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participation in the wa r, to a story in the American magazine Penthouse that the Israelis attacked th e ship because the US had refused to withdraw her from the combat zone, and, lamentably, a sorry acco unt in the otherw ise reputable US Naval Institute Proceedings to the effect that th e Israelis had knocked out Liberty to prevent th e US learning abo ut the extent of the Israeli gains, which the Israelis wanted to announce to rheworld asa fait acco mpli . This las t was particul arly egregious, for the victories had already been announced in the world press. T he author ends up ass igning fa ult to no person but to fai led m echani sms (fo r instance, the US Navy had sem out an order to Liberty to stay 100 miles o uts ide the war zo ne, which unfortunately never reached her). His mission is to clear the record rather than to point fin gers. T his reviewer believes a finger should be pointed at the rash and ill-coordinated policy of sending unescorted spy ships into dangerous wa ters. Six months after the attack another ship on a similar mission , US S Pueblo, was captured by No rth Korean forces in the Sea of Japan-the first US ship to surrender since the W ar of 18 12 . A finger should also be pointed at the madly counterproductive policy of the M cNam ara Defense D eparrmem in no t releasing the fu ll , known facts of the encounter, which had no real military signifi cance. One can't well fa ult the Israeli attack, ca rried out under combat conditions. C ristol's account makes harrowing but instructive reading and should help prevent such tragedies in th e future. PS Caught in Irons: North Atlantic Fishermen in the Last Days of Sail, by Michael W ayne Santos (Susquehanna U niversity Press, Selinsgrove PA, and Associated U niversity Presses, London U K, C ranbu ry NJ , and M ississauga O N, Canada, 2002, 204pp, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 15759 1-053-5 ; $37. 50hc) A sailing vessel "in irons" has come up into the wind, losing its headway and most of its ability to change course. Being"caught in irons" po rtends difficult times ahead and is therefore a fittin g metaphorical tide for the sto ry of the demise of the sailing fi sheries of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and Lun enburg, N ova Scotia. T he efficiency of m echanically powered
beam traw lers led to the retirement of the m ore picturesque sa ilin g fishing schooners and the passing of the sailing captain highliner, the independent fis herman, and a unique hands-on relationship between the dorym an and his m other ship . In its place em erged big- business fish eries replete with labor unio ns, moneyed bosses, engines, and ill-res pected engineers. San tos sympathetically describes the socioeconomic evolution of G loucester, its hard working vessels, and its ro ugh-and-tumbl e fishermen . The autho r also tells a fascin ating sto ry of anach ro nistic fis hing schooner races, the wo rkaday spo rt of ordinary fis hermen appropri ated by wealthy summer boarders, and the public relations scheme that exploited the international races and th e colorful characters of the sea captains. Caught in Irons is a scholarl y, wellwritten tale that displaces many m yth s. It is highly recommended fo r those interested in the history of the New England fi shing industry, especially this reviewer's hometown , the po rt of Glo uces ter. D R. LOUIS A. NORTON Wes t Sim sbury, Connecticut Famous American Admirals, by C lark G . Reynolds (Na val Insti tu re Press, Anna polis MD , 2002, o rig 1978, 468pp, illus, appen, ref, index, ISBN 1-5575 0-006-1 ; $36.95 hc) "Provoca ti ve" is hardly the wo rd one would tend to apply to a book entitled Famous American A d mirals. In the case of this new publication of a wo rk that o riginally appeared in 1978, however, th at adjective definitely firs. T he more than two hundred brief biographies of the autho r's selectio n ofouts tanding US Navy fl ag officers provo ke questions and answers about the co re elements ofleadership. So m e of the choi ces, such as Arleigh A. ''Thir ry-O neKnot" Burke, are relatively fresh in o ur collecti ve memory. Others, like Ro bley D . "Fighting Bo b" Evans and C ha rles F. "H andle Bars" Hughes, are shro uded in the mists of o ur mo re distam histo ry. But cumul ati vely the profiles ofasweeping va riety of strategists, tacticians, reformers and hardnosed co mbatants generate serio us tho ught about what has made the US Navy great. T his book does not do yo ur thinking for yo u; it simply gives yo u th e basic facts and allows yo u to take it fro m there. Reynolds provides helpful backgro und fo r his wo rk wirh a brief fo reword that goes SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002- 03