BOOKS
Folklore and the Sea, by Horace Beck (Middletown, Conn ., Wesleyan University Press/ Mystic Seaport, 1977. 463 pp., illus., paperback $6.95). This massive survey of lore and legends on both sides of the Atlantic is welcome in its new paperbound edition. A chapter that exemplifies the depth of material is "Seals and Muckle Men," which is devoted to tales of shape changers emerging from the sea to move among men as people. They were held in deeply rooted fear among coastal dwellers, going back to pre-Christian times. Here also are mermaids and seals, some thought to house the souls of dead fishermen. Shipbuilding, place names, weather lore, sea songs and chanties, art, monsters . . . one's only regret is that in so vast a survey, some things are only lightly touched on . ERIC RUSSELL
The Twelve Meter Challenges for the America's Cup, by Norris D. Hoyt, with paintings & drawings by Admiral Joseph W . Golinken (New York, E.P . Dutton, 1977. 252 pp., illus ., $25 .00) . It is a fortunate thing that Norris Hoyt and Joseph Golinken met in 1964, for they have put together a book that must surely be required reading for anyone interested in racing for the America's Cup since 12-meter yachts replaced the great "J" boats of the preWorld War II era. Mr. Hoyt, of course, as a long-time resident of Newport, Rhode Island, has probably witnessed first-hand as many trial and cup races as any knowledgeable sailor, and is eminently qualified to speak on such a complex subject with all its nuances. Admiral Golinken was always meticulous about details, and his delightful and unusual water colors reflect this dedication . As Mr. Hoyt, points out in his foreword, "Twelves consume much labor and few materials . " But a good deal of the "labor" consists of some of the best sailors in the world, and some of the "materials" are so exotic that they are discarded in infancy as being so expensive or intricate that they should only be developed by NASA . Yet a great deal of both do find their way into the boating business in one way or another, to say nothing of Newport, Rhode Island. The details of technology and personalities with which this volume deals seem to reflect a sincere interest by the author to give the facts as they pertain to the many races beginning in 1958 . As the reader is bound to realize ere long, 12 meter racing for the America's Cup would seem to be here to stay, in spite of an absolutely lop-sided series of results in favor of the defenders. A friend of mine once compared this game as being like racing fillies, and there is some analogy here. Mr. Hoyt explains that several of the premier yacht designers of the world have been called upon to design 12 meters as challengers and defenders. Their efforts frequently fell short of expectations, generally when they were hot favorites. As the thoroughbred fraternity knows, beautifully bred Secretariats or such are not necessarily guaranteed winners . All of which adds to the spice of defending and challenging for the America's Cup. F. BRIGGS DALZELL
Mr. Russell, guitarist and National Society volunteer, is co-author with Mark Lovewell of Songs of South Street-Street of Ships.
Mr. Dalzell, Secretary of South Street Seaport Museum, got to know his fillies pretty well in several terms as Fleet Captain of the New York Yacht Club.
eluding paintings and photographs, and the text work well in tandem. A system of footnoting elaborates on certain points without distracting from the flow of the text. As the sketch comes to a close, the author touches on the subject of technical accuracy. Though Fischer was a representational artist who often worked in illustrating prose, he chose not to document nautical technology so much as humankind in its "contraption ." To fault him for technical inaccuracy is to overlook the true thrust of his artistry . The commentary of the "Pictures" section suffers slightly from too little succinct artistic analysis. In general, it complem.ents the plates-which speak for themselves . An overabundance of exclamations! in this section tends to diminish the meaning of the prose. Inexplicably, neither the present locations nor the dimensions of the painting are given. The author at one point explains that "humans make mistakes" and perhaps A.0.F.'s mistakes can be explained through the lack of perspective that an artist's closeness to his oeuvre creates . This difference in perspective is what makes the work of this man not the product of a camera's eye but rather a record of the view from an artist' s onto our humanity. LYNNE FISHER PHILLIPS
Ms. Phillips, a student of art history, is a freelance writer.
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The Peking Battles Cape Horn, by Captain Irving Johnson (New York, Sea History Press, 1977 . 182 pp., illus ., hardcover $11.95, paper $5.95). I had read Captain Johnson's 1932 Peking book several years ago, with astonishment. Peking had not come to South Street yet in her final career, and all I knew was that here was grand writing of a kind of sea life that is completely gone now . Sea History Press's new version of that book-coming now as it does to complement the presence of the ship herself at South Street-is a wonderful publication . NMHS President Peter Stanford's Foreword tells us that Peking "carried masts seventeen stories high" and tells us too of Captain Johnson's later world sailings in other vessels and in his own three Yankees. Captain Johnson's own Afterword is rather an intimate statement, written 48 years later, "to add some memories of things that were too close for me to see significantly at the time." To get ready for Cape Horn and for shipboard fighting someday, he writes, he read Jack London and "secretly sent away for a physical culture course" and "trained till I could stand on my head on top of every telephone pole within a half mile of home." He never had a fight, as it turned out, but felt the training worthwhile, "for shipmates .. . appreciate a man who can pull, jerk, heave, lift and climb in a way that counts ." And South Street ship historian Norman Brouwer's factual history of Peking expanded from a Spring 1975 article in the Reporter, ties it all together. It is a good book, this one. It caused me to wish urgently to implant my name inside its front cover, which I did. TERRY WALTON Ms. Walton is editor of South Street Seaport Museum's journal the Reporter, from which this review is reprinted, with thanks. The Liners, A History of the North Atlantic Crossing, by Terry Coleman (New York , G .P. Putnam's Sons, 1977. 231 pp . illus ., $14.95). When a book accomplishes what its author and publisher intend for it to do, it is a pleasure indeed . Such a book must remain clearly focussed on its subject and report it with a minimum of wasted words. If it is illustrated the material must be appropriate, in balance with the text and effective in bringing the narrative to life . Terry Coleman's Liners is such a book . From the magnificent French Line representation of the
SEA HISTORY, SPRING 1978