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2000. Paine has already demonstrated, in his encyclopedia Ships of the World, his ability to sum up a formidab le amo unt of data in readable, yer informative paragraphs. Down East spans the centuries from the time of the Abnaki (including a very interesting discussion of the birchbark canoe), to rhe state of the ship- and boatbuilding trades of the 21st century, along with the impact of tourism. The political background and local impact of European discovery and settlement and rhe consequences of revolution and independence are investigated and readers of Sea History should be enthralled with the discussio n of shiptypes-schooners in particular-that were developed by the shipbui lding industries in response to market demand. Well-drawn maps, illustrations, a chronology and notes help to make the book accessible. JOAN DRUETT Wellington, New Zealand
edyof che Franklin expedirion- rh e disappearance of two ships and 129 m en- bur other drama tis personae are brought equally to life: Barrow the visionary; fastidious, obstinate Parry; Ross and his n ear-paranoia; resourceful Amundsen; and a favo ri te of mine, Robert Peary, who rega rded the Arctic almost as private property, displaying the territoriality of a tomcat. This book is hi ghly recommended for anyone intrigued by rhe lengths rha r humans will go in rhe face of remarkable challen ges. JOAN DRUETT
Let Heroes Speak: Antarctic Explorers, 1772-1922, by Michael H. Rosove (Naval Institute Press, A nnapolis MD , 2000, 358pp, illus, biblio, notes, index, ISBN 155750-967-0; $36.95 hc) This compi la rion of the experiences of more than 20 Antarctic explorers covers a period of200 years. Ir begins wirh rhe 1772 circumnavigation o f the continent by Jam es Cook, who failed to sight the Antarctic landmass bur did prove thar it was not a part of any oth er known continent. For m ost of rhe next 100 years, explo ration was an incidental benefit of the efforts of sealers and whalers to find new herds. A norable exceprion was the 1838 scientific expeditio n led by US Navy officer C harles Wilkes-an effo n plagued by lack ofleadershi p, fund s and planning. Expeditions for rhe principal purpose of garhering scientific d ata and discovering n ew territory began in earnesr in rhe 1890s. Fo r those who are familiar with the wo rk of Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton, this vo lum e wi ll fill in the gaps in the sto ry by providing much information about the many lesser known explorers who accomplished so much of rhe discovery and ga rhering of data.
Arctic Grail: The Quest for the Northwest Passage and the North Pole, 18181909, by Pierre Berton (Th e Lyons Press, New York NY, 2000, orig 1988, 672pp, illus, maps, chron, biblio, index, ISBN 158574-116-7; $ 19.95pb) Ir is always a delight to pick up any book by Canadian author Pierre Berton, and a particular pleasure to see what is debarably rhe finest of his more than twenty volumes back in print. Though reliably thorough in research, Berton's forte is rhar he puts rhe humanity into historiography, a nd n ever more so than in this comprehensive study. Covering a broad reach of space and rime, rhe story of rhe laborious charri ng of the vast blank space of rhe Arctic could have been as numbing for rhe reader's mind as the endless ice was for the participants. However Berton paints a canvas rhar is large enough for fluent narration , bur is nor afraid to slow the pace w hen events DAVlDE. PERKINS demand a more precise acco unt. An evocaSebring, Florida tive description of the first enco unrer between Commander John Ross a nd Lieu- The Race to the White Continent, by Alan tenant William Edward Parry- "resplen- Gurney (W.W. Norto n & Co., New York dent in cocked hats, tailcoats, and white NY and Lo ndon UK, 2000, 320pp, illus, gloves, swords dangling from their waists, biblio,i..ndex, ISBN 0-393-05004-1; $26.95hc) the points of the buckled shoes rhar once In th e 1830s a nd '40s E uropean and trod rhe parquet floors of Mayfair sinking American explorers were serring o ur to into the soft snow"-and a bemused audi- discover what lay at rhe farthest reaches of ence offur-muffied Eskimos grips rhe reader the oceans . Especially fascinati ng were the from the first page of chapte r one. northern and sourhernmost ends of the Particular attention is paid to rhe uag- earth. The challenge of rhese regions lay in
SEA HISTORY 97, SUMMER 2001