1812. That such a sensitive editor should then endorse Roosevelt's own belittlement of earlier naval historians is puzzling. Certainly William James deserved to be taken to task for his scurrilous propaganda; but whatever the shortcomings of James Fenimore Cooper's History of the Navy of the United States of America-published in 1839, 43 years before The Naval War of 1812 first appeared-neither Cooper's motives nor his abilities warrant Roosevelt's disparagement. Roosevelt's prose, like the man himself, is forceful and clear. The Naval War of 1812 was his first book, but it is written with the vigor and interest of African Games Trails (the best of his hunting books) and with the forthrightness of his remarkable Autobiography. As a writer of history, Roosevelt is immediately accessible without being pedestrian. ROBERT D. MADISON Mr. Madison is Assistant Professor of English at the US Naval Academy. He is currently preparing an edition of James Fenimore Cooper's History of the Navy of the United States of America to be published by the Naval Institute Press. The Marine Iron Works of Chicago (pub!. Clinton M. Miller, 920 Federal Ave. East, Seattle, WA 98102, 44pp, illus, $9.95pb) The last decade has seen a great increase in the number of reprints of historic technical literature. These are a source of information which is often difficult for the researcher or historian to gain access to, especially as much of it has fallen into the collector's item category or can only be found in specialized libraries. Reprints such as this are therefore doubly welcome and serve a valuable purpose in preserving data on little known companies and their products. This reprint is actually a collection of printed matter consisting of catalogs, parts of catalogs and single-sheet literature dating from between about 1902 and 1908. The Marine Iron Works of Chicago was one of the lesser known shipbuilders, and was only in existence for a little more than 30 years from its incorporation in 1895. Yet their output was quite prodigious and the works sold not only machinery but complete vessels, screw-, side- and stem-paddle powered. Their specialty was the small shallowdraft steamer and they listed sternwheelers from 50ft to 125ft in length . They also listed sternwheel engines in no less than 27 stock sizes; and they would build on order any of 32 different engine sizes . They catered heavily to foreign trade, making a point of the fact that they could supply their vessels either assembled or in SEA HISTORY, WINTER 1987-88
pieces for later assembly at the point of use. Although the actual output of the company is not known, one of their early catalogs states that over 100 of their vessels were in service in South America alone. The original text not only describes the works' manufacture, but lists sample specifications and advice to buyers as to what type of steamers are suited for what type of work. The booklet is a fascinating look into an area that has received little attention . It conveys the flavor of the subject through the medium of the original text written by quietly confident builders for practical boat owners and operators. CONRAD MILsTER Mr. Milster, an advisor to the NMHS, is Chief Engineer at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Ships, Saints, and Mariners A Maritime Encyclopedia of Mormon Migration, 1830-1890 Conway B. Sonne Cloth, $19.50 Checks, Visa, or MasterCard accepted
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University of Utah Press Department 250M Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 1-800-662-0062, ext. 6771
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W. WIEGAND & CO. Pacific Sail: Four Centuries of Western Ships in the Pacific, Roger Morris (International Marine Pub!. Co., Camden, ME, 1987, 192pp,illus,$29.95hb) In our time, Richard Schlecht of Annapolis, Os Brett of New York, Mark Myers of Cornwall, England, and William Gilkerson, lately transplanted to Nova Scotia, seem pre-eminently to be able to interpret the source of Solomon's wonder, " the way of a ship in the sea," with particular reference to the way things worked. To this select and not universally recognized company, let us welcome with heartfelt joy Roger Morris, painter and author of Pacific Sail. The history is sound, the paintings dazzling-not in some Disneyland "antiquity" but in their functionality , their dynamic presentation of the problems of seafaring and the solutions men evolved to meet them . In this work, you'll meet the caravela redonda, explained about as well as it has been in our literature to date, we believe. You '11 see ships changing as time passes, and you'll see them at work, in distress , fighting, merely waiting at anchor or returning from the South Seas in triumph .. . . You'll see the Charles W. Morgan, casually encountered among a pod of North Pacific whaleships, not enshrined as we see her in Mystic today, but as she was half a world away and a century or so before our time. Morris has commanded one of the more famous eighteenth-century replica sailing ships, and he is clearly fascinated with the story of man 's passages across his ocean, the Pacific (he lives in New Zealand). These things explain a loteverything except the sheer being-thereness and raw vitality of his portraits of the ships that opened the Pacific, caught PETER STANFORD in the act.
BOX 563, GLASTONBURY, CT 06033
A New Steamship Video! From the producer of the acclaimed "Last Passage Through the Ice," this exciting new video "Ninety Years on the Lak11s"" features the E. M. Ford of 1898. the only operational quadruple expansion steamer left on the Great Lakes. Write for free information.
CARL KRIEGESKOTTE, Box 692 Mt. Kisco, N.Y. 10549, USA
CALIFORNIA'S MARITIME HERITAGE Richly Illustrated-Maps, Photos , Drawings Comprehensive-Galleons to Cruise Ships Full size book: $9 postpaid RIEGEL PUBLISHING 1000 Calle Venezia, San Clemente , CA 92672
MAINE SAILING VACATION A unique experience.
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