it is delicately interwoven with the rest of the fabric. To read such a work is not only to appreciate the author's skill and perception, it is to never look at the fabric the same way again. Such a book is Black Jacks, by W. Jeffrey Bolster, seaman and historian… A careful researcher and a level-headed writer, he offers perceptions that bring this history alive. -- Tom Jackson * WoodenBoat Review *Black Jacks investigates a substantial and largely unexamined African American presence aboard Anglo-American coasting craft, 'blue water' merchants, privateers, pirate ships, whalers and naval vessels… Specialist and general readers will surely share Bolster's sense of the importance of his subject and warm to his lively and evocative presentation. -- Peter Thompson * English Historical Review *Black Jacks places sailors of color squarely at the center of Atlantic maritime culture. W. Jeffrey Bolster deserves our thanks for recovering an exciting, essential chapter in African-American history, one that not only deepens our appreciation for the roles black men played (as both able seamen and buccaneers), but also vividly demonstrates the fluidity and multi-dimensional complexity of black identity. -- Charles Johnson, author of Middle PassageBolster's own long experience as a seaman adds a note of realism and color to his fine descriptions of life aboard the early sailing ships. His extensive research has given him a notably sensitive understanding of the precarious lives led by black sailors, both at sea and ashore. He has breathed new life into the neglected history of black mariners, both slave and free. This story has remained too long untold. -- Gerald E. Thomas, Rear Admiral, U.S. NavyOne more of the gaps in African-American history has been filled, thanks to Jeffrey Bolster's book, Black Jacks. Here, Jacks is short for jacktar ('colloq., sailor'). In any given year between 1800 and 1850, Bolster estimates, shipping employed more than 100,000 American males; one-fifth were black… [This] is a seamark book. -- James H. Bready * Baltimore Sun *W. Jeffrey Bolster's purpose here is to urge people to rethink black maritime history… [He] admirably reveals the richness of Africa's legacy to America as it was fashioned over centuries by mariners who endured deprivation and hardship but seized their opportunities with imagination and courage. -- Sari Hornstein * William and Mary Quarterly *Black Jacks is a work of energy, imagination, and deep knowledge of a central experience in African-American history. It exudes Jeffrey Bolster's engagement with the subject, imbuing the history of black sailors with something of the mildewed stench of the forecastle and the bracing aromas of the open sea, the harsh realities of shipboard tyranny and the liberating possibilities of the sea. It will quickly become a central work in African-American history. -- Ira Berlin, University of Maryland at College ParkThis book breaks new ground in seeking to explore and explain trends in employment of blacks, free and enslaved, in the American merchant fleet up to the Civil War… Both maritime historians and historians of American slavery will learn much from Jeffrey Bolster's most useful study. -- David Richardson * Labour History Review *This deeply researched and elegantly written book…is impressive…an important…substantial work of historical scholarship. Students of early America, African America, slavery, and maritime history cannot afford to ignore it. -- Frank Cogliano * Borderlines *This marvelously rich study of a scarcely known, but critically important, aspect of American maritime history will surprise and delight readers. A groundbreaking study told with sensitivity and depth, it demands that we broaden our view of eighteenth and nineteenth century African American labor and its importance to seafaring. -- James Oliver Horton, George Washington UniversityThe fruit of a truly prodigious amount of research carried out by a blue-water sailor turned historian, it deals with an important but largely neglected strand in the cable of American history… He shows many almost entirely forgotten aspects of that vanished world… I shall not soon forget his description of the hundreds of captured black American sailors in Dartmoor during the war of 1812. -- Patrick O'Brian, author of The Yellow AdmiralBolster has done a fine job in illuminating an important part of American maritime history. He makes a valuable contribution to standard antebellum American history by looking at a major period of change from the black sailor's perspective. He is to be congratulated for shedding light on a too-long neglected subject. -- Tom Costa * International Journal of Maritime History *Bolster's book offers a marvelous entry into the world of the black sailor and the way men of African descent spread Afro-Atlantic art and culture across the seven seas. Melville would have been proud to read this text. -- Robert Farris Thompson, Yale UniversityThis [is] a lively exploration of a neglected chapter of American history. -- Michael Kenney * Boston Globe *Black Jacks does stand out as a landmark: the first published history of the American black men that documents their lives as sailors in a broadly conceived Atlantic world… Black Jacks is thought-provoking work that builds upon the studies of slaves and free blacks outside the plantation systems. Bolster applies the insights of the authors of these works to an understudied area in black history. -- Craig T. Marion * Journal of World History *Black Jacks provides a nuanced account of black maritime life and labor in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries… Bolster writes with the authority of a seasoned seaman and the sensitivity of a well-trained social historian. Drawing on these aptitudes his account is particularly rich in its explorations of the dynamics of race and class, the generation and play of cultural styles and forms, and the politics of meaning that might be inferred from the descriptive traces of past actions he so ably recovers from his sources… Black Jacks is a well-written, impressively documented, handsomely produced book that certainly does offer a convincing corrective; a book that should appeal to undergraduate and non-academic readers as well as to specialists. -- Charles V. Carnegie * New West Indian Guide *

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Book SynopsisWendell Willkie lost the 1940 presidential election but became America’s most effective ambassador, embarking on a 7-week plane trip to bolster the allied cause, encountering everyone from de Gaulle and Stalin to Chiang Kai-shek. Against a wave of nationalism, Willkie promoted a message of global interconnection and peaceful engagement.Trade ReviewIf isolationist slogans such as ‘America First’ drive you to despair, The Idealist might be thebook for you…Zipp…has captured Willkie’s ‘brief, blazing moment,’ a little-remembered interlude when America was at war but already worrying about the postwar order. Younger readers, dismayed by today’s various nationalisms, may be comforted to learn that isolationist and internationalist impulses—like so much else—are cyclical phenomena. -- Roger Lowenstein * Wall Street Journal *As a new Administration now looks to reimagine US foreign policy in an increasingly chaotic world beset by global challenges from the pandemic to climate change, Zipp’s account of Willkie’s travels and ideas offers some food for thought. -- Michael Sheldrick * Forbes *Exhilarating and timely…Makes the case for a return to Willkie’s thinking about interdependence and international cooperation…By a coincidence, Zipp’s book has appeared amid a global pandemic that has both highlighted the need to transcend nationalism and its intractability. -- Dexter Fergie * New Republic *The Idealist is a powerful book, gorgeously written and consistently insightful. Samuel Zipp uses the 1942 world tour of Wendell Willkie to examine American attitudes toward internationalism, decolonization, and race in the febrile atmosphere of the world’s first truly global conflict. By showing that Willkie’s wartime tour offered a preview of globalization, Zipp challenges now-dominant interpretations of World War II. -- Andrew Preston, author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of FaithThis deeply researched and wonderfully written book leads us to wonder how the twentieth century might have unfolded if the United States had embraced Wendell Willkie’s ‘new world idea.’ It’s not too late, because Willkie’s wisdom rings through The Idealist and speaks urgently to today’s America. -- Stephen Kinzer, author of All the Shah’s MenThis is a beautifully written, ambitious, confident, and capacious book that does a wonderful job of situating Wendell Willkie and his vision for ‘one world’ in a historical context. Its breadth is truly impressive. The reader has a sense of being a participant on Willkie’s journey, seeing the world as it stood in 1942. An outstanding book. -- Melani McAlister, author of The Kingdom of God Has No BordersZipp’s breathtaking account of Wendell Willkie’s wartime world tour centers on the transformational concept of One World. Tackling Willkie’s idealistic, often maligned push for an independent and profoundly interconnected world, this riveting tale speaks to some of the most pressing concerns of our present age. -- Christopher Nichols, Director, Oregon State University Center for the HumanitiesThis insightful and nuanced portrayal successfully elucidates Willkie’s globalist politics and America’s emergence as a world leader. * Publishers Weekly *Zipp's engrossing book will be of interest to not just historians, but anyone interested in understanding how ordinary Americans responded to the global changes in governance, politics, and culture that took place during these prewar and postwar years. -- Steven P. Rodriguez * New Books Network *

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Book SynopsisWe have long been fascinated with the oceans and sought “to pierce the profundity” of their depths. But the history of marine science also tells us a lot about ourselves. Antony Adler explores the ways in which scientists, politicians, and the public have invoked ocean environments in imagining the fate of humanity and of the planet.Trade ReviewIn his entertaining, readable history of marine science, [Adler] shows how humanity’s fundamental ignorance about the sea has often fed fantastical ideas of it as savior, battlefield, playground, storehouse, angry beast or hapless victim…Left me with a sense of urgency about the ocean’s perilous state…Enlightening. -- Boris Worm * Nature *The best narrative of oceanography’s history that I have ever read, Neptune’s Laboratory elucidates humanity’s relationship with the ocean. Compelling, imaginative, and exceptionally well researched, this book will make a difference in the world by offering insight into the fears and fantasies that forged our understandings of the ocean in the past and how, against mounting environmental challenges, they continue to shape our courses of action. -- Helen Rozwadowski, author of Vast Expanses: A History of the OceansA social and cultural history of how Western societies have, over the last two hundred years, conceptualized the oceans as a place that can be scientifically understood…Thoughtful and well conceived. It communicates a changing understanding and imagining of the oceans… While of obvious interest to scholars of the ‘oceanic turn,’ it should also find a much broader audience among those interested in how the public interacts with science and with the environment, and how these interests feed and are fed by political goals and fears. -- Penelope K. Hardy * British Journal for the History of Science *Neptune’s Laboratory is a major accomplishment. Adler contributes penetrating new insights into marine research and technology from the last two centuries, and examines how that scholarship has shaped scientists’ hopes and fears for the future. The result is a sophisticated, evocative, and highly original approach to subject matter that challenges easy analysis. -- Eric Mills, author of The Fluid Envelope of Our Planet: How the Study of Ocean Currents Became a ScienceThis book presents a remarkable account of the imagined futures that scientists, politicians, explorers, and mariners built around marine environments over two centuries. Taking us through the history of marine sciences from the nineteenth century to the present, Adler argues for a picture of oceanography that takes seriously practice, context, and a profound human engagement with the oceans. Neptune’s Laboratory will appeal to anyone interested in the history of the future. -- Simon Werrett, author of Thrifty Science: Making the Most of Materials in the History of ExperimentAn engaging new book about the history of humanity’s relationship with, and improving understanding of, the ocean…Neptune’s Laboratory is not only about the history of modern marine science but also about how we perceive the ocean—and how that perception has changed over time. -- David Shiffman * Issues in Science and Technology *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A powerful history of rupture and change; of technologies no longer in use, once-priceless goods that have lost their value, prominent port cities that have become provincial backwaters, and social worlds that have altered beyond recognition. . . . In Asian Waters offers fascinating glimpses of a world at once strangely familiar and deeply foreign."---Yorim Spoelder, Asian Review of Books"Fascinating. . . . This is a daring and thought-provoking book."---Jonas Rüegg, H-Net Reviews"A tour de force that offers a broad historical and geographic perspective of oceanic interlinkages from Japan to East Africa that evolved long before the arrival of European powers to the macro-region in the sixteenth century."---Cuauhtemoc Villamar, Journal of World History"Tagliacozzo suggests that to appreciate this vast maritime world, we must do away with the blinders that fossilized disciplines have imposed on us. Instead of national geobodies, we should focus on the oceans, where there is that timeless low of commodities, ideas and peoples that national borders cannot stop. . . . This is an excellent, extraordinarily superb, and fun book to read."---Patricio Abinales, Southeast Asian Studies"Eric Tagliacozzo’s latest ambitious work provides an eclectic history of maritime trade and interconnectivities across a vast space extending from the Persian Gulf to the seas around Japan. Though the Indian Ocean and South China Sea garner the greatest attention in this enjoyable work, the sweeping and engaging kaleidoscope of topics covered in Tagliacozzo’s work offers much to historians of the Pacific."---Steven Ivings, Pacific Historical Review"A major addition to the corpus of maritime and oceanic history and thus to global history. . . . Tagliacozzo’s study is exhaustively researched, creatively analyzed, elegantly presented, and makes a major contribution to maritime and global history. It should become a landmark (a lighthouse?) in maritime Asian scholarship."---Stephen Morillo, Asian Review of World Histories"In Asian Waters does not rewrite Indian Ocean history. . . but it is undoubtedly the best stock-taking that we have of the field, in all of its historical, thematic and methodological diversity."---Fahad Ahmad Bishara, Journal of International Maritime History

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA gold mine of maritime history... Middleton's Tobacco Coast is credited by some scholars with generating much of today's environmental and historical interest in the Chesapeake Bay, even before James Michener got hold of it. Newport News Daily PressTable of ContentsForewordForeword to the First EditionPart I. Sea and BayChapter 1. Ocean PassageChapter 2. The Great Bay of ChesapeakeChapter 3. Shoals and ShallowsPart II. CommerceChapter 4. The Tobacco TradeChapter 5. British and African TradeChapter 6. American and South-European TradePart III. ShippingChapter 7. Ships and ShipbuildingChapter 8. The Merchant MarineChapter 9. Masters and marinersPart IV. WarfareChapter 10. The Convoy SystemChapter 11. Defense of the BayChapter 12. Prizes and PrivateersPart V. ConclusionChapter 13. ConclusionFootnotesBibliographyAppendicesIndex

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Book SynopsisThis is a history of how the Navy responded-in doctrine, strategy, operations, preparedness, self-awareness, and force structure-to radical changes in political circumstance, technological innovation, and national needs and expectations.Trade Review"A fine book: meticulous, judicious, incisive. It is a book to which the conventional exaggerations—"must" reading, relevant, if you're only going to read one book on the subject, etc.—actually may be said to apply. . . . It is a study of the interactions of technology, bureaucracy, politics and culture, of how an institution adapts, or fails to adapt, to changing conditions. As such, the book belongs on a lot of desks at the Pentagon."—Washington Times"Baer takes what could have been a dry topic—the political history of the modern U.S. Navy—and turns it into interesting reading."—Library Journal"This is clearly one of the two or three most important works in American naval history published in the last decade; it has the potential to become a classic in the field. Well researched and carefully nuanced, it provides a distinctive perspective on the evolving historical relationship between national interest and national politics on the one hand and naval power on the other. Not only is this a significant contribution to scholarship—one that will critically influence how historians and political scientists think about American naval power—it is an enormously readable work. Baer writes beautifully, and he has organized his material effectively. The book is fully accessible to anyone interested in naval history."—Edward Rhodes, Rutgers University"A valuable book that stimulates reflection, reconsideration, and debate."—International History Review"Policy makers will benefit greatly from reading Baer's erudite review of the navy's previous successes and failures in developing strategy. . . . In seeking to educate both the naval and the non-naval communities, Baer admirably fulfills the special obligation of a public historian to convey to several audiences his special understanding of the institution he serves."—The Public HistorianTable of ContentsIntroduction Part I. On the Sea: 1. Sea power and the fleet Navy, 1890-1910 2. The new Navy, 1898-1913 3. Neutrality or readiness? 1913-1917 4. War without Mahan, 1917-1918 5. Parity and proportion, 1919-1922 6. Treaty Navy, 1922-1930 7. Adapt and innovate, 1931-1938 8. Are we ready? 1938-1940 9. Sea control, 1941-1942 10. Strategic offensives, 1943-1944 11. Victory drives, 1944-1945 Part II. From the Sea: 12. Why do we need a navy? 1945-1949 13. Naval strategy, 1950-1954 14. Containment and the Navy, 1952-1960 15. The McNamara years, 1961-1970 16. Disarray, 1970-1980 17. High tide, 1980-1990 Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn the late summer of 1984, the author and a group of his archaeology students excavated fragments of Chinese porcelain at the site of a Pomo Indian village a hundred miles north of San Francisco. How did these ceramics, which were more than a hundred years old, find their way to this remote area?Trade Review"A business history focusing on one firm's involvement in a lucrative drug trade at the middle of the 19th century, Layton's work is extremely well conceived, well written, and exhaustively researched. Highly recommended."—Library Journal"An exemplary text that brings together the fields of archaeology and history in stimulating and provocative ways."—Journal of Asian Studies"A fascinating glimpse at a piece of the American past that had been not merely forgotten but in some cases deliberately ignored. . . . An alluring and revealing story."—Washington Post"A fascinating look at a little known slice of American history, filled with dozens of colorful anecdotes."—Booklist"Like a sleuth, Layton was able to uncover the mystery behind a ship that was wrecked off the coast of California in 1850 and the history that got her there. His research is intense, exact, and diligent."—The New England QuarterlyTable of ContentsContents CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C

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Book SynopsisBenjamin Armstrong sets out to take irregular naval warfare out of the shadow of the blue-water battles that dominate naval history. This book, the first historical study of its kind, makes a compelling case for raiding and irregular naval warfare as key elements in the story of American sea power.Trade ReviewArmstrong provides readers with an innovative history of a form of naval strategy often neglected by historians and strategists who focus on big fleets and guerre de course. His pioneering scholarship here is not just interesting naval history but enters into the realm of naval theory and strategy."" - John T. Kuehn, author of America's First General Staff""Armstrong takes the reader on an action-packed journey from the War for Independence to the decades immediately following the War of 1812. In retelling little-known stories of raids, ambushes, and explosive devices, he recasts the U.S. Navy's early history. Small Boats and Daring Men brings irregular operations to the forefront of naval history."" - Kevin D. McCranie, author of Utmost Gallantry: The U.S. and Royal Navies at Sea in the War of 1812|""In this provocative study, Benjamin Armstrong employs the concept of guerre de razzia in order to highlight the prevalence of American raiding operations during the Age of Sail. Through carefully chosen studies, he shows how U.S. Navy forces frequently employed what he calls ""naval irregular warfare"" to pursue national goals."" - Craig L. Symonds, Ernest J. King Professor, U.S. Naval War College and author of A Concise History of the U.S. Navy""Those with a military mindset should enjoy the analysis of the strategic theory of guerre de razza. Historians of the navy, technology and early American diplomacy should also find something in the book to pique their interest. Maritime historians, in general, should find the topic enlightening. Academically, the book might be appealing as a text for an upper level or graduate course. Readers who like true adventure, and many of the raiding expeditions are, to say the least, adventurous, will be fascinated by the audaciousness of the mariners of yore in small boats. It would be nice if a book of this quality of scholarship obtained an audience beyond a naval/maritime readership."" - The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord

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Book SynopsisTakes irregular naval warfare out of the shadow of the blue-water battles that dominate naval history. This book, the first historical study of its kind, makes a compelling case for raiding and irregular naval warfare as key elements in the story of American sea power.Trade ReviewArmstrong provides readers with an innovative history of a form of naval strategy often neglected by historians and strategists who focus on big fleets and guerre de course. His pioneering scholarship here is not just interesting naval history but enters into the realm of naval theory and strategy." - John T. Kuehn, author of America's First General Staff"Armstrong takes the reader on an action-packed journey from the War for Independence to the decades immediately following the War of 1812. In retelling little-known stories of raids, ambushes, and explosive devices, he recasts the U.S. Navy's early history. Small Boats and Daring Menbrings irregular operations to the forefront of naval history." - Kevin D. McCranie, author of Utmost Gallantry: The U.S. and Royal Navies at Sea in the War of 1812"In this provocative study, Benjamin Armstrong employs the concept of guerre de razzia in order to highlight the prevalence of American raiding operations during the Age of Sail. Through carefully chosen studies, he shows how U.S. Navy forces frequently employed what he calls 'naval irregular warfare' to pursue national goals."—Craig L.Symonds, Ernest J. King Professor, U.S. Naval War College and author of A Concise History of the U.S. Navy"Those with a military mindset should enjoy the analysis of the strategic theory of guerre de razza. Historians of the navy, technology and early American diplomacy should also find something in the book to pique their interest. Maritime historians, in general, should find the topic enlightening. Academically, the book might be appealing as a text for an upper level or graduate course. Readers who like true adventure, and many of the raiding expeditions are, to say the least, adventurous, will be fascinated by the audaciousness of the mariners of yore in small boats. It would be nice if a book of this quality of scholarship obtained an audience beyond a naval/maritime readership."—The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord

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Book SynopsisLong before the rise of New World slavery, West Africans were adept swimmers, divers, canoe makers, and canoeists. They lived along riverbanks, near lakes, or close to the ocean. In those waterways, they became proficient in diverse maritime skills, while incorporating water and aquatics into spiritual understandings of the world. Transported to the Americas, slaves carried with them these West African skills and cultural values. Indeed, according to Kevin Dawson''s examination of water culture in the African diaspora, the aquatic abilities of people of African descent often surpassed those of Europeans and their descendants from the age of discovery until well into the nineteenth century.As Dawson argues, histories of slavery have largely chronicled the fields of the New World, whether tobacco, sugar, indigo, rice, or cotton. However, most plantations were located near waterways to facilitate the transportation of goods to market, and large numbers of agricultural slaves had Trade Review"Kevin Dawson's masterly synthesis goes beyond filling a gap in maritime history: it reconfirms and expands a discourse on maritime traditions of Africans at home and abroad, from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries." * The International Journal of Maritime History *"This is an important book in a number of ways. It displays the ways many enslaved Africans used the knowledge they brought with them to expand the space available to them. It gives us a picture of how aspects of slavery in one of the most coercive slave societies ever created were negotiated. It is also a contribution to aquatic history and culture informed by Kevin Dawson's passion for and understanding of aquatic life. In making his arguments, Dawson uses a wide range of sources and uses them well. Most important, he gives us a picture of those enslaved as agents, who used their knowledge and their skills to push the boundaries of their enslavement." * Early American Literature *"Kevin Dawson's Undercurrents of Power is important. More than perhaps any study in recent memory, it brings the existence, value, and meaning of water in the African diaspora to the forefront of Atlantic cultural, social, and economic development. In a broad,sweeping narrative, Dawson covers remarkable ground, crisscrossing the Atlantic as he draws together hundreds of examples of how water defined the pre-slavery lives of Africans forced into the Atlantic slave trade and how it helped diverse peoples and cultures identify themselves, individually and collectively, in the whirlwind and trauma of enslavement. The work explores the complexities of honor, warfare, social status, youth, sex, technology, and leisure and how each interacted with, and indeed structured itself around, water and aquatic spaces." * The Journal of Southern History *"Stunning . . . Undercurrents of Power brings to light the various aquatic traditions of Africans and Diasporans working, cultivating, and negotiating the riparian, oceanic, lake, and swamp biomes both in the context of Africa and in the environments they encountered throughout the Atlantic and into the Americas . . . In the process of opening various kinds of waterscapes to historical analysis, Dawson fundamentally reimagines the cultural dynamics shaping the Americas." * Black Perspectives *"Undercurrents of Power is a significant intervention into the fields of Early Vast America, African Diaspora, African American, and Caribbean histories. By focusing on African aquatic cultural and material contributions, Dawson rescues African maritime narratives in the early Atlantic World, which have been grossly ignored or silenced. It is a must-read for scholars and graduate students in these respective fields. The prose is captivating and clear." * Journal of Early American History *"Kevin Dawson offers the remarkable untold history of the significance of aquatic culture in the African diaspora. Undercurrents of Power opens up a new and exciting aspect of slaves' experience, providing a crucially important piece of the history of slave life and labor in the Americas." * James Sidbury, Rice University *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Waterscapes of the African Diaspora PART I. SWIMMING CULTURE Chapter 1. Atlantic African Aquatic Cultures: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Chapter 2. Cultural Meanings of Recreational Swimming and Surfing Chapter 3. Aquatic Sports and Performance Rituals: Gender, Bravery, and Honor Chapter 4. History from Below: Enslaved Underwater Divers Chapter 5. Undercurrents of Power: Challenging Racial Hierarchies from Below PART II. CANOE CULTURE Chapter 6. African Canoe-Makers: Constructing Floating Cultures Chapter 7. Mountains Divide and Rivers Unite: Atlantic African Canoemen Chapter 8. Maritime Continuities: African Canoes on New World Waters Chapter 9. The Floating Economies of Slaves and Slaveholders Chapter 10. Sacred Vessels, Sacred Waters: The Cultural Meanings of Dugout Canoes Chapter 11. A World Afloat: Mobile Slave Communities Chapter 12. The Watermen's Song: Canoemen's Aural Waterscapes Conclusion. A Sea Change in Atlantic History Epilogue Notes Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisExamining excavated underwater ""treasure sites"" and terrestrial pirate lairs found off the coast of Madagascar, throughout the Caribbean, and within the United States, this book explores the romanticized ""Golden Age of Piracy,"" and the ""gentleman pirate"" Jean Lafitte.Trade ReviewThe first comprehensive, scholarly look at the artifactual evidence of real pirates, recovered at both shipwrecks and known pirate bases. - Archaeology Magazine ""The reader unused to digesting professional publications will, pardon the pun, sail through this book as if it were a collection of novellas! This is the definitive book on pirates and the research being done to dispel all of the fables."" - Dirtbrothers.org

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Book SynopsisAddresses the ways maritime archaeologists have engaged citizen scientists, presenting examples of projects and organisations that have involved volunteers in the important work of gathering and processing data.

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Book SynopsisThe USS Saginaw was a Civil War gunboat that served in Pacific and Asian waters between 1860 and 1870. In 1870, the ship sank at one of the world’s most remote coral reefs. This narrative provides fresh insights and a vivid retelling of a classic naval shipwreck.Trade ReviewAn epic shipwreck tale. Sacrifice and heroism are recounted in a comprehensive study of a ship that embodied America's role in the nineteenth-century Pacific as Yankee enterprise helped open Asia to trade. Well-researched, well-written, this book also takes readers for the first time intoSaginaw's long-lost grave beneath the sea." - James P. Delgado, president, The Institute of Nautical Archaeology"An impressive study of a naval vessel from construction to destruction." - William Still Jr., author of Crisis at Sea

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Book SynopsisTells the story of the greatest shipwreck disaster in the history of the Cayman Islands. The story has been passed through generations for over two centuries. Details vary depending on who is doing the telling, but all refer to this momentous maritime event as the Wreck of the Ten Sail.Trade ReviewCayman's 1794 Wreck of the Ten Sail serves as a robust example of unrelenting and careful historical archaeological research that tells a dramatic, true story that represents part of an island nation's past brought into the present." - Roger C. Smith, author of The Maritime Heritage of the Cayman Islands and Ships of Exploration in the Age of ColumbusTable of Contents List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Ship Ashore! Lost, but Not Forgotten Chapter 2. Hazard, Landmark, Food: A Hidden Mountain Chapter 3. L'Inconstante: A Place in the Navy Chapter 4. France's Saint-Domingue Campaign: The Best and the Worst of Times Chapter 5. The Prize: A Ship by Another Name Chapter 6. Great Britain's Convert Convoy: Duty versus Profit Chapter 7. The Wreck of the Ten Sail: Breakers Ahead, Close to Us! Chapter 8. What Remains: Links to the Past Conclusion Appendix A. Inventory of L'Inconstante Appendix B. Condemnation of L'Inconstante Appendix C. Biographical Sketch of John Lawford Appendix D. Data from the Muster Table of HMS Convert Appendix E. Ships in the Convert Convoy, 1794 Appendix F. Salvage Account of HMS Convert Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisBrings together three intertwined stories documenting the US Navy’s strategic and materiel evolution following the end of the Civil War through the First World War. These incidents had lasting consequences for how the navy would modernize itself throughout the rest of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisOceania is characterized by thousands of islands and archipelagoes amidst the vast expanse of the Pacific. This book offers a study of ocean-people interaction in the region from 1770 to 1870.Trade ReviewThis well-researched and beautifully written monograph opens a window in time and space. Its emphasis on the dynamics [of marine ecosystems] is convincing and serves to falsify the notion of a frozen 'tradition' as well as of a predictable maritime environment. - Anthropological Quarterly ""D'Arcy displays range and agility rare in a young scholar.... This book is daring, innovative, and should command very broad attention."" - International Journal of Maritime History ""A superb, richly textured narrative of cultural seascapes across Remote Oceania."" - Oceania

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Book SynopsisConventional portrayals of early Ryukyu are based on official histories written between 1650 and 1750. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Gregory Smits makes use of scholarship in archaeology and anthropology and leverages unconventional sources such as the Omoro sshi (ancient songs) to present a fundamental rethinking of early Ryukyu.

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Book SynopsisIn 1998, the Belitung, a ninth-century western Indian Ocean-style vessel, was discovered in Indonesian waters. In this moving and thought-provoking reflection of underwater cultural heritage management, Natali Pearson reveals valuable new information about the Belitung salvage.

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Book SynopsisLos Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist in History A dramatic work of historical detection illuminating one of the most significant—and long forgotten—Supreme Court cases in American history.Trade Review"In Bryant’s gripping telling, the moral contradictions of the time are laid bare…. Carefully researched, beautifully crafted, Dark Places—the title comes, ominously but evocatively, from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness—is one of the very few books that delivers on the promiscuous promise to employ an obscure episode to offer new insights on a well-trod byway of history." -- David M. Shribman - Boston Globe"Illuminating…. Fascinating…." -- David Reynolds - Wall Street Journal"Bryant masterfully narrates the incredible machinations revolving around the eventual case, which would drag on for seven years, and take a considerable toll on the captives awaiting a decision…. Epic in scope, providing rich portraits of life at sea and trade in the Atlantic world, slavery and its hazards in the malaria-ridden South, and the tension between the ethical and financial interests of a slew of chummy Southern gentlemen adjudicating the case, Dark Places of the Earth is an invaluable contribution to the understanding of antebellum America." -- Bobbi Booker - Philadelphia Tribune"An eye-opening account of a little-known (yet horrifying) episode in American history…. In Dark Places of the Earth, Bryant has salvaged the history of an era when black lives mattered to slavers only as profit and the dead were thrown to the sharks." -- Adam Rothman - Washington Independent Review of Books"From its poetic title to its concluding sentence, Dark Places of the Earth spins a riveting yarn, using the vexed voyage of the slave ship Antelope to illuminate a profound moment in American history. Vividly drawn characters and courtroom drama make this narrative history of a high order." -- Marcus Rediker, author of The Amistad Rebellion"In this fascinating and engagingly written study, Jonathan M. Bryant illuminates a largely forgotten—but highly significant—episode in American legal history. Based on prodigious and meticulous research, Dark Places of the Earth will appeal to general readers and scholars alike. An important, original book." -- Douglas R. Egerton, author of The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era"Jonathan Bryant sheds new and revealing light on a dark chapter in the history of American slavery, and on a Supreme Court decision that, despite its faults, deserves to be better known." -- Brian McGinty, author of Lincoln's Greatest Case"Bryant presents a broadened picture of the transatlantic slave trade while illuminating a legal battle with huge moral implications." -- Barbara Hoffert - Library Journal"A richly documented work that restores the Antelope to its central place in the long, grim history of the Atlantic slave trade." -- Kirkus Reviews"Detailed and fascinating account…. This is a superb examination of an obscure but important episode in the struggle against slavery." -- Jay Freeman - Booklist, Starred review"[Bryant] meticulously unwinds the years-long, complex legal history that finally led to the case being heard by the six justices of John Marshall's Supreme Court, four of whom were slave owners…. From the West African shores to Georgia, Washington, D.C., and, finally Liberia, Bryant's riveting history of this case and these slaves is a remarkable one." -- Tom Lavoie - Shelf Awareness

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Book SynopsisIntertidal History in Island Southeast Asia shows the vital part maritime Southeast Asians played in struggles against domination of the seventeenth-century spice trade by local and European rivals. Looking beyond the narrative of competing mercantile empires, it draws on European and Southeast Asian sources to illustrate Sama sea people''s alliances and intermarriage with the sultanate of Makassar and the Bugis realm of Boné. Contrasting with later portrayals of the Sama as stateless pirates and sea gypsies, this history of shifting political and interethnic ties among the people of Sulawesi's littorals and its land-based realms, along with their shared interests on distant coasts, exemplifies how regional maritime dynamics interacted with social and political worlds above the high-water mark.Trade ReviewGaynor has provided an insightful consideration of the dynamics of power, trade, and social relations that points historians to new understandings of societies and ecosystems that usually fall beyond the shore of the academic gaze.... Gaynor weaves a complex depiction of histories and peoples that enlightens the reader not only on this complex ecological land- and seascape, but also on social dynamics that usually fall outside traditional categories of the state and economics in world history.... Intertidal History in Island Southeast Asia is an excellent book, as it is securely rooted, or in this case anchored, in the littoral.... The result is a work that provides a cogent example of the importance of considering the contributions of a wide range of peoples to the construction of the state, as well as of how this can be done by thoroughly scouring the archives for sources in a variety of languages, and by living among and appreciating those peoples' cultures in order to hear the echoes of their pasts that still resonate. * The American Historical Review *[Gaynor] provides a useful reminder that outsiders were not necessarily the leading figures in the maritime life of this region.... The product of extensive research and thought, this book is valuable for scholars of Southeast Asia and its rich maritime life. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, specialists. * Choice *This wonderful book adds to Gaynor's contribution to approaching encounters as alliances as well as confrontations, to highlight the historical coherence and continuity that encounters offer in addition to the fragmentation. Gaynor's intimate engagement with the cultures of the Sulawesi seas, and Tiworo in particular, offers a refreshing contrast to the common way of seeing Sama peoples. * Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde *

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Book SynopsisJohn Martin (1789-1869) was a London-based, Edinburgh-educated physician interested in anthropological matters. This comprehensive account of Tongan Society is his only book. He was inspired to write it by a chance encounter with its subject, William Mariner (1791-1853) who spent four years (1806-1810) in Tonga, in the South Pacific, at a time before any substantial European influence disturbed or modified that society. Mariner, an extraordinarily mature and perceptive youth, became thoroughly imbued with Tongan language and culture as the adopted son of the most powerful chief in Tonga. Martin's intelligent engagement with Mariner resulted in a compelling narrative and a comprehensive account of Tongan society which, together with the accompanying grammar and vocabulary, became a classic. Often celebrated as an extraordinary real-life adventure story, it is a pioneering work of anthropology, and for 200 years it has been a primary and authoritative source for research into Tongan history and culture.Table of ContentsMartin’s Preface / Martin’s Introduction / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21 / Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 Surgical Skill of the Tonga Islanders / Appendix : A Grammar and Vocabulary / Summary of Grammar Review / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisHans Staden's sixteenth-century account of shipwreck and captivity by the Tupinamba Indians of Brazil was an early modern bestseller. This title presents a retelling of the German sailor's eyewitness account, showing both why it was so popular at the time and why it remains an important tool for understanding the opening of the Atlantic world.Trade ReviewThis work has a broad appeal and should be of immediate interest to a wide variety of scholars and students. One of its best features is that it is readable while also very scholarly... This enjoyable text could be used very successfully with graduate students or undergraduates in an upper-division class. -- Timothy J. Coates The Americas The Return of Hans Staden is a useful book for students, a good way to acquire a first acquaintance with the worlds of a sixteenth-century Landsknecht and German conquistador on both side of the Atlantic. -- Bernd J.W. Ludke German History Elegant... intriguing. -- Mary Lindemann The Coordinating Council for Women in History Scholars of early images of the Americas and of cultural encounters, captivity, and oceanic expansion will find the material engaging. -- Surekha Davies William and Mary QuarterlyTable of ContentsList of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsA Note on Spelling and CitationIntroduction1. Staden Goes to Sea2. The Lying Captive3. The Traveler Returns4. Staden's ImagesEpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisOriginal, comprehensive, and compelling, The Treasure of the San Jose separates popular myth from history and sheds light on the human lives associated with a "treasureship.Trade ReviewNot just another maritime disaster drama, this history of a Spanish galleon sunk by the English in 1708 offers fascinating glimpses into Spain's American empire... By plumbing the dashed hopes of those invested in the success of the San Jose, Phillips endows her narrative with a foreboding poignancy. Booklist 2007 Her work proceeds, even with its scholarship, to retain the basic magic of the tale of the magnificent galleon under the command of the Count of Casa Alegrre and manned by 600 souls, all still resting untouched and waiting. Library Journal (starred review) 2007 Phillips' book does much to dispel longstanding myths and provides a close look at maritime practices as well as the difficulties posed by allowing memory to stand in for fact... Certainly the most fascinating portion of the book was Phillips minute description of the battle that resulted in the loss of the San Jose. PhiloBiblos 2007 It sounds like the title of a boy's own adventure tale or an Erroll Flynn movie, and rightly so: The Treasure of San Jose has a swashbuckling spirit and contains all the elements for an old-fashioned romance: sea battles, suave adventurers and sunken treasure. But it also displays the kind of detail and precision that comes from shrewdly plundered archives. Carla Rahn Phillips is clearly an assiduous historian with an eye for an extraordinary story. Wall Street Journal 2007 Phillips' impeccable scholarship, detailed reporting, and careful analysis will appeal primarily to students of Spanish history and naval affairs. -- Margaret A. Koger Magill Book Reviews 2008 A book that will please and reward all students of Spanish imperial and maritime history. -- N.A.M. Rodger International Journal of Maritime History 2007 A well-written and well-researched book which can be effectively read by both scholar and novice. -- John Leiby Hispanic American Historical Review 2008 For Carla Rahn Phillips, the sinking of the San Jose is significant beyond the terrible tragedy and can be used as a lens to view complex themes in a changing Spanish Empire... This is a very well-written, analytical study based on extensive fresh archival research. -- Christon I. Archer American Historical Review 2009 The author has used this wealth of documents to write a marvellous book, fascinating from beginning to end. -- Jaap de Moor The Northern Mariner 2007 A penetrating micro-study of the Spanish monarchy during the conflict over the Spanish succession... The human element is never forgotten as she probes the lives and careers not only of viceroys, but of lesser officials and soldiers, and even the humblest seamen and their families. -- Jerzy Lukowski Bulletin of Latin American Research 2009 A first-rate book written by an experienced historian at the height of her career. -- James A. Lewis ItinerarioTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1. The Last Galleons2. Commanders of the Fleet3. The Men of the San José4. A Tale of Two Viceroys, One Captain General,and a World at War5. The Last Voyage of the San José6. After the BattlePostscriptAppendix 1: The Spanish and English Calendars in 1708Appendix 2: Treasure Registered on the San Joaquín in 1712NotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisReaders who love history and stories of exploration on the high seas will devour this gripping tale.Trade ReviewAlthough part of US cultural and economic history, the role of long-distance sea trade in developing the nation's character and global outlook in the early national period has not been discussed until now. The book is informative and entertaining, a rare combination. Highly recommended. Choice Often gripping and always engaging. True Yankees makes a very real and highly insightful contribution to our understanding of early America's place within the Pacific world. Journal of Pacific History An excellent book contributing valuable information on America's early story. Anyone interested in the birth of our nation and how we entered into the world of commerce will find this a detailed resource. Pirates and Privateers An insightful, well-documented, and immensely significant work for the field of early American history. True Yankees is an excellent and highly important study. Naval Historical Foundation A valuable contribution to our understanding of America's early encounters with the world. American Studies Educational, interesting, cleverly organized, and easy to read. Morrison presents an aspect of American seafaring and trading history that is commonly overlooked, yet still very significant. The Northern Mariner Morrison discerns the beginnings of an American identity in an earlier period of American history by focusing more on the sea than the land through the maritime expansion outwards of the post-Revolutionary and ante-bellum early United States republic. What helps to give the book pace and human engagement is the way in which it is largely based around the lives and travels of a number of key individuals representing different periods and dimensions of what it meant to be what the book's title terms a 'true Yankee.' Bulletin of the Pacific Circle Morrison's book is important and impressive. Its point is accurate and significant. It is a work of skillful research, analysis and vision, as well as one that tells an under-appreciated story. Sea HistoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionthe first generation1. Samuel Shaw's Polite Reception, 1784–1794First Interlude2. Amasa Delano Opens the Great South Sea, 1790–1820Second Interlude3. Edmund Fanning's "Voyages Round the World," 1792–1833Third Interludethe second generationHarriett Low in Manila and Macao, 1829–1834Fourth InterludeRobert Bennet Forbes and the First Opium War, 1838–1840PostscriptNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisHands-on science in the Age of Exploration. Winner of the John Lyman Book Award in Naval and Maritime Science and Technology by the North American Society for Oceanic History and the Leo Gershoy Prize by the American Historical AssociationThroughout the Age of Exploration, European maritime communities bent on colonial and commercial expansion embraced the complex mechanics of celestial navigation. They developed schools, textbooks, and instruments to teach the new mathematical techniques to sailors. As these experts debated the value of theory and practice, memory and mathematics, they created hybrid models that would have a lasting impact on applied science. In Sailing School, a richly illustrated comparative study of this transformative period, Margaret E. Schotte charts more than two hundred years of navigational history as she investigates how mariners solved the challenges of navigating beyond sight of land. She begins by outlining the influential sixteenth-century Iberian modeTrade ReviewAs voyages stretched into open ocean, mathematical expertise in celestial navigation became essential. Hands-on instruction with instruments remained key, but as historian Margaret Schotte reveals in this deft, scholarly chronicle, the nautical manual soon came into its own.—Barbara Kiser, NatureSailing School deploys compelling printed images and manuscript notations to reconstruct the practice of learning, a particularly difficult feat for a phenomenon that takes place in an intangible mental realm. In fusing the history of learning and print with that of navigation, Schotte shows how deep transformations in public intellectual culture built on themselves.—Sarah Kinkel, Times Higher EducationSchotte, in combination with Johns Hopkins University Press, has produced a beautifully illustrated, perceptively argued, well-written monograph that enhances historical understandings of not just early modern navigation, but also of early modern technical education and the lived experience of the pre-industrial maritime world. Sailing School exemplifies the kind of original work that close archival research can yield and will be a definitive work on its subject for years to come.—Timothy S. Wolters, Canadian Journal of Netherlandic Studies[A] valuable academic study. Sailing School is well-written with copious documentation.—James C. Hamilton, Captain Cook SocietySailing School provides us with a technically researched history of navigational pedagogy with enough captivating prose to transport the reader into the decisions and methods of educators in classrooms from past centuries . . . Schotte has produced an exceptional history of education for a snapshot of time within a highly technical field.—Darrell J. Glaser, United States Naval Academy, EH.NetSailing School is and extremely informative look into the practice and transmission of navigational knowledge in Europe during the scientific revolution, and how text helped to codify and communicate that information to new practitioners.—Kendra Lawrence, East Carolina University, Nautical Research JournalSchotte's book is an important contribution to maritime history and absolutely should be on the shelf of all interested in the details of seafaring life in the age of sail, as well as those studying Europe's centuries of expansion and conquest. I strongly recommend this book accordingly.—Ian Yeates, The Northern MarinerIt is immediately clear that Schotte knows how to draw readers into sweeping historic events, enriching the story with detail and accuracy to inspire awe . . . From technical advancements to highly charged personal stories, Schotte's book is a fascinating read.—Megan Mueller, yFile - York University's NewsIt is the immediacy of its subject matter that makes Sailing School so richly fascinating . . . Multinational in its approach, it offers insights into what was distinctive about pedagogy and practice in England, Spain, France and the Netherlands, and analysis of the extent to which knowledge and expertise were shared and transferred – not least through the medium of print. What one 17th-century teacher called 'This Art of Traversing and Caravanning over Neptune's Vast Dominions' has found in Schotte a gifted, lucid and illuminating chronicler.—Mathew Lyons, Literary ReviewThe history of getting from A to B is usually told as the history of instruments . . . But Margaret Schotte, in her excellent Sailing School, argues convincingly that the history of how ships, people, and goods move across vast distances must also be, perhaps quite centrally, a history of the book. Sailing School is a history of how early modern navigators learned to become navigators, and it holds important lessons for early modern knowledge as a whole.—William Rankin, Yale University, Isis: A Journal of the History of Science SocietySailing School, with its comparative analysis of academic traditions and training practices across Europe, is a magnificent contribution in the fields of History, History of Education, Pedagogy, Sociology, and Science in general. Margaret Schotte shows that "navigators were not born but made", enriching with new data and interpretations the history of knowledge in the Early Modern period. With a rigorous investigation and a brilliant narrative, she brings the European nautical science of the 16th and 17th centuries directly into the Scientific Revolution.—Silvana Munzi, RUTTER Book ReviewSchotte's book is a very important and highly relevant book for all interested in the technologies of the seas in the early modern period.—Hakon With Andersen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Technology and CultureTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsEditorial PracticesIntroductionPrologue. A Model Education—Seville, ca. 1552Chapter One. From the Water to the Writing Book—Amsterdam, ca.Chapter Two. "By the Shortest Path": Developing Mathematical Rules—Dieppe, 1675Chapter Three. Hands-On Theory along the Thames—London, 1683Chapter Four. Paper Sailors, Classroom Lessons—The Netherlands, ca. 1710Chapter Five. Lieutenant Riou Is Put to the Test—The Southern Indian Ocean, 1789Epilogue. Sailing by the Book, ca. 1800GlossaryNotesBibliographyIndex

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