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The MIT Press
Now in Paper
Ships and Science THE BIRTH OF NAVAL ARCHITECTU RE IN THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION, 1600-1800
Larrie D. Ferreiro "This is a superb volume, and is li ke ly to be regarded in coming years as the starting point of the now fast growing study of the foundat ions of applied science and engineering:' - Fred M. Wa lker, Mariner's Mirror 472 pp., 92 illus., $25 paper
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woven into the rext proper. G lencanno n Press might serve rhe reading public better if they put a little more effort into th ei r book's layo ut, design, and ed iting. These issues are minor and, overall, this was a pleasing little book rhat brought this reviewer back to a differen t time and place. Reminick, now a retired librarian, has a good eye fo r documen ts and providing lively excerpts and plen tyofillustrations. Furthermore, the author is telling rhis sto ry, not because he is a professional writer looking fo r his latest proj ect or someone who has a political axe to gri nd, bur because he feels it is an important story that needs to be told and remembered. How then to direct the appropriate readers to this book? C learly, those who experienced the Vietnam War will fi nd it a compelling read . I would encourage an ybody with an interest in understanding the experience of having one's ship seized to read this modest work, which the reviewer fo und compelling ar several levels. Jostt uA SMITH, Ptt D US M erchant M arine Academ y Kin gs Point, N ew York
Darwin's Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution by Iain McCalman (W. W. N orton & Company, New Yo rk 2009, 423pp, illus, biblio, no tes, index, ISBN 978-0-393-068 14-6; $29.95hc) Professor Iain McCalman's new book Darwin's Armada offers a fusion of science, maritime, and cul tural history that portrays the genesis of the theory of evolution and the struggle to establish it as rhe dominant paradigm governing the sciences associated wirh natural history. Highly informative and suffused with wir, McCalman's prose provides a sympathetic but balanced picture of C harles D arwin's career and his relatio nships with Joseph H ooker, Thomas Huxley, and Alfred Wallace-yo unger men of science who contributed to the triumph of D arw in's theory of evolutio n. The book's use of rhe te rm "armada" reflects M cCalman's argument that D arwin, H ooker, Huxley, and Wallace-m en whose diverse backgrounds and personaliries might have placed them at odds in the competitive wo rld of Victorian science-possessed a shared experience and wo rld view created by rhe extensive and difficul t times each had spent at sea. McCalman reco unts in concise
yet colorful passages D arwin's voyage on rhe Beagle, Hooker's horrific time on rhe Erebus and on H MS Terror under Sir John Ross, H uxley's life-changing voyage in rhe Rattlesnake, and Wallace's heartbreaking loss when his ship burned and sank mid-ocean , destroying years' wo rth of collections and scientific notes.
McCalm an's development of each m an's nautical identi ty and the liberal use of nautical m etaphors give Darwin's Armada a sal ty cast that belies a much deeper analysis of conditions on land . W eaving in conflicting scientific ideas, the lingering power of the C hurch of England, and the class conflict associated wirh V ictorian science and scientific politics, M cCalman dem onstrates with excellent eviden ce how the intimate relationships between these fo ur men translated into deliberate and strategic campaign s. Working together, rhey help to overturn W higgish scientific hegem ony and secure fo r each a place of leadership in rhe established scientific com muni ty of G reat Britain, and ultimately, lo ng enduring international repu rations. McCalman's writing style is deliberately readable. Using minimal jargo n, he brings to life o ne of the most significant and contentious advances in scientific thought in history and effectively ties the p rocess to rhe sea and maritime culture. The book is an excellent read for the general reader and professional scholar alike. ]OH N O DIN JENSEN PttD Sea Ed ucation Associatio n Woods Hole, M assachusetts SEA HISTORY 13 1, SUMMER 2010