The Society's mission was to raise funds and awareness of the need for a lifesaving service with manned stations maintained along the treacherous shoreline. Seven stations were erected on Bosto n's sho res from 1874- 1898, consisting of cottage-style buildings and equipped with lifeboa ts for shore-to-ship rescues. In addition to a detai led description of each station's architecture, lifesaving technology is discussed in detail, including the design and capabilities of purpose-built lifeboats, and the invention of the Lyle gun for the deployment of a breeches buoy. In addition to a general histo ry of maritime lifesaving, the reader is rewarded with enthralling tales of harrowing rescues through storms, freezing weather, and n igh seas. Courageous station keepers and volunteer surfmen risked their lives as they maneuve red oar-powered lifeboats through crashing waves and debris to rescue mariners who were srranded and exhausted on wrecked ships. Men such as Joshua James, who rescued sailors on the South Shore at the tender age of fifteen,
are the subject of colorful tales of derringdo. More curious is the correspondence describing the behaviors of wayward surfmen, who on calm days would find themselves distracted by the wiles of the local women and wander away from their posts for long periods of time. Galluzzo's work is a light and enjoyable read that includes char ming historic photos, primary documents, and newspaper acco unts featuring people, locations, and vessels involved in wreck incidents along Bosto n's South Shore. The book succeeds in bringing into sharp focus the names and faces of the men who persevered in the face of peril, putting their lives at risk to assure the safety of others. J ACQUELI NE
L.
M ARCOTTE
G reenville, North Carolina
Longitude by Wire: Finding North America by Richard Stachurski (So uth Carolina Un iversity Press, Columbia, 2009 , 264pp, illus, notes, biblio, ISB N 978-1-57003-80 1-3; $29.95) The quest to determine longitude
and one's position on the chart is a sto ry that goes far beyo nd the story of H arriso n and the chronometer. In the early nineteenth century, inaccurate navigational charts and difficulties with find ing longitude, despite th e success of the chronometer, still plagued mariners approaching the coast. The US government sought to alleviate chis problem by creating the US Coast Survey in 1807 to survey and produce more accurate charts. In Longitude by Wire, Richard Stachurski, a retired US Air Force colonel and cartographer, documents this effort through solid research and analyzes the information using his backgro und in history as well as mathematics. Readers un fa miliar with geography and navigational methods may have to work harder to understand some parts, but this book is still a delight in that the author's writing style flows nicely and maintains an enj oyable tone. Maps and simple diagrams complement the text well . KATHRYN YouNc-BoucHARD Rochester, New York
New&Noted The Age ofthe Ship ofthe Line: The British and French Navies, 1650-1815 by Jonathan R. Dull (Unive rsity of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 2009 , 250pp,
ISBN
978-0-8032-1930-4; $29.95hc)
l!!!I NAVAL ~
HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
1306 Dahlgren Avenue SE, Was hington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5055
The Sea King: The Life ofJames Iredell Waddell by Gary McKay (Birlinn, Ltd. , Edinburgh , UK, 2009, 297pp, illus, appen, biblio, index, ISBN 978- 1-8434 1-04 6-1 ; $ 16.5 0pb)
NAVY HERITAGE • N AUTICAL GIFT S
• L ONE SAILOR STATUE
Live Yankees: The Sewalls and Their Ships by W H. Bun-
• HISTORIC PHOTOS
• CRUISE BOOK COPIES
ting (Tilbury House, Publishers and Maine Maritime Museum , 2009, 512pp, photographs, appen , index, ISBN 978-0-884483 15-1 ; $30hc)
• NAVY BOOKS
• N AVY CALENDAR
Caddell Dry Dock: 100 Years Harborside by Erin Urban (Noble Maritime Co llecti on, Staten Island, NY, 2009 , l 13pp, illus, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-962301 7-3-5; $40hc)
0 NAVY
- - ..... -.... ......
-.- ~ :···:
Captains Contentious: The Dysfunctional Sons of the Brine by Louis Arthur Norton (University of South Carolina Press, Columbi a, 2009, 360pp, illus, maps, tables , notes, biblio, index, isbn 978- 1-5 9114-648-3; $34.95 h c)
Darwin's Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution by Iain McCalman (WW Norton & C o. , New York, 2009, 423 pp, illus, index,noces, isbn 978-0-393-068 14-6; $29.95hc) SEA HISTORY 128, AUTUMN 2009
Visit our web site at www.navyhistory.org or contact the Navy Museum Gift Shop in Washington, DC Fax: 202-889-3565 Phone: 202-678-4333 Email: nhfwny@navyhistory.org
55