pressed desire that "humani ty after victory" characterize the British fleet and his devoti on to the officers serving with him, the justly fa mous "Band of Brothers ." And above all in his ability to summo n fo rth the ve ry best that the people serving u nd er him had to give. To emphasize the present-day value of Nelso n's lessons, Callo adds an epilogue in wh ich he summ ons a revived N elso n to be interviewed by a newscaster of today. In answer to a feckless question abou t technology perhaps changing the req ui re ments of leadership today, the revived Nelson responds simply: "Neve r in life, m adam."
Historic, antique U.S . Coast Survey maps ~ from the 1800s -
Mariner's International 4636 Katy Dr., New Smyrn a Beach FL 32 169 USA
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Original lithographs, most American seaports and shores. Reprint s, too. Unique framed,
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PETER STANFORD
N athaniel's N utmeg, by G iles Mi lto n (Farrar, Straus and G iroux, New York N Y, 1999, 388pp, ill us, biblio, index, ISBN 0 374-2 1 93 6-2;$24h~
T he Spice Islands in Indon esia have been th e obj ect of desire fo r m any Europea n countries. H olland, England, and from time to time other countries des perately wanted ownership-o r control-of them. Central to the co nt roversy was the island of Run, and to a lesser degree, Banda. T he reason for the desire? N utmeg-the kin g of spices. A clever captain co uld sail to Run, buy the harves t, and return to his home port showing a whoppi ng 3200% profit! T he English people of the 16 th and 17th centuries covered it as a cure fo r everything from the plague to flatul ence and the common cold. Men risked their lives fo r it repeatedly, and merch ants often risked their entire fortunes to claim a share of the crop .Unfo rt unately, even in the East Indi es where a va riety of spices grew like weeds, the elusive nutmeg trees o nly grew on a tiny cluster of islands that we re so insignifi cant that th ey often weren 't even on the charts. T h is well-researched tale covers in splendid derail the chase fo r the spice and the deals that were made between kings to acquire it.Unimaginable hardship and huge losses of vessels, men and cargoes was the price paid by most. T he ride ch aracter, Nathan iel Courrhope, demonstrated daring, co urage, and tenacity while h e and a small group of adve nture rs, poorly ar med , p rovisioned, and staffed, held off the might of the D utch navy. T he sto ry derails how one of the deals made included the island of M anh attan, then Durch, and helped lay SE A HISTORY 93, SUMMER 2000
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