REL~ING THE LIFE OF
SIR ERAnCI CHICHESTER
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GALVESTON'S THE ELISSA Tl!E TALL
SJ IIP OF TEXAS
by Kurt D. Voss All proceeds from this pictorial history benefit the ELISSA preservation .fimd
Published by Arcadia Publishing and Galveston Historical Foundation $21.99. 128 pages, 200 photographs Autographed copies available at (409) 763-1877, or online at:
www.tsm-elissa.org 52
have been lost, the visual material makes up most of rhe lighthouse's history. The most prominent character associated with the lighthouse is Kate Walker, who served as lighthouse keeper at Robbins Reef from 1894 until 1919. Arriving in 1885 with her husband, John Walker, and her son from a previous marriage, she soon was appointed assistant keeper, and when John died in 1890 she stayed on as keeperby then with a daughter as well. In 1895 she was officially appointed keeper, her son Jacob, assistant keeper. In this tiny world our in the harbor, she raised her family, Perspective Robbins Reef A History of kept the lamps burning, rescued mariners Robbins Ree/Lighthouse by Erin M. Ur- in distress-all without running water oir ban (Noble M aritime Collection, Staten electricity. Forced by age requirements to Island, NY, 2016 , 97pp, illus, ISBN 978-0- retire in 1919, she settled in a cottage on Sraten Island, not far from her beloved 96230-175-9; $25pb) This small paperback, published by harbor. Photographs from the Walker Famthe Noble Maritime Collection, will be ily Collection provide an intimate glimpse sought after by lighthouse lovers, maritime into a bygone era. history buffs, and anyone addicted to New A slim book (97 pages), a little lightYork Harbor, and a must for anyone giving house (48 feet tall) and a diminutive lighttours of same. The work of artist John house keeper (4' 11" tall) recall an Emily Noble is familiar to regular readers of Sea Dickenson fragment: "the North star is of History; the work of the Noble Collection, small fabric bur it implies much." Perhaps housed in Building D of the former Sailors' the Noble Collection will next turn poets Snug Harbor, should be equally recognized. and writers loose on Robbins Reef LightThe mission of the museum, initially house. In the meantime, a pilgrimage to dedicated to the work and legacy of John Building D at Sailors' Snug Harbor on A. Noble, has expanded-thanks to a Staten Island is in order-preferably by solid core of volunteers, strong leadership, ferry, with a passing benediction to the and many grants and awards-to include lighthouse on the way. preservation of the buildings and grounds ARDEN SCOTT of Sailors' Snug Harbor and, since 2010, Greenport, New York nearby Robbins Reef Lighthouse. This Choosing War: Presidential Decisions modest sparkplug lighthouse emerges from the waters of New York Harbor, just off in the Maine, Lusitania, and Panay Inthe northeast tip of Staten Island, and cidents by Douglas Carl Peifer (Oxford while it is just off the regular route tran- University Press, New York, 2016, 336pp, sited several rimes a day by the Staten Is- notes, biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-19026land ferries, most ferry passengers are 868-8; $34.95hc) probably unaware of its presence as they In Choosing War, Douglas Carl Peifer pass by. Alerting the public to this little emphasizes from the outset that he is not gem in their midst is one of the missions seeking a formula for predicting the outof the museum, which resulted in this book come of future naval conflicts similar to and its corresponding exhibition at the those faced by past presidents of the Unitmuseum. As part of its outreach, the No- ed States, such as when USS Maine exble Maritime Museum invited a number ploded and sank in the harbor at Havana of visual artists to visit the lighthouse, in 1898; and when a German U-Boat torusing it as inspiration for new works of art. pedoed and sank RMS Lusitania in the Of added interest in the resulting exhibi- Irish Sea in 1915; or when Japanese bombtion are nineteenth-century views of the ers and fighter planes bombed, strafed, and harbor and lighthouse and John Noble's sank USS Panay on the Yangtze River in sketches. As much of the historical records China in 1937. Rather, he outlines the com-
archaeology, and physical landscape is highly skilled and draws on the prodigious knowledge of the authors, and it is an important example for future scholars. It places the Isthmus in global and historical context and provides a strong introduction to contemporary archaeological scholarship and policy issues for the region. It is a genuine scholar's book of impressive dimensions, but not one written for the general maritime history audience. JOHN 0. JENSEN, PHD Pensacola, Florida
SEAHISTORY 159, SUMMER2017