beautiful Normandie on the dust jacket (fortunately reproduced as the frontispiece) to the final, symbolic photo of the France docking in Havre after her final voyage under the tricolor, the liveliness of the pictorial material exactly compliments the text. After reading The Liners one emerges with a distinct feeling for the era of these trans-Atlantic titans. Odd bits of information keep appearing that nicely flesh out the story of the multinational competitors for the lucrative North Atlantic Market-and the great importance of shipping to the commerce of the day. Cunard's early decision to dock at Boston when that city was locked in head-to-head battle with New York for the passenger business led to a grateful Mayor and business community freeing the icebound Britannia with ice ploughs in the winter of 1844. The ship proceeded eastward through the passage accompanied by half the population skating by her side. Different companies concentrated on different trades. The development of the immigrant traffic necessitated a different approach to basic ship design than did the glamour ships of the speedy first-class vessels. The great liners emerged as a class by themselves. DOD
NAUTICAL BOOKS, FILMS, MODELS, RECORDS ON OCEAN LINERS AND AIRSHIPS: Complete catalog of items: 50¢ in Coin or Stamps. Order from:
7 C'S PRESS, INC. P.O. BOX 57, DEPT. SH RIVERSIDE, CT. 06878 USA OUT - OF - PRINT
BOOKS OF THE SEA Our Specialty Send $1.00 fo r Catalog e Book Search Servi ce e Collections Purcha sed
CARAVAN-MARITIME BOOKS 8706 - 16Rth Place , J a mai ca , N .Y. 11432
The Island Steamers, by Paul C. Morris and Joseph F. Morin (Nantucket, Nantucket Nautical Publishers, 1977. 196 pp., illus., $19.50). The rich maritime history of Nantucket and Martha's Vinyard islands lives on in the ferry service that to this day provides the major link to the mainland. The Island Steamers traces this vital public transportation from the early days of steam to the present motorship era. A pleasant blend of photographs collected from a wide range of sources and a nicely written text make this fine cocktail-table fare. The vessels, routes and people are dealt with in a style that makes for easy entertainment. This work should not, however, be considered a reference, as maddening omissions tend to weaken the authors' credibility as authorities on their subject. Current service between the Vineyard and Hyannis, Falmouth and New Bedford goes unmentioned, for example. Woods Hole, currently the major mainland terminal, is given only passing mention. Bibliographical compilation is meant to help scholars and verify the author's research. Listing newspapers and magazines without dates, and books without publishers, cities of origin, or dates does neither. LEONARD C. SMITH
k
)
We'll Deliver, by C. Bradford Mitchell (Kings Point, N. Y., U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, 1977. 253 pp., illus., $13.25). The creation of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy by act of Congress in 1938 is only one part of a story that began with a moored training brig off Nantucket one hundred and fifty years ago. We'll Deliver traces this story, the heroism of its students and graduates in the dark days of World War II, when the academy at Kings Point was rated at a par with its sister institutions at New London and Annapolis, and the sustained effort that led to its continuance after the war, when it was threatened with dismemberment as a "war agency". Mitchell aptly dedicates his book to the 142 Kings Pointers who lost their lives in enemy action. But there is more to the story than the wartime emergency. In this extraordinary well informed book, Mitchell has shown how dedicated people made possible a national academy suited to the mission of American Merchant traffics at sea. This work records the doubts and struggles that accompanied the effort, as well as the solid and rewarding results. DOD
r
NAUTICAL PUBLISHERS & BOOKSELLERS
We specialise in books about ships: Tall ships, merchant ships, cruising ships, sailing ships and boats. Books for ship lovers, shipping buffs, marine historians, collectors and enthusiasts everywhere. * Write for free subscription to regularly updated catalogue. * 150Jo DISCOUNT on ALL books to Members of National Maritime Society, if ordered through SEA HISTORY!!! NEV ASA PUBLICATIONS LTD. North Vancouver, B.C. V7L 4L2, Canada
P.O. Box 86715 Tel: (604) 688-4116
TOMLINSON REFRIGERATION AND SUPPLY CO. Marine & Industrial Air Conditioning & Refrigeration
MARITIME LAW AND TECHNICAL BOOKS FOR THE SHIPPING AND EXPORT INDUSTRY SEND FDR OUR FR EE CATALOG
24 BEAVER STREET, N.Y., N.Y. 10004 (212) 425-0123
SEA HISTORY, SPRING 1978
Maintenance - Sales - Service
324 BROADWAY ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY 07206 TEL.201 -351-1350 DAY OR NIGHT 39