Search results for ""schiffer publishing, ltd.""

Exquisitely painted, small, round, papier-mƒch‚ and lacquer boxes are sought after today for their beauty and the high level of craftsmanship they demonstrate. For the many admirers of these boxes, and students of the European cultural society in which they were made (in the early part of the nineteenth century), Detley Richter has written this careful account of the artistic, manufacturing, and commercial climates which were combined in the production of lacquered boxes. His well-researched text and over 350 illustrations are arranged into chapters which explain the manufacturing and artistic processes, important makers and their signatures, various uses, leading collections, and evolving traditions of the boxes in German, French, English, Russian, and other societies. That lacquered boxes are recognized as things of beauty is apparent in the many color pictures. That they are the products of highly sophisticated social influences becomes apparent when reading the author's analysis and conclusions. This is a wonderful new contribution to information on the decorative arts.

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This book covers the development of the unique MAUS armored fighting vehicle.

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This is a 48 page volume that includes line drawings, photographs, and charts.

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A book that will guide you when you are in the process of buying or appraising Sandwich glass is the most important tool you can own. This book is one of a series of guide books that describes every type of glass that was produced in Sandwich, Massachusetts. It uses the original plates of glass photos and the identification numbers form Volume 3 of The Glass Industry in Sandwich, a larger book by the same authors. (Volumes 3 and 4 are available, and Volumes 1 and 2 are in preparation.) This makes cross references much easier. In order to make this series of guides compact and light in weight, the photos from Volume 3 have been divided into two smaller guides. This one contains the complete chapters on witch balls, covered containers, toys (miniatures) and the creations of Nicholas Lutz. Another guide, available now, contains vases, colognes and stoppers. The extensive categorization and illustration of Sandwich glass should make this guide valuable for field use.The prices in this guide reflect the market at the time of publication. They will be periodically updated in a separate price guide available from the publishers.

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The interest in America's favorite pastime is at an all-time high, especially among collectors. From children collecting the latest baseball cards, to adults who seek any object related to baseball. In this book Peter Capano explores the great variety of objects that are being sought after. Hartland statues, noddlers, toys, dolls, silks and leather, pennants, coin, and many more items being sought after by today's collector are illustrated in full color with explanatory material and a price guide. An excellent overview of this growing field of collecting. Available in the spring of 1989...in time for the baseball season!

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A photo chronicle of the LAH in over 300 photos including formation and campaigns throughout WWII.

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A large format, color volume on Frederick’s cavalry regiments. All currasier, dragoon and hussar regiments are illustrated with two color pages for each regiment, and informative text including the history of each formation to their dissolution.

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This new photographic study continues the series begun by Tricia Veasey with her Geese and Mallards books in 1988. The excellent color photos of these interesting varieties of waterfowl in their natural settings provide study material for bird enthusiasts, artists and all manner of hobbyists who need factual visual material in their work.

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This book has been a classic color theory reference in Europe for several years, and is available now, for the first time, in English translation. The book is arranged to follow light from a stimulus outside the human body, through the reaction of the visual organs of the body and ultimately to the occurrence of the visual experience in the brain. Colorful schematic drawings and photographs presented with explanatory captions demonstrate many elements of color theory from the organization of color to the perception of a rainbow. Beyond as explanation of the actual processes, Mr Zwimpfer demonstrates the total relationship which takes the perception of color beyond a mere passive registering, such as in photography, to a three-dimensional perception of our world. The book will fascinate and inform artists, photographers, students and others who are interested in color theory.

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The origins, traditions and symbolism of patchwork in clothing and quilts are explored from multi-national examples over the past 500 years. This classic book now in its first English edition traces quilts across Europe and Asia and through the growing textile industry of North America. Color and black-and-white photographs show beautiful applique and Amish quilts as well as crazy-quilts, bridal and friendship quilts and more. Examples represent historical and contemporary prize-winning designs. The author provides an extensive bibliography in hopes that it will foster more extensive research into the interesting background of patchwork art. Quilt collectors, dealers, and makers, as well as textile artists and designers will find interesting explanations of the designs. They will also find inspiration for their own work in this beautiful book.

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Doll kitchens in Germany were originally a plaything for adults and evolved, toward the end of Eighteenth century, into toys for children. In this book, Eva Stille follows the evolution of the doll kitchen and shows how the social development of "big" real kitchens influenced doll kitchens in each new era. The manufacturers of the doll kitchens are listed as well as a wide variety of miniature furnishings, appliances and stoves that was once available to children. These items are now highly collectible and ironically have once again become the playthings of adults.

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One of England's foremost bird photographers presents here for the first time a study of wading and shore birds, with over a hundred full-color pictures. The pictures of these beautiful feathered creatures, favorites of birders and wood carvers alike will delight the eye while providing an important resource for naturalists, artists, carvers and taxidermists. Over 38 varieties of shore and wading birds are shown, most in several poses and from different perspectives. Along with the photographs, Roger Everett presents his observations about the birds and tips on viewing the yourself. Yet the key ingredient in his book is his naturally dynamic photography. Other of his photographs have long been seen on the pages of exclusive nature magazines and on the walls of collectors. Roger Everett's photographs, the results of his keen eye for beauty, his technical brilliance, and his appreciation of the wonder of these small creatures, are available in book form for all to share.

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Tom and Nancy Wolfe, a husband and wife team, join forces to present a step-by-step guide to making a unique doll in the country tradition. Tom leads the reader through the process of carving from wood and painting the head, hands, and feet, in easy to understand steps. Nancy then shows the reader everything from laying out and cutting the pattern to sewing, assembling and dressing the doll. Country Dollmaking includes all the patterns you will need and is amply illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs. For the carver, the seamstress, and the dollmaker, it offers an opportunity for a team effort, a blending of two person's hobbies! Besides inspiring your interest, we are sure you will enjoy it.

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Nineteenth Century Lighting, surveys the candle powered lighting devices used in Northern Europe, the British Isles, as well as those made in America. The examples illustrated are those used in primarily domestic situations, however some are also from the public sector. Over 394 photographs are each acompanied by a detailed, physical and historical description, painstakingly researched by Mr. Bacot. In addition he has further enriched these fine examples with informative and interesting text on the changes and innovations of the period. Nineteenth Century Lighting is an excellent and thorough source book for the collector, historian and all those interested in these revolutionary candle powered designs of the years from 1783-1883.

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Here's a whole new insight on that part of the day so common we usually take it for granted. In 1511 the first of many decrees had been issued banning coffee consumption, but nothing could halt the spread of the drink. The replacement for morning soup originated in Abyssinia, and rapidly made its way via Mecca and Istanbul to nearly every country-a worldwide epidemic of coffeemania. Coffee plantations spread over four continents, and coffee became the subject of political and social conflict on an international scale. It also created a new institution: the coffee-house-a meeting place of the various social strata, creating a cultural forum. Coffee-houses from around the world and down the ages are introduced and described here in terms of their cultural and historical significance-the coffee stall, the taverne a la mode, the coffee salon, the Cafe-Konditorei, the luxury cafe, the political coffee-house, the artists' cafe, the proletarian coffee-house, the ‚migr‚ cafe, coffee bar, jazz cafe, the cafe theater and many others. Pour your own steaming mug and take the time to enjoy this fascinating exploration.

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A genuine labor of love, Loy Harrell has recognized 61 individual decoy carvers, from past to present, located around Lake Champlain. Listed alphabetically, each carver is briefly discussed and examples of their work are illustrated in 263 beautiful color photographs and 52 black and white. There are 352 decoys featured in all. Dr. Harrell has brought his enthusiasm to the reader through personal interviews with many of these accomplished carvers and adeptly portrays the true personality of decoy enthusiasts of the Lake Champlain area. This book is the first of its kind for the Lake Champlain area and pays a long awaited tribute to its carvers and the decoys they have and still are creating.

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This is the first and a most comprehensive work on wooden butter shapers, a subject of interest to many folk art authorities and collectors. While working as a Specialist in History for the Museum of Michigan State University, the author, Paul Kindig, examined and photographed all of the major museum collections in the United States and Many private collections. The author has also visited numerous museums in Europe and compared their butter prints and molds with the American successors. Detailed chapters on hand-made, craftshop-made, and factory-made prints and molds help to identify the methods of construction and patterns associated with each type. The large and exquisitely illustrated center of the book is devoted to the design motifs found on these bearers of wonderful folk art designs. Beautiful color photographs show the tulips, hearts, plant forms, animals, symbols and monograms which can be seen as the American counterparts to coats of arms. Finally, a fascinating section on European collections presents many variations from Continental Europe and Great Britain, bringing the study around to confront its origins.

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Dabbling Ducks and Whistling Ducks covers our most-colorful group of waterfowl: ducks on the ponds, lakes, and rivers.

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Four hundred stunning color pictures of world-class carvings accompany an authoritative series of interviews with the world’s finest wood sculptors. An indispensable addition to the libraries of novice and expert carvers; certain to become a collector’s item.

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SeaWise for Motor Yachts provides step-by-step, concise, reliable plans for emergencies at sea that require fast and effective action. Designed for functionality, it has two sides: an Emergency Action Guide with instructions for specific problems, from fire and floods to man overboard and dangerous weather; and Safety Checklists, used to prepare the vessel and crew for voyages. A tab-based flip book design makes the guide easy to use for fast and effective responses, with 26 multi-tabbed sections covering a wide range of topics and situations. Some sections allow boat owners to customize the information to their craft. The information is based on extensive research and personal experience. This guide, the first of its kind, is printed on waterproof paper, packaged in a plastic case with mounting strips, and ready to be placed in an easily accessible location. It is designed for both professional and recreational vessels; a companion guide is available for sailing yachts.

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Since the Titanic disaster of 1912, the horrors of major maritime casualties have prompted international conventions and domestic legislation, but the link between events and outcomes (which are often separated by many years) is rarely understood by those working in the maritime industry. This book, the only comprehensive guide to this link, sets forth the major casualties of the last hundred years and explains resulting regulatory changes. Taking a macro-level view, it describes the trends and reactions across decades, and how, over time, focus has shifted from equipment failures to people and their behaviors as the primary cause of maritime casualties. Timely and thorough, it also explores the alarming increase in the criminalization of maritime accidents, especially the relatively recent reclassification of pollution incidents as “environmental crimes.” This book offers broad insight to the history, laws, and conventions that regulate worldwide commercial maritime activity.

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To coast the waves of the open water on a boat, flying through sun and spray, is to experience one of life's truly memorable pleasures. This compact, colorful book is your complete guide to operating and safely maneuvering your sail or motor boat! Inside you will find clearly outlined steps and guidelines for boating basics, like mooring and casting off, approach techniques, setting sails for wind direction, navigating by compass, sailor's knots and rope management techniques, shooting head to wind, and more. These maneuvers and their many situation-specific examples are detailed here in clear and straightforward diagrams that are easy to understand and execute. Boat Maneuvers is indispensible guidance for new and accomplished boaters alike.

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A killer is leaving a trail of terror and death from Baltimore to Ocean City, and only Adam Kingston can stop him. “Slide over sweetcakes, we’re going to have us a real good time.” After a near-fatal accident, Adam Kingston, a former FBI profiler, develops psychic powers that allow him to perceive things most people can’t. Now, twelve years later, this special sight opens the doorway to a mystery man who comes to Adam for help. “I think I killed someone.” Chip Weathers, a homeless man suffering from amnesia, believes he may be behind the murder of a woman found buried in the basement of the house his family once owned. A fateful Newsweek article leads Chip to Adam in the hopes he can reach through the fog of memory to determine the truth. But soon after Chip enlists Adam’s help, someone takes a shot at them. It seems as though someone has a lot to lose by Chip regaining his memory of the violent events of the past. Only Adam can “see†what really happened, but will his visions lead him to the killer or will his gift lead him to his death?

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“You don’t understand,” said Olly. “I want to do something important.” “Important?” said Mr. Oyster. “Yes,” Olly explained. “I want to help clean the bay like the blue crab and the barnacle and the sea cucumber and the sea urchin.” There once was a young oyster named Olly who lived in the Chesapeake Bay. He loved to drift with the currents, but Olly had been traveling his whole life and wanted to settle down. He wanted to do something important—help clean the Chesapeake Bay. But what can a little oyster do? He doesn’t have pincers or fingers or sharp teeth or legs and feet. Journey under the Chesapeake Bay with Olly’s little minnow friend and find out how Olly the Oyster Cleans the Bay. Early reader–ages 5-8.

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Shiphandling with Tugs, Second Edition is the most comprehensive text available for the mariner who wants to learn how to safely and effectively operate tugs in assisting ships to and from their berths in ports and anchorages. Captain Jeffrey Slesinger used his extensive knowledge of the industry to bring Reid’s original edition, published in 1986, up to date with current technologies and standards, adding sections on the advances made in tug design, and line and winch technology. Shiphandling with Tugs, Second Edition includes a new chapter on ship escort with updated and expanded chapters on today’s tugs, including descriptions and illustrations of the latest tractor tug designs and capabilities.

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Rudow’s Guide to Fishing the Chesapeake is the most comprehensive handbook for anglers on all of the Chesapeake’s waters from main-stem bay to tributaries and tidal creeks. Detailed charts feature over 550 boating hot spots and 35 public shoreline fishing spots, plus 33 reliable public boat ramps. Specific bay sportfish and the most effective methods of catching them during each phase of the season are meticulously discussed on a fish-by-fish basis, as are both modern and traditional tackle and rigs. Never before has a fishing guide tackled each aspect of angling the Chesapeake Bay so thoroughly. Topics are as varied as casting for spring trophy rockfish on the Susquehanna Flats, jigging for seatrout at the Bay Bridge, wire-lining for flounder at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and ice fishing for perch in Port Deposit are all covered in depth. There are even sections on shoreline fishing for each area of the Chesapeake. If you want to boost your catch rate every time you fish the bay, this book will help you do it. See also Off the Hook: Rudow’s Recipes for Cooking Your Catch.

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A century ago, great flocks of waterfowl darkened the skies, and duck hunting had primarily one purpose: to put food on the table. It was an era when such carvers as Nathan Cobb, Elmer Crowell, and Harry V.N. Shourds created decoys, not for the sake of art, but simply to help harvest food. In Making Decoys, authors Grayson Chesser and Curtis Badger help you perpetuate the tradition started by these old-time carvers by teaching you to hand make the simple yet functional decoys of yesteryear. They provide detailed, step-by-step instructions, numerous color and black-and-white photographs, and the basic techniques necessary to make gunning decoys. This book is being published in conjunction with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

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Off the Hook: Rudow’s Recipes for Cooking Your Catch takes your catch from the hook to the table. Learn secrets of proper use of ice for the fish cooler, step-by-step cleaning and filleting techniques, and correct packaging methods to ensure freshness. Cooking advice and simple-to-gourmet recipes for a wide variety of saltwater, freshwater, and shellfish from watermen and chefs make this the ultimate in fish cookbooks by the Senior Technical Editor and Fishing Editor for Boating Magazine

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A mystery set in a small town in Virginia, Secret of Belle Meadow features thirteen-year-old Tina and her friend Karin, whose family has owned Belle Meadow, an old farm plantation, for generations. Belle Meadow has been turned into a bed-and-breakfast inn, and Tina is working there, somewhat reluctantly, for the summer. When Tina’s stepsister Anne comes to stay for the season, Tina finds an old diary that hints of valuables hidden at the plantation during the Revolutionary War. She, Karin, and Anne are determined to find the treasure. Their search teaches them about genealogy, antiques, local history, and a bit of archaeology. The excitement mounts as they draw closer to making a fascinating discovery. Middle grades–ages 10-13.

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Veteran Washington Post reporter and award-winning writer Eugene L. Meyer directs a tour across the “Free State†that is part love letter, part oral history, part obituary. He explores what makes Maryland special, the people who make it unique, and the places and livelihoods that have vanished over the years. The whole of the American experience is found within or close to the state’s borders and between the covers of this book—megalopolis, Appalachia, the Chesapeake Bay, the Deep South, the industrial North, rich farmland, a major port, the nation’s capital, the primary car and rail routes carrying East Coast interstate traffic. Maryland Lost and Found Again transcends the state to comment on the American landscape.

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When Prohibition was the law, Chesapeake Bay was a smuggler’s paradise. Rogues of all types transported boatloads of forbidden liquor in the days when America experimented with forced, and unforeseeable, temperance. In a style reminiscent of the era it describes, Eric Mills brings to life the world of mobster and preacher, rumrunner and revenue man, moonshine and “real McCoy.” It was a whiskey-soaked age that was supposed to be dry. Prohibition may have been the law of the land, but the Chesapeake Bay country was awash in illegal alcohol. The marshes were teeming with hidden stills, and bootleg liquor was smuggled throughout the waterways and adjoining countryside by daring men in fast boats and faster cars. Chesapeake Rumrunners of the Roaring Twenties is a saga of people—watermen and steamer captains, mob racketeers and “legitimate” businessmen—all of them wanting part of the action. In the maze of bay waters, boats played a key role in that action, many disguised as workboats but built for speed and the ability to outmaneuver the law. On the other side, Billy Sunday and an army of temperance crusaders campaigned tirelessly to encourage Prohibition, while federal agents and Coast Guardsmen shared the impossible task of enforcing it. Using a mix of news reports, government records, and local lore, the author has written a fascinating account of a memorable chapter in Chesapeake history.

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“I live on the western shore next to the Chesapeake Bay. One morning, all I could see was mud! ‘Where did all the water go?’ I asked my parents. They said not to worry, the water would be back. But that didn’t keep me from worrying. I worried about all the people on the Eastern Shore being flooded. I worried and I worried. When I came home from school that day....” The answer to this child’s puzzlement is contained in this charming story about a natural phenomenon that occurs on the bay. Early Readers: Ages 5-8.

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Twilight on the Bay: The Excursion Boat Empire of B. B. Wills tells the story of one man’s effort to sail against the tide. In 1934 when Benjamin Bowling Wills purchased a fifty-year-old Hudson River steamboat to bring passengers to an amusement park he owned on the Potomac River south of Washington, D.C., even he didn’t realize that he would soon abandon the amusement park and spend the next thirty-odd years running excursion boats in Washington, Baltimore, Boston, and even Houston, Texas. Relying on the private papers and correspondence of B. B. Wills himself, the author traces the evolution of Wills’s empire from the Potomac River on to the Chesapeake Bay—and eventually to cities up and down the East.

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Although media reports suggest that there always has been public concern over the health of the Chesapeake Bay, this is a fairly recent phenomenon. For centuries people saw the bay as a bottomless sink for waste products—a natural decomposer with the ability to freshen itself with ocean inflows. Not until human health and livelihood seemed threatened did people begin to think seriously about management by such methods as treating sewage and limiting seafood harvests. Chesapeake Waters chronicles four centuries of public attitudes about the bay—and legislative responses to them—from 1607, the date of the first English settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, to the close of the twentieth century. In the last few decades, wide-reaching measures by federal and local governments have influenced how people use the bay: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed a massive study of bay quality; the Chesapeake Bay Program was launched; the Critical Area Protection Act went into effect. The authors make sense of these complex programs, place them in historical context, and explain how they have improved the quality of bay waters. Chesapeake Waters is as much about the power of public perception as it is about efforts to oversee bay water quality. In a work rich with anecdotes and historical art and photos, the authors relate how human attitudes and ideas have shaped four hundred years of decisions about the Chesapeake Bay.

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Sam is a carefree rockfish (also called a striped bass) who loves to eat—especially those yummy morsels people toss to him from the deck of a bayside restaurant. And, just for fun, he even nibbles on the webbed toes of his duck and swan friends while they are eating! One day, after Sam has grown big and fat, he doesn’t look where he is going and SMACK! He gets himself stuck—really stuck—and it looks like there is no way out. The next thing Sam knows, a fisherman has caught him, and our worry-free friend begins to worry. Picture book–ages 0-6.

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Applied Naval Architecture is intended for undergraduate students of many of the disciplines in maritime affairs, including marine engineering, marine transportation, nautical science, shipbuilding or ship production (shipyard apprentice schools), marine electrical engineering, meteorology, and oceanography. It could be used as an introduction to naval architecture for technical personnel of all types already employed in shipyards, for licensed officers as a general reference, and preparation for license upgrading examinations. It describes in detail what naval architects do, and how they do it, to all students and practitioners involved in the business of merchant ships and shipping, except for professional naval architects themselves. Students preparing for a degree in naval architecture would find the book useful as an introduction to their profession.

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From eighteenth-century mansions to urban high-rise buildings, A Guide to Baltimore Architecture chronicles two hundred years of architectural history through an exploration of the city’s most beautiful and significant structures. Grouped by neighborhood in fifteen walking and driving tours, more than two hundred notable Baltimore buildings are pictured and described with commentary on their history and style. Thoroughly rewritten, the guide incorporates new photographs, maps, and tours as well as updated biographies of Baltimore architects. This edition also features a fresh examination of twentieth-century design in Baltimore by architectural historian Phoebe B. Stanton.

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What would you do if faced with a school of sharks in a feeding frenzy? Find out in this book, unquestionably the most authoritative compact guide to the world of underwater animals that are poisonous, venomous, and electric. It is an excellent practical handbook for sailors, marine biologists, ecologists, naturalists, physicians, students, and scuba divers—in short, anyone interested in the denizens of shallow marine waters and the deep. This new edition describes and fully illustrates these dangerous marine animals, their noxious effects, treatment of ailments resulting from them, and, most importantly, how to avoid mishaps. More than two hundred illustrations, including many color photographs new to this edition, show the animals in their true forms and in their natural habitats. Dangerous Marine Animals is the culmination of more than forty years of intensive research by Dr. Bruce Halstead, a renowned marine biologist/toxicologist, who has traveled and studied marine creatures in over 150 countries.

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Marine Engineering Economics and Cost Analysis is intended for students and practitioners of ship design, shipbuilding, and ship operations who want to understand and apply the concepts of engineering economics to routine engineering decisions. Computer software is included to aid in completing the analyses required. “To my knowledge this is the first text published during my fifty-year career...that deals with the methods of economic evaluation of maritime decision alternatives from an engineering viewpoint....This book applies engineering economics and cost analysis to the maritime industry and sets forth in a logical sequence the method to reach the most efficient vessel from both a cost and capacity-required approach.”—from the foreword by Captain Warren G. Leback, former maritime administrator.

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This book portrays the steamboat era on the Chesapeake (1813–1963), which matched the glamour and excitement of the steamboats on the Mississippi. The book begins with the building of the first steamboat on the bay, in the shadow of a bitter struggle over a monopoly on the Delaware and the Chesapeake. It continues with stories of the genius of early engine builders, the legends arising from dramatic steamboat disasters, spirited adventures of the Civil War, the excitement of steamboat excursions and resorts, the personalities of many steamboats and their masters, the railroad’s near achievement of a monopoly on the bay, and the denouement when trucks and automobiles eclipsed the role of the steamboat. Running through David Holly’s Chesapeake Steamboats: Vanished Fleet is a theme of ghostliness. He is clearly enchanted by the memories of the steamboats and conveys aptly the excitement of the steamboat era. With vivid descriptions he sets the scene for his narration of the history of the steamboat on the Chesapeake. A particular highlight is the account of the steamer Columbus, which was built in 1828 and burned and sank in 1850 near the mouth of the Potomac River. In the early 1990s a project was mounted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other organizations to recover artifacts from the wreck. Diving to a depth of sixty feet, at times in near darkness, the archeological team resurrected important components of the ship’s crosshead engine—the only one known to exist. David Holly’s narrative of the Columbus, his schematic of its engine extrapolated from recovered artifacts and his description of the engine’s operation record this important contribution to maritime history. His absorbing tales of the steamboat’s place in the life of the Chesapeake may stand as a legacy in the region and the country’s history.

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Griffin is a very special little groundhog Mother Nature chooses for an extraordinary responsibility—awakening the other animals to welcome spring. His friends are awed by Griffin’s courage and some of them warn him about the wolves and weasels that may be waiting for him when he tries to complete his task. So when Griffin ventures out of his burrow one sunny day in late winter, he encounters a horrible image in the snow and scurries back inside. Though he’s frightened, Griffin is also worried about letting Mother Nature down. He finally gets up his nerve, faces the outside, and runs right into spring! This delightfully illustrated full-color book offers an entertaining way for children to celebrate Groundhog Day. Early reader–ages 5-8.

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Chesapeake Bay Skipjacks documents the skipjack and its role in the oyster dredging industry, describing the natural and manmade disasters that affected the trade, including the August storm of 1933 that swept vessels into pastures; ice-locked harbors that led to the idea of dredging through the ice with sleighs, cars, and trucks; and the Great Depression that crushed the oyster market overnight and forced many to abandon their vessels and way of life. The history of the skipjack, a vessel type that has only existed for about a hundred years, is seen here primarily through the eyes of the men who lived it. Author Vojtech interviewed some thirty captains, former captains, crew members, and relatives of those who worked the boats, to recreate the events that took place between 1917 and 1993. The early years were reconstructed through research into Maryland’s dredging records and contemporary newspapers accounts. Today, disease and other environmental hazards affecting the oyster have made the commercial future of the skipjacks on the bay extremely uncertain, underscoring the need to record the lore of those who manned this diminishing fleet and to emphasize the vessel’s place in the history of the Chesapeake region. In this readable account, skipjack captains and crews vividly recall their personal troubles and near disasters as well as more widespread hardships that watermen have faced: storms that swept vessels into pastures, long cold spells when they were forced to dredge through the ice with sleighs (and later automobiles), and the Great Depression that crushed the oyster market overnight. More than anything, though, this is a story of men who loved to sail and who often risked their lives, balanced on the edge of danger, to harvest the Chesapeake’s most valuable crop—the oyster.

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This book is written for the mariner who wants to learn the concepts of piloting and navigation, and do more than merely follow a closely prescribed set of rules. While the authors have supplied guidance in the practical matters, such as reading the Almanac and carrying out sight reductions (there are reduction forms in the appendices), they have also provided an understanding of the principles so the sailor can invent new methods when required. Readers are expected to be active participants, and there are many exercises designed to help them along the way. What makes this book different from most others is its focus on three methods used in a Harvard freshman tutorial course: confrontation with misconceptions, definitions based on procedures, and the use of imaginary scenarios. The authors feel these are keys to learning, as they are much more powerful than memorization of rules and will prepare the sailor to handle situations that are not in any textbook. Whitney and Wright have directed their writing to the sailor who is interested in the principles but not particularly comfortable with geometry.

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The authors have created a thorough study of shorebirds and the decoys used to hunt them. The life cycles of the frequently hunted birds are described; and matchless color illustrations by Robert Verity Clem depict each species in its usual habitat. The authors detail the rise and fall of shorebird hunting, the places the birds were hunted, and the kinds of decoys used. Because shorebird hunting ended in the early 1900s, many shorebird decoys are quite rare and collectible. Beautiful color photographs of more than two hundred decoys highlight this carefully documented book. Other facets of the topic covered here include factory-produced decoys, tips on collecting decoys and avoiding fakes, and the use of X-ray, xerography, and other scientific methods to authenticate decoys.

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Dockmanship, according to author Bell, is “the art, skill, and practice of safely berthing and unberthing a vessel.” Anyone who has ever spent time observing the action at a marina or boat ramp will concede that the docking practiced by many recreational boaters today can hardly be considered an “art.” Here is a book that provides the information to turn any skipper—even a novice—into a master of docking. Captains who feel they already perform well behind the helm will enjoy reviewing the standard and advanced techniques contained in this easily understood manual. The basics of rudders, propellers, lines, and fenders used on small to medium-sized boats are completely explored. For each type of propulsion (inboard, outboard, single-screw, double-screw, and sail), techniques are described for maneuvering port side to, starboard side to, stern in, and bow in, and for getting away and handling the boat in close quarters. The author also clarifies the effects of wind and current.

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Barnaby Sharpe likes climbing trees—he is practicing to be a ship’s captain and will need to climb masts someday. One early evening during the War of 1812, he is sitting in a tall oak tree, hoping to be the first to catch sight of the British warships that are expected to bombard St. Michaels, Maryland. In an unusual turn of events, Barnaby’s tree climbing leads him to a brilliant idea to outwit the British. This story of a young boy who is smarter than the grown-ups is a great morale booster for children and a pleasure for them to share with their parents. Early reader–ages 5-8.

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The boat on which Edna Ferber based her famous novel brought excitement and entertainment to isolated small towns up and down the East Coast in early twentieth-century America. The builder of the boat, James E. Adams, was a farmer from Michigan who taught himself to be a circus aerialist, started and prospered with his own carnival company, and, when retirement proved boring, decided to build a showboat. The book traces the history of the James Adams from its inception until its demise twenty-seven years later, a tale that includes fires, sinkings, a shooting, arrests, and several deaths.

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Reading Dr. Gould’s excellent guide to handling medical emergencies and having it aboard as a ready reference can make any boater more confident in coping with a medical emergency afloat. Special sections on using the radio and dealing with a medical evacuation will be helpful to an inexperienced crew member faced with a disabled captain. This selection from the Cornell Boaters Library is designed for those who do not plan to go on blue-water cruises, but who need to know how to deal with medical emergencies on board. The book is clear, explicit, and spiced with anecdotes from the authors own adventures afloat.

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