IEWS The Last of the Cape Homers: Firsthand Accounts from the Final Days of the Commercial Tall Ships, edited by Spencer Apollonio (Brasseys, Washington DC, 2000, 326pp, illus, appen, gloss, biblio, index, JSBN 1-57488-283-X; $26.95hc) This collection of some 30 published narratives of voyages in commercial sail (most in the first half of the 1900s) includes some authors who are well known to readers of this genre-Sir James Bisset, Alex Hurst, Elis Karlsson, Basil Lubbock, Eric Newby, Felix Riesenberg and Alan Villiers-but many ~Lastoftbe will not be fami liar. Ca Apollonio ha s assembled extracts from this body of nautical literature into a voyage narrative that is hard to put down. All of the extracts are written in the first person, by authors who were there, and it covers every aspect of life in a large wind ship in the final days of commercial sa il. These are stories that could not be written today: the period ended when thePamir sank in an Atlantic hurricane in 1957. The tall-ship experiences of today in no way replicate those aboard the Cape Homers, with their frugally maintained, tired hulls and rigs, and scanty, underfed crews. The book opens with Lubbock's description of sailing from San Francisco for Europe in the Ross-Shire in 1899 and continues with considerable detail oflife in the forecastle, on deck and aloft. Fatali ties, fires, being becalmed, dangerous seas, shifting cargoes, rescues, and a host of other dramatic experiences are all here. The book has 22 pages of photographs, technical derails of the ships the authors sailed in, a good glossary, and an excellent bibliography. There are new details here for almost every reader. It's a book I wouldn't want to lend and not get back! TOWNSEND HORNOR Ostervi lle, Massachusetts Nelson Speaks: Admiral Lord Nelson in His Own Words, by Joseph F. Callo (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2001, 254pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 155 75 0-199-8; $29.95 hc) Recognizing that the true heart of Horatio Nelson is found in the Admiral's 42
private words and correspondence, retired Na val Reserve Rear Admiral Joseph F. Callo (who is also an advisor to NMHS) has collected the most telling quotes on various subjects from Nelson's voluminous writings. Nelson Speaks is not biography, but rather character study, organized by subject, not chronology. In Nelson's own words we read his opinions of duty, combat, politics, armies, foreigners and more. It is a unique approach that works well , with Callo providing context and insight into the significance of each quotation. In the foreword, Michael Nash writes that the book will "whet the appetite and leave the reader craving more." Indeed, the bits of Nelson's writing are so compelling that we wish they were longer. However, Callo did not set out to reproduce Nelson's correspondence, but rather to explore his character through writings that yield insight into the man. And this he achieves admirably. This volume is a unique and welcome addition to the on-going study of the great man, a study that takes its words right from the Admiral's mouth. ]AMES L. NELSON Harpswell, Maine
The Speedwell Voyage: A Tale of Piracy and Mutiny in the Eighteenth Century, by Kenneth Poolman (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 1999, 190pp, illus, notes, gloss, biblio, index, ISBN 1-55750-693-0; $27.95hc) George Shelvocke, commander of the 22-gun privateer Speedwell, was a sailor's sailor; the trials he endured while sailing essentially around the globe in 1719- 21 while harassing Spanish shipping wo uld have killed most men-and, in fact, did kill many of his crew. They endured ferocious weather under Cape Horn, starvation off the South American coast, mutiny, shipwreck, and other tribulations which are enumerated in this tale. And therein lies the difficulty. Poolman, a seasoned writer of World War II stories, is not well versed in the world of square rig and his narrative is more a bare-bones listi ng of events and disasters than a well-constructed story of derring-do , conspiracy, and treachery. While the autho r used Shelvocke's own acco unt of the voyage as well as that of one of his officers as his primary sources, there is little flesh on the bones. The characters
are, for the most part, two dimensional and, with the exception ofShelvocke, seem indistinguishable one from another. However, even without the "rounding" available to the writer of fiction, I would not dismiss this tale out of hand; indeed, to the lover of sea stories it provides an interesting read. The adventures are hair-raising and speak eloquently to the hardship and privation these men took on-willingly, at first, then because there was little alternative. Whether or not one casts Captain Shelvocke in the role of brilliant seaman and leader, the facts of his epic voyage of plunder make interesting, though so mewhat repetitive reading. W!LLJAM H . WHJTE
Rumson, New Jersey
Splinter Fleet: The Wooden Subchasers of World War II, by Theodore R. Treadwell (Naval Institute Press, 2000, 284pp, illus, appen, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 155750-817-8; $34.95hc) Black Company: The Story of Subchaser 1264, by Eric Purdon (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD, 2000, orig 1972, 255pp, illus, appen, ISBN 1-55750-658-2; $16.95pb) Although designated subchasers, the Splinter Fleet of 400-plus wooden-hulled, 110-foot vessels spent as much of their time in harbor patrol, mail delivery and other utilitarian missions as they did in the convoy escort and antisubmarine operations for which they were built. With a crew of three officers and about 24 enlisted men, few of whom had significant pre-war Navy experience, these rough-riding but durable ships were the workhorses of the "Donald Duck" (i.e., non-regulation) Navy. Like many of the operations in which they were engaged, the ships were small , hastily conceived, and unpop ular except among those who sailed them. This history of the class recounts numerous fascinating anecdotes reflecting their uncommon accomplishments, which seldom got much respect or recognition either during the war or after it. Covering activities in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters , the author focuses long overdue attention on the valuable services performed by unglamorous little ships. They escorted heavily laden merchant ships on coastal and oceanic passages, served as control vessels for wave after wave of landing craft in amphibious
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