REVIEWS tion, many of which have not been on public d ispl ay fo r decades. The a uthor' s writing strategy succeeds in providing a fluentl y contig uo us read. On the negative side, the author does not include specific deta il s of the fri gates that were important to American maritime history, such as the Leda and Lively class vessels, man y o f w hi ch served in large or small roles on the North A merican Station from Hali fax to Bermuda, in acti on, oron blockade along the coast of the United States . As was the case with Th e First Frigates, the author ass umes too much knowledge on the part of hi s readers. He is, therefore, writing to that narrow band of society which is deepl y fa mili ar with the subject of fr igates in genera l, and Royal Navy fr igates in partic ul ar. Nevertheless, once agai n, Gardiner' s command of hi s subject matter has provided an invaluable working tool fo r the naval hi storian, ship mode ler and maritime antiquari an. W . M . P. DUN E Long Island University Southampton , New York
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To Die Gallantly: The Battle of the Atlantic, edited by Timothy J. Run yan and Jan M. Copes (Westview Press , Boulder CO, 1994, 375pp, biblio, illus, index; $55hc, $ 17 .95 pb) The North American Soc iety for Oceanic History (NASOH) is to be commended for sponsoring in 1992, with the he lp of the US Naval Hi storical Center, a conference devoted to the pivota l battle of World W ar II , the six-year Battle of the Atlantic. Professor Run yan and hi s able aide Ms. Copes are to be thanked for bringing the confe rence papers before us with full illustra tions, tabl es, and scholarl y notes to he lp further investigation. The papers range from an insightful appreciati on of Hitler' s and Roosevelt ' s utterl y different perspecti ves on the struggle to the role of codes and codebreaking. Included is a shrewd appreciation of Allied stra tegy re lated to class ic naval strategy as set fo rth by Mahan and hi s di sciples. Mahan died in 19 14, the yea r World War I broke o ut, opening the first Battle of the Atl antic. The question of how hi s princ iples , fo rmul ated on the ex perience of sailing battle fl eets, related to the new horri bly effecti ve form of the guerre de course waged by the German U-boats in both World Wars prov ides food for thought. Run yan and Copes offer a sound judgment on the
hi stori an s ' wo rk on these questions in the ir preface: "A half-century of scho larship h as prov ided insight but not the las t word on thi s terrible yet dec isive struggle ." PS The C hampla in Canal: Mules to Tugboats, Captain Fred G. Godfrey (LR A Inc., Mo nroe NY, 1994 , 12 lpp, photos, maps, g loss, index; $25hc) Fugitive Deckhand: A Novel of the Canalway of New York State, Captain Fred G. G odfrey (Empire State Fiction, Mo n roe NY , 199 0 , 19 0pp , illu s: $ 18.95 hc) Fred G . Godfrey makes learning about New Yo rk State's canalways an evocati ve pl eas ure in these two books. The first chrono log icall y traces the hi story of the Champl ain Canal from its opening in 18 19 (fo ur years prior to the opening of the Erie Canal). Drawi ng on hi s own rich ex periences ga ined liv ing and working on New York State canals for over 54 yea rs, Captain Godfrey weaves a va ried tapestry that transports the reader to anothertirne in hi story, with vivid in-depth descriptio ns of tugboats, canal boats, to wing techniques , locks, canal towns and their people. Numerous photographs, many take n by the author, enhance the reader' s e njoyment. If yo u like yo ur hi story mi xed with a littl e fi c tio nal intrigue , the cana l-based nove l, Fu gitive Deckhand, is fo r your enjoyme nt and ed ificati on. The yo ung Vermont farm boy Torn McEwen, running away from home , reaches Waterford , Ne w York, a thri ving maritime hub just north of Albany at the junction of the Erie and C hampl ain Canals and the Hudson Ri ver. There, he find s a re fu ge from hi s tro ubled pas t and a brand new career aboard the Sa lly 8 ., an anc ient steam tug skippered by a crusty o ld cana ler. Tom soon deve lops into a firs t-class deckhand and becomes part of a vani shing mari time scene . When the canals close at the end of the summer, the Sa lly 8 . steams down the Hudson to winter in New York C ity, prov iding the reader with a unique descripti o n of the canalboat community that fl o uri shed in lower Manhattan. H ERBERT K . SAXE C roton-on-Hudson, New York That Others Might Live: The US LifeSaving Service, 1878-1915, by Denni s L. No bile (Naval Institute Press, Annapo li s MD , 1994, l 98 pp, illus, g loss, notes, bJ iblio, index ; $27 .95hc) For 37 years tHle "storm warriors" of the US SEA HII STORY 72, WINTER 1994-95