The Spanish-American War and continued naval expansion brought the US into fourth place as a world naval power by 1900, and second only to Great Britain by 1907. After the Spanish-American War, European powers recognized that the United States had become a naval power and became sensitive to what the Navy was doing. A gradual alignment with Britain and France and tension with Russia and Germany developed. Port visits were seen as reflecting favor and respect. Prior to US entry into World War I, the US remained neutral, but increasingly favored the Allies.
A further huge naval expansion greatly strengthened the fleet. The US Navy had arrived on the world stage. Professor Still followed the original release of this book with two more that tell the history of the US Navy in Europe and the Near East: Crisis at Sea—The United States Navy in European Waters in World War I; and Victory Without Peace: The United States Navy in European Waters, 1919–1924. Recognizing their unique value, the United States Naval Institute has reprinted all three in an attractive matching trilogy.
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Naval history can be looked at from many angles. Studies of squadrons and fleets assigned to various geographical areas are an interesting and useful way of looking at naval history. Earlier books of this type are by Alfred Thayer Mahan, The Gulf and Inland Waters, and James Russell Soley, The Blockade and the Cruisers. This book in turn is part of an unending succession of mentors and students, starting with Dr. Robert Erwin Johnson, Dr. Still’s doctoral advisor, who wrote two: Thence Round Cape Horn: The Study of United States Naval Forces on Pacific Station, 1818–1923; and Far China Station: The US Navy in Asian Waters, 1800–1898. After the aforementioned trio and several Civil War studies, Dr. Still in turn served as doctoral advisor to Dr. Robert Browning, who in turn wrote three more: From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War; Success Was All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron During The Civil War; and Lincoln’s Trident: The West Gulf Blockading Squadron During the Civil War. Kevin J. Foster Hyattsville, Maryland Moby-Dick: A Pop-Up Book by Gérard Lo Monaco and Joëlle Jolivet, (Chronicle Books, New York, 2019, 24pp, illus, isbn 978-1-45217-384-9; $40hc) This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Herman Melville. The success of his literary masterpiece, MobyDick—sadly, only recognized as a masterpiece after his death—solidified his place as one of the great American writers and made his characters (including the great white whale) infamous in American culture. Over the past century, the novel has been adapted in a variety of media, including film and cartoons, to reach a wide and varied audience. The latest manifestation is by paper engineer Gérard Lo Monaco and illustrator Joëlle Jolivet, who offer a pop-up version of the maritime classic. The pop-up book presents select pieces of text from ten chapters of Moby Dick. These selections are presented in authentic nineteenth-century prose. Captions are attached to Melville’s narrative that set the scene for each of the selections and provide background on the author. These flashSEA HISTORY 168, AUTUMN 2019