are all-inclusive and his bibliography is likewise most complete. Photographs and drawings, both contemporary and current, complete a fine volume. There are a few instances where Mr. Chaffin misuses a nautical term or phrase, a flaw that also exists in his Sea of Gray (2006) , but they are not overly distracting and do not shade his meaning. I was a bit surprised that he elected not to include comment on the amazing technology, well ahead of its time, that the designers/builders of this craft discovered and implemented. During my own visit to the Lasch Center in Charleston, South Carolina, ro talk with Maria Jacobson, chief archaeologist and conservator, I found those "modernday" features of the time to be quite remarkable and, at least in my mind, worthy of note. He did discuss in some detail the forensic efforts underway seeking ro identify the remains of rhe crewmen found in rhe wreck and rhe success rhe ream has enjoyed in unraveling some of the stories that sank wirh the craft in February of 1864. There is still much to be fo und in the details of the vessel-some may be uncovered, some may not-but the work continues, and I dare to hope that Mr. Chaffin might, in the future, offer an update of his book with those revelations incl uded . Whether or not he does, this volume can stand as the best available to date. WILLIAM H. WHITE Rumson, New Jersey
l-aka Moana, Voyages of the Ancestors: The Discovery and Settlement of the Pacific edited by K. R. Howe (University of
The book contains a large amount of specialized knowledge summarized by major scholars in the field. K. R. Howe and Geoffrey Irwin present chapters on global migration and the archaeo logical evidence of voyaging and settlement, for what is truly "the last original human migration, and tire first to require technology." Ben Finney and Sam Low provide much data on the technical aspects of voyaging canoes, as well as a well-written outli ne of non-instrument navigation, told through the personal stories of Mau Piailug, David Lewis, Nainoa Thompson, and many others. Rawiri Ta0tmi and Roger Neick and Anne Salmond expand upon Polynesian oral traditions, voyaging after the exploration period, and the biography ofTupaia, a high priest of navigation who sailed with Captain Cook. This tome is a wealth of information. Vaka Moana does several things well. The book maintains a clear acknowledgement of the cultural importance of the Pacific renaissance in voyaging. The canoe remains the vehicle on which the reader travels through this text. Vaka Moana raises an important point to consider: voyaging revival is not the precise replication of what might have been, but a blending of technologies and techniques, both new and old, into something unique .. . and useful. As K. R. Howe puts it, the voyaging epic is the "ultimate expression of human curiosity, innovation, and daring." He is not speaking in the past tense. The body of knowledge summarized in this book is still very much a part of what is taking place today.
Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 2006, 360pp, b/w and color plates, maps, charts, notes, index, ISBN 978-0-8248-3213-1; $59hc)
HANs VAN TILBURG , PHD
Vaka Moana: Voyages of the Ancestors
Next Voyage Will Be Different by
features the comprehens ive story of the original discovery and settlement of the Pacific Ocean-no small task. Initiated by an exhibition of the same name, the book is much more than just a companion product. Winner of the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Award for history, it is a scholarly yet accessible work, including full-page color photographs, which blend art and artifact, many useful maps, and short essays well-suited to expanding the range of each chapter. It is at once informative, accessible, and beautiful.
Captain Thomas E. Henry, USNR (Ret.) (Dog Ear Publishing, Indianapolis, IN, 2008, 426pp, illus, gloss, ISBN 978-1159858-627-5; $32.95hc) Wish your father or grandfather was still aro und to tell you about his career at sea and the adventurous stories that went with it? Wish your father or grandfather had better stories to tell?! Fret not, pick up this memoir of Captain Thomas Henry's thirty-three years on ships, as he rose from maritime academy cadet to master mariner, and yo u'll have more than you
SEA HISTORY 126, SPRJNG 2009
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