Sea History 114 - Spring 2006

Page 46

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Two books by L. Peter Wren ...

We Were There The USS Indianapolis Tragedy Thi s is the story of the rescue of the survivors. a compilati on of never before to ld ora l histo ries as to ld by Vl ren

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World War II Revisited Compil at ion of ora l hi stori es covering the Atlanti c Ocean operati ons from Casabl anca to Normandy. fo ll owed by Pac ific opera tions from Sin gapo re. Guadalcanal to Tokyo.

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Historic, antique U.S. , · Coast Survey maps ~ from the 1800s 0 °

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Charlie Barr (another Bully Samuels), and crewed by sixty Scandinavian professional seamen, this was the most high-rech boat of her day. Pastore advances his story by alternating chapters about the rwo key figures-H erreshoff, who had to be persuaded to design the boat in the first place, and Sir 1homas Lipton, the perpetual America's C up challenger and not exactly the jolly character that he portrayed in public. People who assume that yachting is a genteel pas time will have their eyes opened here. Built using sophisticated composite techniques, which H erreshoff pioneered, Reliance was a yachting version of a warship-a complex tool created to serve the single purpose of her owners and commander. Alrhough photographs emphasize ruthless force, she was pared ro the bone and potentially fragile. After she handily beat Lipton's Shamrock III to win rhe America's C up, Lipton's friends tried to console him wirh accolades abour his boat's beauty. "I don't want a beautiful boat," Lipton snapped back. "W hat I want is a boat to win the cup-a Reliance. G ive me the homeliest boat that was ever designed, if she is like Reliance." By rakin g rhis remarkable quote and placing it in rhe context of an extraordinary moment in maritime history, Pastore's book will help secure the bridge that spans rhar unfortunate chasm between maritime and yachting historians. Jo HN Ro usMANIERE New York, New York

Ships' Fastenings: From Sewn Boat to Steamship by M ichael McCarthy (Texas A&M University Press, 200 5, 248 pp, photos, drawings, appen, biblio, index, ISBN: 1-58544-45 1-0; $65 hc) The devices thar hold ships together is a topic rhar most readers mighr find somewhat mundane, yet, from the smallest native craft to the largest ocean-going ships, all vessels needed these small and essential compo nents to keep their hull components together. M ichael M cCarthy, a member of rhe D epartment of Maritime Archaeology at rhe Western Australian Maritime M useum, has provided his readers wirh a tho ughtful, well-researched, and superbly documented treatise on ships' fas tenings on an international scale.

H aving participated in the archaeological excavation of a number of ships for m ore than thir ty years, M cCarthy concluded that d1ere was need fo r some typology for this class of artifac ts. H e determined to separate fastenings broadly into two typological groups-organic and metallic-and furth er divided these objects into smaller subsections and types. This book, however, is far mo re rhan a dry catalogue of fastenings through the ages . M cCarthy offers insight and background into the processes by which artisans secured ship's hulls and discusses copper sheathing and the advances in metallurgy. Interestingly, the author examined underwriting and insurance records because Lloyds and other insurers compiled dara on fastenings. This information guided the underwriting industry to determine the most suitable fo rms and methods for fastening ships. TI1e evolution of fastenings is a theme M cCarthy weaves throughout the book. This is a process that was driven by experimentation, innovation, and changing technical processes. Propelling rhe overall development, of course, was the use of different ship building materials and advancing technologies, as well as the increasing size of ships in general. With over 100 valuable illustrations accompanying the text, this book is a scholarly tool not m eant for the casual reader. N onetheless, m odel builders, collections managers, conserva tors, archaeologists, amateur boat builders, and maritime historians will all find this book enlightening and useful. For many it will be indispensable. ROB ERT BROWNING Dumfries, Virginia

lhe Allure of Toy Ships: American & European Nautical Toys from the 19th and 20th Centuries by Richard T. Claus (Antique Collector's C lub, 2005 , illus, photos, biblio, index, ISBN: 1-851 49-5010; $59.50hc) TI1is book does no r pretend to be a definiti ve catalogue of every toy boat ever made or a narrative of the history of toy boars. 1he autho r makes this clear in his forward. What ilt is, however, is a detailed acco unt of his extraordinary collection , which is in itself a comprehensive representation of the world of toy boats.

SEA HfSTORY 114, SPRING 2006


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