misspelled, Kyrenia is placed in the wrong country, Yassi Ada (an island) is used as if it were a ship, and van Doorninck is incorrectly credited with working on the lines of the Kyrenia s hip . .. if he can do that, knowing better, then how can I be certain of the passages I read only as a layman? Are there, as he says, only three surviving ships of the type of Conrad's Otago? Probably the answer is that it doesn't matter. Certainly there are precious few such ships, and Throckmorton's eloquent plea for their preservation rings true, regardless of his accuracy . Most of the book makes for pleasant and stimulating reading. Chapters on sponge divers or the discovery of the Anti kythera wreck are valuable and fascinating; in "Treasure Diving" and "Politics" and an Afterword, the author writes truths as few professional archaeologists would dare . But chapters are uneven: one on ship reconstruction, reprinted from an archaeological journal, seems overly technical in this popular work, and a section on underwater photography is a jumble of poorly organized headings and sub-headings. Passages of wonderful common sense are mixed with cavalier statements about deep diving that could endanger a novice diver reading them. The value of scientific excavation, as at Cape Gelidonya and Yassi Ada, is stressed, but the major historical results of such work are passed over. I assume the misleading title of the book was the publisher's choice. I could end with a plea for the author to slow down, to spend an extra month reading proofs and checking references on his next book. But I dare not bank his fires. No one more forcefully and clearly tells us what is at stake and how quickly our true marine treasures are vanishing. There are young scholars aplenty to sort out the details . So fly off again to the Falkland Islands, Peter, or to Sri Lanka or Italy, and come back to preach your gospel. I, for one, will continue to read it! GEORGE F. BASS
Mr. Bass, President of the American Institute of Nautical Archaeology, is one of the Americans primarily responsible for bringing the disciplines of archaeology to the underwater world. The Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea, ed. Peter Kemp (New York, Oxford University Press, 1976. 972 pp., ill., $35). Lend this marvellous compendium to a friend with any interest in the sea. He'll soon start smiling, perhaps when he finds the familiar word "aloof" properly described in its origins as a sea
SEA HISTORY, SPRING 1978
term. Respect will creep across his features when he finds such things as admirable brief biographies of both Churchill and Fisher which do not contradict but complement each other (no mean feat, one these giant men themselves ultimately failed at). American entries could do with some overhaul (no South Street Seaport Museum is listed: it exists!), and there are other things to argue over in this work of many hands. But in sum the volume is reliable, joyously readable, and beautifully illustrated with contemporary prints, paintings and photographs (the armillary sphere -did I get you with that one?-is shown clearly in a I 7th-century woodcut; and we learn that Martin Frobisher's cost ÂŁ4.7s.6d. in 1576). Peter Kemp, known to many scholars for his help in their work, orchestrated and I suspect wrote many of the 3,700 alphabetically arranged articles; he has achieved a true masterwork in this rich sea harvest. Oh, about your friend. He' ll never give the book back, go out and get another copy. PS Anton Otto Fischer-Marine Artist: His Life and Work, by Katrina Sigsbee Fischer in collaboration with Alex. A. Hurst. (North Vancouver, British Columbia, Nevasa, 1977. 288 pp., illus., $46.95). Story-telling with substance far outdistances a combination of endless anecdotes and fact-listing . The author of this splendid book on Anton Otto Fischer, A.O.F. 's only daughter, speaks with filial intensity in seeking to capture the sweep and richness of his work. She is not a professional writer, but she handles records and reminiscences ably to her purpose. With the aid of her collaborator, she has fashioned a seaworthy porthole onto her father's character and the context of his life . The work is at once incisive and emotional, neither approach tainting the other. In Oswald Brett 's "Foreword" A.0.F. is quot ed from a letter to Mr. Brett: "I am personally more interested in the struggle between a man-made contraption like a vessel, and an elemental force like the sea . " The use of the phrase "man-made contraption" bespeaks A.0.F.'s orientation towards people and their emotions in a struggle. The existence of melodrama, of poignancy, of tragedy and comedy is celebrated in his work. The experiences which cumulatively illuminate his artistry are drawn in fine relief in the biographical sketch. Ms . Fi scher uses quotation s from letters to good advantage. The illustrations, in-
Two fine books about men and the sea
The Finest Kind
The Fishermen of Gloucester By KIM BARTLETT
" Kim Bartlett takes us to the hea rt of th e fisherm en's world with a cla rity and brillian ce of execution that is wholly adm irabl e. Men who go down to th e sea in sh ips will be eternally grateful for his illumination of their lives ... - FARLEY MOWAT. Illustrated . $8.95
Passage East By CARLETON MITCHELL A class ic of th e sea, reissued after twenty years, this account of a race und er sail from Bermuda to En gland also marvelously evokes the lore and skills of an earli er age. "An erudite, articul ate, hum orous yac htsman, Mr. Mitchell succeeds beau ti full y in capturin g th e emotional and intellectual stimul ation th at such a trip has for the devoted sai lor." - Sa turday Review. Illustrated. $10.95 At all bookstores, or use co upon
r-----------------, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10036
Please se nd me copy(ies) of THE FINEST KIND al $8.95 each, and copy(ies) of PASSAGE EAST at $10.95 each, pu blisher pays postage . If not completely satisfi ed, I may return the book(s) within 10 days fo r full refund. I enclose $ chec k or money order. Nam e Address Cit y State & Zip Please add ap plicable sa les tax.
SH3
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