BOOKS The Masting and Rigging of English Ships of War 1625-1860, by James Lees (Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 1979, 267 pp., illus., $34.95) . A master work of the first magnitude! This book is a weighty volume and between its 10 x 12 inch covers, is stored as complete and detailed a documentation of the titled subject as can be desired. It is truly cyclopedic in coverage. Neat line-drawing sketches give the reader a clear understanding of the item described in the text, and they are often evolutionary in showing changes that occurred as time and the naval establishment progressed. Besides the text drawings there are 72 photographs of models in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Some show the full vessel and others are detail views, of which, unfortunately, a few have the referenced area in shadow or so dark as to be almost useless. There are also 21 plates of early seamanship book pages, builders' and riggers' plans, ship profiles and black-and-white prints of famous paintings. The text is in four parts; Masting, which covers the making and setting of a vessel's spars together with comprehensive detailing of their fittings; Rigging, in which all the shrouds, stays, catharpins, halliards, sheets and other cordage is minutely described; Sailmaking, which defines all the bits and pieces of the various sails and explains how they go together to make up those "clouds of canvas" that billowed over the old "wooden walls", and Seamanship. This last section would be better titled "Marlinespike Seamanship", since it is limited to that part of the seafaring profession. In chronological order, it lists the many changes in the pieces of rigging and methods of their employment. Then without describing their construction, it mentions the numerous knots, hitches, seizings, etc. that are used and has beautifully clear line drawings of all this rope work, of various blocks and many other fittings. The section closes with deck plans and descriptive texts for belaying the many pieces of running rigging of vessels in different periods. Each of the first three parts is further broken down into sections on individual spars, on pieces of rigging and the different sails. Unfortunately, at least for this retired mariner, quite a few minor annoyances crop up throughout, such as the author calling those sails on the front end "jibsails", an uninformed landsman's term, and dropping an identifying word in the text although it is given in the chapter or section headings. For example, under the title "Main Topmast 38
Staysail", the text refers to the "Main Top Staysail" . And he lists the Mizen Crossjack Yard which is rather redundant since only the lower yard on the mizenmast is the crossjack . There are several other such inconsistencies and some misapplication of names, which is unfortunate because such a work will properly be considered an authoritative reference, and to the uninitiated, its contents will be "gospel" . A few typographic errors can be noted, and I am not referring to the British practice of dropping the "the" so often . In the area of "authoritative references", I note that while the author refers to Falconer and his Marine Dictionary as an authority, in a few cases they differ. The book has a peculiar format. At least, I have not seen such a make-up before. The text, appendix and index pages are consecutively numbered, but the rear end of each section has several unnumbered pages of photographs. These are not put in as extra inserts, but are part of the total binding, which makes for a bit of confusion. But withal, the volume is well worth having, and as Alan Villiers says in his foreword, " ... a book of this stature has long been wanted in the model maker's and (naval history) student's world." ROBERT G. HERBERT, JR . Sea Chanteys and Forecastle Songs at Mystic Seaport, performed and arranged by Stuart M. Frank, Stuart Gillespie, & Ellen Cohn (New York , Folkways Records, 1978 FfS 37300, $8.95). Those who have wandered into Mystic Seaport over the past few years have had their ears pleasantly assaulted by this trio. They are the center of Mystic's daily summer chantey program. All are accomplished musicians on their respective instruments. The album is divided into two discrete parts-working chanteys and forecastle songs. Most of the working chanteys are fairly standard, but there is a fine sample of a double chantey-a way of working the two watches at differing tasks with a minimum of confusion. If you wish to learn more of it, buy the album. On side two, the mix is between accompanied vocals and straight instrumentals. Here, the song mix is more varied. Several uncommon songs are presented, including "Paddy and the Whale," "The Bold Benjamin," and "The Balena." In all, the album is well worth your purchase. As usual, Folkways includes a booklet of explanatory notes and lyrics. This one also has a brief annotated bibliography. ERIC P . RUSSELL
The Fleet Submarine in the U.S. Navy: A Design and Construction History, by John D. Alden, CDR, USN (ret.) (Annapolis MD, Naval Institute Press, 1979, 290 pp., ill.' $28.95). World War II, as it was fought in the vast Pacific Theater of Operations, was primarily a naval and amphibious war. All our military services took part but in the final analysis, Japan's military was wiped out, her commercial shipping swept from the seas, her island outposts destroyed and the Empire virtually strangled by the greatest Navy that ever put to sea. In the forefront of the naval effort to defeat Japan were the fleet submarines that carried the offensive to the enemy in waters impenetrable to other types of ships. These were formidable weapons, equipped to perform a multitude of tasks. They could take on the most powerful ships afloat with their conventional torpedoes, hit smaller, agile opponents with their homing torpedoes, and finish off lightly armed surface craft with their deck guns. They could dive deep enough and were strong enough to survive desperate hours under attack. Although much has been written in history and fiction of the exploits of these ships and their men, there have been only a few arid technical references on the development of this superb instrument of war. John Alden has filled this gap with authority and spirit. The author has written an absorbing and articulate account of the evolution of the submarine. It abounds in very human anecdotes of the personnel involved in this development and their splendid response to the urgent requirements of the operating forces. Virtually every constructor, designer and production manager of the period is singled out for his individual effort. The book itself is dedicated to Rear Admiral Andrew I. McKee, whom most operators consider the greatest of them all-a splendid naval officer in the finest tradition-brilliant, dedicated and human . This one book will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers: The naval historian can find the supplementary data and descriptions needed to flesh out and give life to his own efforts. The veteran submariner can find his own well loved ships and the characteristics and history of their construction. The engineer can find the origin, trials and resolutions of problems which arose. The ship's constructor can review the difficulties experienced in the various yards-Electric Boat Company in SEA HISTORY, WINTER 1980