He hints that it was not so much about greed and lust for gold as it was an act of rebellion and a fight for personal freedom in a world increasingly dominated by the heartless machine of nationally-sponsored global trade. If you're looking for descriptions of ships and cannons and an easily digestible narrative of a romantic pirate's life, seek it elsewhere. If you prefer to delve into detail, the social issues through which these men sailed, and perhaps gain a better understanding of piracy unplugged from Hollywood myth, you'll find this little book has a lot of depth and insight to offer. With over 40 pages of notes it is clear this is a well-documented and serious look at an overexposed subject often trivialized by the big screen versions of hisrory. ]ERRY ROBERTS New York City
Maritime History as World History, ed. by Daniel Finamore (Univ. of Florida Press, Gainesville, 2004, 240pp, illus, notes, index, ISBN 0-8130-2710-1; $59.95hc) Take a compelling topic and tide, combine the efforts of thirteen renowned author/historians, then have their product edited by the curator of distinguished maritime museum and one should have the recipe for a "delectable" feast of historiography. Maritime History as World History, despite a handful of excellent chapters, unfortunately came out as uneven and disappointing in its cohesiveness. Finamore's book is organized around maritime themes: a stage for exploration, a pathway for commerce, an arena for conflict, and a blank slate for literary expression . The histo rians chose a wide range of events starting with ancient cultures and wind ing through modern history. Each author's vantage point stems from how maritime interests affected each successive period's religion, politics, science, and economic advantage. Most chapters give the reader a fresh insight into under-charred areas regarding the entwinement of humanity with the ocean-this is particularly true of the literature chapter tided, "Odysseus's Oar." Several authors use the same historical episodes to launch into different topics. Perhaps there was so me co mpelling reaso n behind this, but the redundancy
SEA HISTORY 110, SPRING 2005
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New&Noted Encyclopedia of the war of 1812, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 636pp, illus, gloss, biblio, index, ISB N 159114-362-4; $34.95 pb)
Eugene O'Neill and Dat Ole Davi! Sea: Maritime Influences in the Life and Works of Eugene O'Neill, by Robert A. Richter (Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, 2004, 215pp, photos, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 0-939510-97-9; $24.95
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Feeding Nelson's Navy: The True Story of Food at Sea in the Georgian Era, by Janet MacDonald (Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2004, 224pp, illus, notes, biblio , gloss, index, ISBN 1-861 76233-X; $39.95hc)
Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea, by Kathleen Broome Williams (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 280pp, photos, notes, biblio, index, ISB N 1-5575 0-952-2; $32.95hc)
True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole, by Bruce Henderson (W.W. No rton & Co., Inc., New York, 2005, 288pp, illus, notes, biblio, ISBN 0-39305791-7; $24.95hc)
Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil war, by Michael ]. Bennett (Univ. of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 2004, 337pp, tables, illus, notes, biblio, index, ISB N 0-8078-2870-X; $34.95)
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