Nootka Sound, despite the pressures of time and difficulties of communication, are especially interesting for themselves and for what they reveal of each observer. The drawings of the artists are a particularly precious legacy. A full chapter is devoted to the "sub-expedition" carried out in 1792 by two of Malaspina's officers detached from the main expedition to command it: Dionisio Alcala Galiano and Cayetano Valdes. This was the last major attempt by Spain to find a western exit for the Northwest Passage. It was also the first circumnavigation of Vancouver Island in one continuous voyage and, with the survey that Captain George Vancouver was carrying out at the same time, it put an end to further speculation about a navigable passage across North America in that latitude. This publication is a major contribution to the efforts of contemporary historians in Spain, Canada and the United States to make better known Spain 's brief presence in the Pacific Northwest and the achievements of the Malaspina and Galiano expeditions. Its non-academic style makes reading it a pleasure. FREEMAN M. TOVELL Retired from the Canadian foreign service, Mr. Tovell isworkingonabiography of Captain Juan de la Bodega y Quadra. Tango Round The Horn, by Lawrence Barber (Oregon Maritime Center and Museum, Portland OR, 1990, 254 pp, illus, index , glossary; $13.95pb) Wartime censorship and restrictions of waterfront activities somehow misfired along the sawmill dock at St. Helens, Oregon, when Lawrence Barber walked freely around the big steel six-masted schooner Tango as she loaded a full cargo of lumber for Cape Town, South Africa. The time was late April 1942. Barber, a waterfront reporter for the Portland Oregonian, took many photos of the rerigged sai ling ship and her crew, which have emerged nearly a half century later as one of the best collections of World War II-vintage pictures of sailing ships activated on the Pacific Coast. Forty-eight years after his first encounter with the ship, Mr. Barber has brought together hi s fine photos and the diaries of two of the last survivors of the crew, able seaman Archie McPhee and donkey-man Fred Bitte, both deceased. The book, or books, offer a sort of one-two punch. The first edition of the book was published in late 1990. Copies SEA HISTORY 61, SPRING 1992
"Thoroughly researched and splendidly written."*
TRAFALGAR COUNTDOWN TO BATTLE, 1803-1805 Alan Schorn "Historical writing at its best. ... The smashing climax is a blow-by-blow description of the carnage, chaos, and sacrifice of the great battle .... Superbly resea rched and wrought with style and clarity." - Booklist "Deftly drawn biographies bring to life the principal actors in the great drama."
- The Los Angeles Times Book Review* " [A] riveting narrative .... Lively, dramatic."
- Kirkus Reviews Because of its dramatic nature, Trafalgar has often been viewed as an isolated feat on the part of the legendary Lord Ne lson. But as Alan Schorn shows, th is apoca lyptic showdown was actually the result of a strategy laid out by the Bi :tish two yea rs earlier to thwart Napoleon's plans to invade England. Schorn fashions a brilliant and gripping reinterpretation of the events leading to the famous battle. 464 pp. 72 illus. paper $ 12.95
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