Grace Hopper: Admiral ofthe Cyber Sea, by Kathleen Broome Williams (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 280pp, photos, notes, biblio, index, ISBN 1-55750952-2; $32.95hc) Grace Hopper is not a household name for most people-at least not in my household. That was m y view when I started reading Grace Hopper: Admiral of the Cyber Sea by Kathleen Broome Wi lliams. An ep isode: the author recounts an interview with Admiral Hopper that aired on the CBS program "60 Minutes" during the 1970s. Hopper spoke of the challenge faced by subordinates who come up with unorthodox approaches to solve problems and recited her standard advice to rake chances: "Ir is easier to seek forgiveness than it is to get permission." Reading that elicited a memory-I had watched that interview as a teen. That mantra has stayed with me ever since, for both good and not (but mostly for good). So, belatedly, thank you Admiral Hopper. Grace Hopper covers the long life of Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992) from her upbringing in New York City through her long career in the computer field for the US Navy. Williams skillfully weaves Hopper's personal career into the evolution of military computing, from its infancy with the massive MARK I during World War II to the development of "smart" ships and weapons systems in the 1980s. Williams focuses on two major themes of Hopper's career: the development of programming languages in the 1940s and 1950s and the standardization of programming across the Navy in the 1960s and 1970s. This biography is of value to anyo ne interested in understanding how a singular woman rose through the ranks to become the oldest serving officer in the Navy. STEPHEN D . O 'REGAN , ScD Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division
Fair Wind and Plenty of It: A ModernDay Tall Ship Adventure by Rigel Crockett (Rodale Press, Inc., NY, 2005, 424pp, photos, ISBN l-594-86160-9; $23.95hc) At least three tales are woven into Fair Wind and Plenty ofIt. On the surface it is the story of Captain Dan Moreland's venture to convert a steel trawler into a SEA H fSTORY 111 , SUMMER 2005
tall ship and sail it aro und the world. Ir is first, however, a young man's acco unt of his transition from youth to maturity, achieved in the stressful environment of a troubled ship and divided crew on Picton Castle's first world voyage. Finally, it is a study of the captain's controversial leadership style as viewed by a subordinate-a fo'c'sle hand eager to please, yet uncertain along the way if he was steering the right course. One could hardly call Picton Castle a happy ship during Rigel Crockett's time onboard. Manned by a mixed crew of professional mariners and 'passenger-crew' who paid $32,500 each for the privilege of making the trip, the ship was far behind schedule when her first passengers arrived. Instead of the training they expected, they were put to work as laborers in the crush to get the ship ready for sea. The ship's company had widely varying levels of enthusiasm, competence (they went through 13 cooks), and commitment to the passage. Fragmentation, rather than teamwork, prevailed through the first half of the ship's journey. The reader is left to conclude that somewhere around the
halfWay point, things settled down to an agreeable routine, since the author devotes 340 pages to the passage as far as Bali and only 42 pages to the trip from Bali home to Lunenburg. Rigel Crockett has a delightful way with words, and he eloquently shares with the reader his feelings about separation from home and family, about competing and conflicting loyalties, about his sense of belonging with the open sea, and his struggle to adapt to the physical and psychological demands of a working sailing ship. His account reveals that he ultimately learned to cope, accept differences, and steer his own course through life. Captain Moreland had a lot on his plate. H e was determined to achieve his goal of circumnavigating with a traditionally- rigged and -operated sailing ship despite every obstacle, not the least of which was funding. That he achieved his objective and that Crockett had so little to say about the second half of the voyage are testimonials to his ul timate success. Along the way, his leadership techniques we re often questioned by his crew. In his personal
THE SHIPCARVERS' ART Figu reheads and Cigar-Store Indians in Nineteenth-Century America
Ralph Sessions Among the most popu lar scu lptures in nineteenth-century Amer ica were th e shi p 's figure head a nd th e cigar-store Ind ia n. The vast ma jority of these engag ing fig ures were created by shipcarvers-hig hly ski lled artists celebrated for their masterful figureheads who co llectively made tens of thousands of shop figures as well.
The Shipcarvers' Art is the first book to assess th e arti stry and history of ship's figureheads and ciga r-store Ind ians in a single volume. Richly illustrated and elega ntly wri tten , it brings these marvelous fig ures a live once more. Ra lph Sess ions not only high lig hts th e work of shi pcarvers throug hou t th e eastern United States a nd Ca nada but a lso presen ts new informati on on carving workshops in New York City, America's key shipbuilding center from 1820 unti l after the Civil War. 240 pages. 90 color plates. 32 halftones. 9 x 12.
Cloth $75.00 ISBN 0-691-12081-l
Celebrating 100 Years
PRINCETON
1lniversity :Press
of Excellence
soo-777-4726
www.p up.princeto n.edu
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