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TI-IE WOODEN WORLD An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy By N.A.M. Rodger Focusing on the British Navy during the Seven-Years War (1756-63), this study provides an in-depth look at life aboard an English warship during the mid- eighteenth century. It covers a wide range of topics, including the place of children and animals in shipboard life, toed and health practices, the incidence of mutiny and desertion, and more. 466 pages. 11 appendices. Bibliography. Glossary. $21.95
ICEBOUND : The J eannette Expedition's Quest for the North Pole By Leonard F. Guttridge This riveting account of America's unsuccessful quest for the North Pole in 1879 and the cover-up that followed reads like a gothic mystery, with a cast of true-life characters usually encountered only in fiction. It reveals for the first time the full impact of the ordeal suffered by the men of the Jeannette. an ordeal unmatched in the annals of polar exploration. 296 pages. 39 illustrations. Bibliography. Index. $23.95
NICHOLAS POCOCK, 1740-1821 By David Cordingly This handsome volume describes the life and work of one of the greatest figures of eighteenth-century English marine painters. A practical seaman who made painting a second career when halfway through his life, Pocock found that the technical knowledge of shi ps and the sea that he gai ned in his years as a sailor formed the foundation upon which his drawings and paintings were based. 128 pages. 84 black & white and color illystrations. 2 appendices. Bibliogaphy. Index. $ 18.9~
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NAVAL INSTITIITE PRESS BOOKS 42
is parti cularl y adept at portraying the deteriorating re lati onships of men dri ve n almost mad from fr ustrati on and d isa ppoin tment. Wi sely, he lets the ordea l unfo ld w ith onl y an occas iona l portentous foreshadowing of events. The true achievement of De Long and the members of hi s crew was the fo rtitude and resolution with which they met each success ive d isas ter. G uttridge rightl y concl udes th at it is th is hero ic spiri t which won these men their pl ace in the hi story of polar ex pl orat ion. HAL FESSENDEN Mr. Fessenden has had a long fas cination with marrers polar and recently returned from a trip north of the Arctic Circle. Australia's Maritime Heritage, Graeme Andrews (Cro marty Press, Sydney , 1984 , 88 pp , illu s, ÂŁ5 pb (incl. sea mail postage). O rder d irect fro m the auth or, 5 Kent St. , Epping, NS W 2 12 1, Aus. Mr. Andrews has produced a comprehensive and well illustrated guide to the mari time heritage of Austra li a and Tasmani a . In addition to larger vessel s such as the barks Polly Woodside and James Craig a signi fica nt number of nava l craft are included , and mention is made of the goodl y number of surviving paddle ships which once were the princ ipal fo rm of transport on Australian ri vers and in major harbours. The book is di vided into two sections, the first dealing with museums , educati onal fo undati ons and sim ilar hi stori cal preservati on soc ieties, whil st the second part contains an alphabeti cal list of histori c ships which have survived . With 1988 marking the anni versary of the arri val of the First Fleet from Brita in , wo rld-w ide interest in Australia ' s hi story and maritime heritage is bound to develop extensively. Thi s little book will provide an excellent handbook to the Austra li an scene , and is to be recommended to sea histori ans everywhere. JAMES FORSYTHE Majo r Forsythe is Hon . Secretary of the World Ship Trust. P acific Marine M useums a nd Dat a / R esearch Cen ters, Lynda ll B. and Do nald A. Land auer (I nst. fo r Marin e Info rmation, Pasadena, CA , 1985 , 247pp , illus, $ 19 .95pb). From the Maritime Museum of Singapore, to the Pratt Museum in Homer, A laska, and from the Museo Nava l at Valpara iso to the Seto Inl and Sea Folk Hi story Museum in Takamatsu , Japan, thi s first effort to bring between two covers a cata log ue of the enormous interest in maritime heritage around the Pacifi c Ocean is a remarkable undertak ing.
Li sting 175 maritime museum , oceanographi c institutions and marine collections , this is a very good compi lation of mariti me ac hievement in the Pac ific, and what is being done to remember it . LI NCO LN P. PAINE T he Du tch Republic a nd t he Hisp anic World , 1606-1661 , Jonath an K . Israe l, (Oxford Uni versity Press, NYC, 1986 , 478 pp, illus, $54.00hb/$ 19.95 pb). It was in 1605 that th e Dutch overran th e Moluccas and by do ing so captured contro l of the spice trade. By 1661 the government at Madrid needed Dutch support so much th at it agreed to abo li sh th e Sev ille Admiralty, or Almirantazgo , which had been effective in contro ll ing illicit trade. The United Provinces had become a world power, the Spanish Habsburgs the "sick man of Europe ." The intervening years had seen tru ly a world war, in which the Dutch acquired T aiwan and Cey lon , and fo r some years had contro l of Braz il. But th eir West India Company was never entirely successfu l; nor we re th e Spanish always losers. Their pri vateers, operating out of Dunkirk and later Ostend , took hundreds of Dutch vessels in a good year. On land the enemies were not unevenly matched , until th e rebelli ons in Catalonia and Portu gal in 1640 broke the wi ll of Phi lip IV and hi s mini ster Oli vares . This monumental study is based on the Dutch, Belgian and Spanish archives as well as on English diplomatic dispatches. Dr. Israel is a bit too enthusiastic about hi s discoveri es; no other serious student of the seventeenth century would argue that " it was not in any sense a war of religion. " Of course it was. But it was also an economic and naval war of astonishing complexity and importance, and Israel has performed two notable serv ices : one in di gging the material out, and another in putting it all together so well. STEPHEN B. BAXTER Dr . Baxter is Kenan Prof essor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill . Cham pion of Sail : R . W. Leyla nd and His S hipping L ine, Dav id Wa lker (Conway Marit ime , London; Sheridan House, Dobbs Ferry, NY , 1986, 19 1pp , ill us, $32hb). Imag ine if you were looking into yo ur great grandfa ther's business in sailing ships in the last century and learn ed , in midstride, th at one of hi s ships had most improbab ly survived , and had not onl y survived but was be ing restored in a big city museum! That 's what happened to David Walker, looking into R.W . LeySEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1986