BOOKS
HISTORYm PHOTOGRAPHS by Jeffrey Simpson
The Hudson River: 1850-1918 A Photographic Portrait " Here is a piece of genuine Americana .. An enduring effort, The Hudson River: 1850 -1918 will make an ideal book fo r lo vers o f pictorial history." - United Press
Internatio nal 208 pages , 150 B&W photographs , c lo thbound, 529 .95
Officers And Gentlemen Historic West Point in Photographs In 200 p hoto grap hs and illustrations, Offi· cers and Gen tlem en chronic les the growth of the academ y and the exploits of its graduates from W est Point's founding in 1802 until W o rld War I hero Dougl as Mac Arthur b eca m e supe rint e ndent in 19 19 . 2 2 4 page s, 200 B&W photographs , c lo thbo und , 52 4.95
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Seamanship in the Age of Sail; An Account of the Shiphandling of the Sailing Man-of-War, 1600-1860, Based on Contemporary Sources, by John Harland, ill. Mark Myers, RSMA , F/ASMA (Naval Institute Press , Annapolis MD, 1984, 320pp, illus , $39.95). A happy coll aboration gives us this beautiful and deeply informative book. The credentials of the authors are formidab le. John Harland being a student of seafari ng terms and practices in Dutch , German , Swedish , Danish , French , Italian and Spanish as well as Englis h. This gives him an enviable grip on the whole European maritime culture in the two and a half centuries in which the great sailing ship evolved and in which she fo ught fo r mastery of the worldwide trade routes her sailing had brought into being. He shows a nice sensitivity to meanings , and ability to econvey them to the lay man: " 'Toplgallant,' and the Dutch eq uivalent bram, both embrace the idea of 'showing off,' " he says. And we have learned something! His coll aborator and illustrato r, Mark Myers, is a well known marine artist and voyager (see his account of a visit by sea to the sea-people's museum in Exeter, SH33: 12-14). Mr. Myers has sailed in the 17th century ketch reprod uction Nonsuch , and learnt his seamanship unde r such sailormen as the late Alan Villiers and Captain Adrian Small. The book, wi th its large lOin x 12in size, presents a g lorious array of page after page of Mr. Myers' drawings , literally hundreds of them done in the course of years of stud y. He clearl y illustrates maneuvers , often expressed in mystifying language, that must have left other latter-day sailors besides myself wondering how they were accomplished , and sometimes , even, what they were. The evolution of sail plans is well illustrated , as well as the seem ingly endless va riations in gear. Contemporary paintings and ship models are exam ined , and the worki ngs of sh ips' gear analyzed. This book must open new vistas even to the devoted student. It offers something like a new dimension , showing traditional ships in action , with different orders given in different tongues and often in different ways, in different times and places. " Different ships, different long splices" is a rule well honored here ; no one can say of any seafaring arrangement: " It was done this way, and only this way." How it was done differed , and as the authors po int out early on , on a long voyage the cultural usage changed a nd became ada pted fo r that particul ar ship ; she sailed as an evolving, li ving fragment of the culture, a littl e wo rld of her own. Critical study and review will undoubt-
edly uncover differences of opinion, and perhaps some errors of fac t not uncovered in the first readi ng of this lively and monumental stud y: we'll publish such discussion in the future , as a com mentary on this important work. One further thing should be said: the book is lively in tone, em inently readable, a visual treat ; it can be read for sheer pleasure in its rich and varied texture, as it brings us close to the on-deck experience of the great ships travers ing oceans in all PETER STANFORD weathers. The Ship of the Line, Vol. I: The Development oftheBattlefleet, 1650-1850; Vol. II: Design, Construction and Fittings, by Brian Lavery (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1984, Vol. I 224pp, Vol. II , 191pp, illus, $29.95 each vol.). Volume I pulls together historical facts from many sources, and is valuable to the researcher because it presents the story of the ships of the English navy from 1618 to 1850, gathered into one volume. Particularly useful is the listing of vessels of a given class, such as the Dublin class of 74-gun ships and the following Bellona class . Individual ships, of whatever class, are thus made to fit nicely into this progression of design. The political , military, and technical factors inherent in each design are carefully set forth. The reasons for new designs and for modifications of old designs are thus made clearer. Intelligently selected plans and illustrations augment the text brilliantly. An o riginal approach, not seen elsewhere by this reviewer, is the presentation in graphic form , of the progression of characteristics of various types of ships. In all , a useful work , an addition to its field of knowledge. Volume II consists of eight chapters of uneven quality. Chapter One, " Hull Design ," is intelligently written and rewarding to read . Chapter Two, " Hull Construction ," mistakes the foremast for the "mizzen" mast (p30) . Chapter Three, " Decoration," is well written and instructive. Chapter Four, " Masts and Yards," is an adequate but oversimplified presentation of the development of the rig of a threemaster. The problem of balancing the center of pr~ss ure of the suit of sails, to the center of resistence of the hul), is not discussed , although the solution to the problem often called the relocation of fore or mizzen masts , or changes in sizes of sails. Ch1apter Five, " Sails and Rigging," is well dmne, although the purpose of the crowsfooit (pp.90 and 91) was not to the strain of tlhe stay, as claimed, but to prevent chafing onf the sail on the forward face of the SEM HISTORY, WINTER 1984-85