Reviews Ship by Gregory Votolato, (Reaktion Books, Objekt Series, London , UK, 2011, 303pp, illus, index, notes, ISBN 978-1-86189772-5; $27pb) It is rare that a fresh reconceptualization of the ship comes along, but Gregory Votolato has done so in a trim, well-illustrated effort simply tided Ship. Reaktion Books handed him the job of contrib uting a volume on ships to its Objekt Series, the goal of which is to "explore a range of types-buildings, products, artifacts-that have captured the imagination of modernist designers, makers and theorists. The objects selected for the series are by no means all modern inventions, but they have in common the fact that they acquired a particular significance in the last 100 years." Using these guidelines, Votolato, a transportation expert based at the VictoriaandAlbertMuseum in London, has produced a text unfettered by romantic visions of our maritime past, one that looks at ships as a design issue that reflects the concerns and imaginings of Western society. Furthermore, he has done so in an accessible style that is intellectually satisfying witho ut being stuffy or pedantic. In short, it is a little book with big ideas that will delight readers with an interest in maritime affairs. One of the strengths of this book is that its approach is fundamentally architectural, that ship design has elemems of function and form, and that the form powerfully reflects the society rhat produces them, both as they actually existed and how rhey imagined their future. The French architect Le Corbusier wrote in the 1920s "our daring and masterly constructors ofsteamships produce palaces in comparison with which cathedrals are tiny things, and they throw them on to the sea!" At roughly the same time, the French were building ocean liners like the lie de France w ith its glorious Art Deco interiors. This vessel was an engineering triumph, a forward-thinking example of design and a bold assertion of national pride all at the same time, and was but SEA HISTORY 135, SUMMER 2011
one of several liners built in Europe and the US with those goals in mind. Ocean liners in particular were not merely technical marvels, but reflections of how whole nations perceived themselves and their future, and therefore deserving of serious Cornish Wrecking, 1700-1860: Reality comemplation. and Popular Myth by Cathryn J. Pearce Imagining the furure is one of the (Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 20 10, major themes Votolato 265pp, notes, appen, biblio, index, ISBN develops. This imagining 978-1-84383-555-4; $90hc) Pirates, smugglers, and wreckers are is not!eft to mere technocrats; literary references the holy trinity of the darker side of our abound, such as how maritime past. While historians have thorJules Verne anticipated oughly examined the first two, wreckers the enormous cruise have been largely ignored. Cathryn Pearce sh ip s of the twenty- has salvaged the "historical reality ofwreckfirst cemury in works ing" and offered a nuanced interpretation like Propeller Island. of wrecker mythology, or at least a British Sometimes these imagin- slice ofit, in Cornish Wrecking, 1700-1860: ings were political: the Reality and Popular Myth. Nazis created some of This is a short, but rich, book. After the first purpose-built tracing the development of British w reck cruise ships to reward law, Pearce explores popular justifications the party faithful. Paint- for wrecking and the humanitarianism ers, too, comributed to this imagining, that enabled lifesaving, salving , and with Votolato emphasizing the influence wrecki ng to coexist. Along the way, she of Gerald Murphy and Charles Sheeler in soundly dispels legends of evil wreckers, formulating how the public perceived the ships upon which they travelled. The author THE GLENCANNON goes on to consider comainer ships, tankers, aircraft carriers, submarines, ports, and PRESS the ship scrapping process. One of the delights of this book is that it leaves the mind racing with what has been left out. What of the lowly break-bulk ships of the twemieth century? NEW! DarkPassages, VanThe nuclear ship Savannah and liner SS ishing ships of the Pacific United States, both vessels known for their forward-thinking designs and aesthetics, Ocean ... The Freighters are curiously absent, leaving the project to From A to Z .. . Hardluck other writers. Perhaps one of the greatest Coast, west coast shipweaknesses is that the author sees these wrecks ... Grave Passage, a ships from a purely western perspective, wit h little or no notice of how other Henry Grave Mystery ... An societies viewed ships in the last hundred Act ofPiracy, the SS Mayayears. But all in all this is a magnificent guez. . . The Tankers from A little book that will benefit anyone with an interest in sh ips, from the greenest of to Z. The Victory Ships from greenhorns to the saltiest sea dog. The auA to Z. ... more. thor should be commended for grappling with novel ways to conceive of ships, and FREE CATALOG 1-800-711-8985 his book is highly recommended. Online catalog at ]OSHUA M. SMITH, PttD www.glencannon.com American Merchant Marine Museum Kings Poim, New York
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