Disaster in the Pacific: New Light on the Battle of Savo Island, by Denis and Peggy Warner, with Sadao Seno (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1992, 299pp, illus, index; $26.95hb) On August9, 1942, a Japanese cruiser force surprised and sank four Allied heavy cruisers at practically no cost to themselves. This badly shook up a US Navy that needed shaking up to bring its figh ting abi lity up to the level of the highly trained, dedicated Japanese forces. Fortunately for the Allies the Japanese did not follow up on this tactical success by destroying the Allied troop transports that were the object of the raid. The new information developed by the authors, together with their balanced evaluation of the personal and technical factors involved, make this the definitive acPS count of a much-debated battle. Vancouver's Voyage: Cha rting the Northwest Coast, 1791-1795, by Robin Fisher (Douglas and Mcintyre, Vancouver(foronto and University of Washington Press, Seattle WA, 1992, 131 pp, charts, illus, bib, index;$35 .OOhb) As the last temperate coast in the world to be explored by Europeans, the Pacific Northwest of America became, for a few years at the end of the 18th century, the theater for a clash of their competing imperial and commercial interests. The Spanish arrest of English trading vessels at Nootka in 1789 led British Prime Minister William Pitt to threaten Spain with a war that she was unprepared to sustain. In the resulting Nootka Convention, Spain agreed to compensate Britain for the vessel seizure and to recognize English rights to navigate, trade and settle on the coast. Details of the territorial settlement at Nootka, however, remained to be worked out and, with the question of the Northwest Passage still unresolved to the satisfaction of influential "cabinet navigators," it was decided to send a naval expedition to reinforce British interests and to undertake a thorough charting of the coast from California to Alaska. This enterprise , commanded by George Vancouver, is the subject of a well-written and extensively-illustrated new book by Robin Fisher, Professor of History at Simon Fraser University. After overviewing the geography of the coast, the background of Britain 's clash with Spain, Vancouver's career and the preparations for the voyage, Fisher detai Is the progress of the expediSEA HISTORY 63, AUTUMN 1992
The Abraham Lincoln of the Sea: The Life of Andrew Furuseth, by Arnold Berwick It is assumed that slaver y in the United States ended with the E mancipation Proclamation, but American seamen were held in bondage for another 52 year s. This is the story of a Norwegian sailor who devoted his life to securing freedom and justice for seamen. "Andrew Furuseth was famo us for nearly half a century, but has pretty much faded from memory. However ... a good writer got caught up in his unique story and has put it between the covers of this book. It is a grand San Francisco waterfront tale and ... an anchor to windward against old Andrew slipping back into obscurity." - Karl Kortum, Curator and Founder San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park An Odin Press Book. Hardcover, 176 pages, photos. $19.95 ISBN 0-9633611-0-4
AMERICAN DISCOVERY
THE RJEAL §TORY Voyagers before Colum bus. A readerfriendl y introduction to voyages by Greeks, Romans, Phoeni cians, Irish, Norse, Jews, Britons, Chinese, Africans, etc. By Ph i Bela Kappa scholar, Gun nar T hompson, Ph .D. 6x9 paper-back; 400 pages ; fully illustrated. ISBN: 0·9621990·4-4
$ 17.95 post paid in- state o rders add sales tax Phone orders. MC & VISA to:
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®l!!IOOU ®liil IW®liil®IJ' ®®00®@1 wOU!ru ®lkOOO The American Coasting Schooner
Frederick F Kaiser 320 pages. 170 half· tone illustration Line drawings by the author ISBN Q.931781·05·1 $34.95
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