ter, the crucial ingredient in manufacturing gunpowder and, therefore, a strategic comm odity th at largely determined their ability to wage war. Saltpeter was transported on ships called Indiam en under the pro tection of the Royal N avy, but the French used Ilede-France, known today as Mauritius, as a base to harass the British shipping. The Ind ian Ocean proved to be a meteorological nightmare fo r the British m erchant fl eet. This is the story of political intrigue among military officers, ship captains, East India Company em ployees and civil servants as they battled against the French and an unpredictable ocean in their quest to gain control of these shipping routes. Englishman Taylor's writing style is reminiscent of naval fiction writer Patrick O 'Brian's. For example, Taylor wro te: "Topm en in the crosstrees looked from horizo n to ho ri zo n o n the disk of a sea so enlarged by their heightened perspective that it came up to meet the sky-a bo undless blue, pale above and deep below, w ith a breeze that cooled them as it filled the canvas beneath their feet with a low con stant exh aling of breath ." A reader would be wise to keep a dictionary close at hand. Some of O 'Brian's fictional scenes were based on events and sh ips from this period; thus Storm and Conquest at times seems like a deja vu experience for O 'Brian's fa ns. The book is remarkably fas t paced, contains m any n uggets of info rmation about this time and place in history, and is gripping while containi ng beautifully crafted literary images . Neither the book nor particularly its author sh ould be missed .
Unique Whale Art Cube Now available only from the Whaling Museum: The Richard Ellis w hale art cube created exclusively for the New Bedford Whaling Museum . Visit www.w halingmuseum.org to see more unusual gifts . Fully access ible. Interactive displays for kids. Unique Museum st ore. Open daily. Plan your visit online - www.w halingmuseum.org
NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM 18 Johnny Cake Hill • New Bedford, Massachusetts 02740-6398 508 997-0046 • www.w halingmuseum.org
The New Bedford Whaling Museum is a privat e, non-prof it organization.
Company, which could be called lhe H istory of California, 1848-1925. Just three weeks before the fi rst pieces of gold were discovered at Sutter's M ill in C alifornia, shipwrights laid the keel fo r the first steamship of what wo uld becom e the Pacific Mail Steam ship Company fo r W illiam H enry Aspinwall, wh o had recently obtained the governme nt m ail contract for the West Coast. That October, this Lours ART HUR NORTON ship, SS California, departed New York for West Simsbury, Connecticu t San Francisco. Who could imagine better timing? Gold, Silk, Pioneers, & Mail: The Story of The company history that fo llows the Pacific Mail Steamship Company by includes the history of the gold rush and Robert J. C handler and Stephen J. Potash all the peripheral industries it created , the (Friends of the San Francisco Maritime Mu- history of Asian immigration to the Wes t seum Library and The G lencannon Press, Coast, the growth of Califo rnia settlements San Francisco, 2007, 5 1pp, illus, notes, bib- into flourishing cities, shipping and comlio, index, ISBN 978-1 -889901 -4 1- 1; $20pb) merce between Asia and the US, and the D on't be foo led by the loo k of this pub- evolution of ship design from sail to steam . lication-a slim paperback, approximately Po tash and C handler's book includes the the same size as this iss ue of Sea H istory. The history, in detail, plus an examinatio n into sixth volume in G lencannon Press's Pacific the m aterial culture and archaeology of this Maritime H istory Series, Gold, Silk, Pio- story. The book is slight in its appearance neers and Mail, is packed with information but hugely rich in its conten t. and well-reproduced illustrations tracing D EI RDRE O'REGAN the history of the Pacific M ail Steamship Cape Cod, Massachusetts
SEA HISTORY 123, SUMMER 2008
In 1750 , 2 brothers from Os, Norway bui lt bm,ts in " boo t house on t he Os river, hence n<>me 'Oselver' . Sa il ed in N orwegian regattas today. Instruct ions. Ki t is wood pl ank on frame construction . Sca le : 1 : 15 , Lengt h 16 .3 '
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$72.99
plus $6 . ship.hand .
ACROSS THE PON D P.O. Box 153 SH, Marb lehead , MA 0 1945, TUse Toll Free for orders : 1-8 00 -469 -3957 across thepond @ comcast.n et www.acrossth epond .net Send $6 .0 0 for web catal og !
H.Lee White Marine Museum 400 year s of Maritime History Open Daily 1-5pm July & Aug 10-5pm West 1st Street Pier, Oswego, NY www.hleewhitemarinemuseum.com 315-342-0480
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