REVIEWS From Sails to Satellites: The Origin and Development of Navigational Science, by J.E.D. Williams (Oxford University Press, New York NY, 1992, 3 lOpp, photos, illus, notes, biblio, index; $35hc) This survey of man's attempts to find his way across expanses of ocean and air and, more important, to return again, explores three areas of historical importance to navigational science: how navigational needs have provided an impulse to scientific discovery; how navigation has utilized science, mathematics and engineering; and the use of physics and mathematics in the practice of navigation. Williams makes it clear that what he has written is not a work of scholarly research, but a "complex tapestry in which the writer seeks to illuminate anecdotally" the hi story of navigational science. Using a topical approach to this vast subject, he touches upon many fascinating developments such as the fact that the Greek hi storian Plutarch was aware of the circumnavigability of Africa, that the calculations of Columbus were wrong and hi s reputation as a navigator is suspect, and the many Muslim contributions to navigation in the 15th century. Chapter notes provide superb detail and additional information. The illustrations of navigational techniques and photographs of in struments assist the reader in understanding this history. HAROLD
N.
BOYER
Montana Tech Butte, Montana D-Day: Piercing the Atlantic Wall, by RobertJ. Kershaw (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1994, 254 pp, photos, illus, index; $34.95hc) This is not your typical D-Day overview; it is an in-depth collection of unique and intimate moments which allows all of us who weren't there to come as close to the face of war as we'll ever get without being there. Although the lack of a traditional narrative flow takes a few pages to get used to, the pieces of the puzzle offered by Kershaw add up to a total picture with more detail than I have seen before. Unlike a hundred other books on this monumental event, which cover it fro m a lofty perspective, Kershaw gives us micro sound-bites, memorable, personal glimpses into the lives of the men who made it happen. But this is not just a collection of"there I was ..." stories. This SEA HISTORY 70, SUMMER 1994
book allows the reader to experience the ground level reality of war on what was one of the largest, and on a personal level, most confused days in history. What many historians mi ss is the fact that once the plans were set in motion , June 6th was not about Eisenhower or Montgomery, Rommel or Rundstedt. It was about several hundred thousand regular foes and Tommys and Fritzes. Although these men knew little of the major events going on around them while they were fighting their own disparate battles in the woods, on the beaches, and in the air, D-Day is their story and this book tells it from their perspective. The book also contains some extraordinary photographs, and is well indexed and referenced. If you think you've read everything about D-Day, read thi s! JERRY ROB ERTS
Intrepid Museum New York, New York The Coast of Summer: Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod, by Anthony Bailey (HarperCollins, New York NY, 1994, 357pp; $23hc) This fine yam covers far voyaging in thought, reflection and experience, in the relatively short span of salt water between Shelter Island at the eastern end of New York's Long Island, and Cape Cod some 100 miles still further eastward. The book is populated with very real and remarkable people who play some role in the author' s voyaging in the small stock sloop he outfitted for cruising New England waters in the summers, while living in alleged retirement in England 's Greenwich on the River Thames. The eccentric but infinitely capable Yaacov Adam is one of these real-life characters, known to this reviewer; another is the swashbuckling but somehow infinitely appealingPeterThrockmorton, who has contributed so greatly to marine archaeology and to what might be called reality-based appreciation of the ancient wrecks he helped discover in the Mediterranean , and of the wooden Maine-built Down Easters and Yankee packets he sought out in the Falklands. Both characters are memorably limned here, Yaacov's through a vinous evening of high philosophy and skillful mechanical problem-solving; Peter, rather touchingly , because of Mrs. Bailey's desire to seek out further facts of his life following hi s untimely death the year before this crui se took place. So, thi s book
DOVER Maritime Books Write for FREE Maritime Book Brochure THE PIRATES OWN BOOK, Marine Research Society. Reprint of rare volume, based on ac tual con te mporar y do c um en ts, recounts the lives, d eed s and d ea ths o f Blac k Beard , J ea n Lafitte, Rob e rt Kidd , Ann e Bonney and scores of other celebrated maritim e maraud e rs. In cludes 70 wood engraved illus. 496pp . 5~4 x 8~t 27607-4 Pa. $8.95
MarineRcscarchSociety
THE TALL SHIPS OF TODAY IN PHOTOGRAPHS, Frank 0 . Braynard. 190 striking black-and-white photos and detailed information on nearly 100 sailing vessels now used as training ships and as good will ambassadors: Sea Cloud, the Eagle, the Christian Radich, more. 128pp. 81• x lH. 27163-3 Pa. $12.95 AMERICA'S LIGHTHOUSES: An Illustrated History, Francis Ross Holland, Jr. Over 100 photos, drawings and engravings enhance this fascinating, fact-filled history of over 100 famous lights along the U.S. coastal and inland waterways, from 1716 to 1930s. 240pp. 8 x 10%. 25576-X Pa. $10.95 THE BOOK OF OLD SHIPS, Henry B. Culver. 80 superb illustrations b y noted maritime artist Gordon Grant d epict history's most im portant sa ilin g ships fr om th e Egyptian galley to the 19th-century clipper. Detailed text provides historical background of each. 2.56pp. 518 x Sit 27332-6 Pa. $6.95 AMERICAN SAILING SHIPS: Their Plans and History, Charles G. Davis. Traces development of sailing ships from pre-Revolutionary era to earl y 20th century. Design, construction, seafaring life, more with 140 photos, plans, drawings. 240pp. 6)8 x 9J4. 24658-2 Pa. $6.95 SAILING VESSELS IN AUTHENTIC EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY ILLUSTRA PONS, Edward William Cooke. Masterpiece of maritime art by famed English artist. 65 illustrations portray English ships, ports in early decades of 19th century. 76pp . 818 x 11'4. 26141-7 Pa. $6.95
Build a Boat! HOW TO BUILD WOODEN BOA TS, Edwin Monk. Detailed illustrated instructions for amateur boat builders with measured drawings and designs for 16 small boats, from 9-foot dinghy to 18-foot runabout, even racing hydroplane. 96pp. 9 x 12. 27313-X Pa. $7.95 FREE Maritime Book Brochure (58556-5) d escribing over 50 books on maritime histor y, tall ships, ocean liners, adventures at sea and more. FREE on request, no purchase necessary. TO ORDER: List author, title, cod e number. Add $3.00 for postage and handling (any number of books). N. Y. residents add sa les tax. All books un conditi o nally guaranteed. SEND TO: Dove r Publications , Dept. SEH94, 31 E.2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501.
43