perfect better radar ... who knows? Ar rhe least ir wo uldhave been a much longer wa r. TOWNSEND H ORNOR
Osrerville, M assachuse tts
...
./
Q u arterdeck and Bridge: Two Centuries of American Naval Leaders, edited by James C. Bradford (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1997, 455pp, index, ISBN 1-55750-073-8; $22.95hc) This collection of biographical essays aims to "trace rhe history of rhe US Navy from irs roots in rhe War for Independence to rhe posrnuclear present." Twenty American naval leaders are depicted in interpretive essays by academic and professional historians, including well-known au thors such as C lark G. Reyno lds, William N. Srill, Jr. and D avi d Allen Rosenberg. Each essay co mbin es biographical information with rhe author's interpretation of rh e subject. The lasr page or so of each essay summari zes rhe significance of rhe subj ect followed by a short bibliographical essay and endnotes . These essays are nor exercises in h agiography. The personal side of these naval officers is displayed rime and again rhroughour rhe book. Whether one is readin g the poignant descripti on of John Paul J o nes dying alone and imp ove ri shed , Alfred Thayer Mahan as an officer afraid of the sea and a poor shiphandler, or E rnest ]. King's perso nali ty being described as "not a pleasing one," rh e reader co mes away with a view of these men as being borh pan and parcel of their rimes and having rhe humani ty to overcome many obstacles on the way to success. Inreres ringly, rhree essays deal wirh naval officers whose conrribu rion was nor fighting an d winning barrles bur in m ore prosaic areas of naval trainin g and education, naval hi sto ry and nuclear power. Stephen B. Luce is cha racte rized as a "reacher, w riter, o rganizer, administrato r, and leader" and is credited with organ izing borh rhe Srare U nivers ity of New Yo rk Maritime College and the Naval War College. Mahan 's The I nfluence of Sea Power upon History, 1660-1783 and his 20 orher books and 137 articles brought him fam e as an author and historian. Hyman G. Rickover's nuclear revolution changed naval operations, strategy and racrics for all rime. While rhe reader may not agree with rhe choice of subjects nor the authors' conclu-
SEA HISTORY 87, WINTER 1998-99
sio ns, rhis collection of essays will nor fail to stimulate rhoughr and discuss ion about our Navy's histo ry and future prospects. H AROLD N. BOYER Florence, So uth Carolina Pirates and Privateers: New Perspectives on the War on Trade in the Eighteen th and Nineteenth Centuries, edited by Dav id J. Starkey, E. S. van Eyck van Heslinga, and] . A. de Moor (University of Exeter Press, Exeter UK, 1997, 268pp, illus, index, notes, ISBN 0-85989-48 1-9; $70hc) T his scholarl y effort co nsists of a dozen and more essays by noted European and North American educators and historians delivered to a meeting held in the Netherlands in May 199 1, rhe subject of which was, quire naturally, pirates and privateers. The work explores in some derail, bur without significanr revelation, the political, social and eco nomi c mores of pirates, buccaneers (there is a difference) and privateers who opera red in vario us geographical theaters between 175 0 and 18 50. As a reference work, rhis volum e would provide val uable derai l to scholars of such trivia as eco nomic moti vation , social "pecking orders," and government influence/intervention. More importanr, ir will provide to rhe same scholars a listing of so urce documents, essays, and other books from which the presenters drew much of rhei r mate rial. For rhe histo rian wishing to explore, say, rhe pi rares who opera red in rhe Philippines in 1800 , there is a significant vo lume of wo rk, much ofir listed here. H owever, rhe concenrrarion is on obscure pirates, operating everywhere but rhe Caribbean, and lirrle attention is paid to privateers, who were prim arily British, Canadian and American. Ir was surprising ro learn rhar th ere is indeed a forum for scholars who delve into such matters. Ir is difficult to imagine serious schol ars raking o n such a subj ect as pirates and privateers-colorful, exciting, daring, an d outrageo us with marvelous tales, both anecdotal and documenredwi rhour rurnin g ir into a dry and decidedl y soporific lecture. Pirates and Privateers does nor disappoint in rhar regard as rhe fourteen scholars represenred here live up to and, in some cases, exceed rh e expected degree of dryness, lecturing rhe reader wirh a pedantic sense of scholarl y duty. T he conrin ual references to obscure
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