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BOOK REVIEW – True Yankees: The South Seas and the Discovery of American Identity

By Dane Anthony Morrison, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD (2014) Reviewed by Michael A. Verney In True Yankees, Morrison chronicles how voyages in the old China trade and across the Indian and Pacific Oceans between 1783 and 1844 helped define what it meant to be an American, and clarified the nation’s hierarchical relationship with

BOOK REVIEW – HARNESSED TO THE POLE: Sledge Dogs in Service to American Explorers of the Arctic, 1853-1909

By Sheila Nickerson, University of Alaska Press, Anchorage (2014) Reviewed by Jan Churchill The North Pole was the ultimate prize. Before aviation, ships could only go so far thanks to polar ice. The best way to travel, with supplies and food, was by dog sledge. However, the British Royal Navy made men, not dogs, haul

Winchester, VA: A Hub of Naval History?

By Matthew T. Eng I wanted to be a bit spontaneous yesterday. I decided to skip the throng of crowds in Baltimore’s Bicentennial of the Star-Spangled Banner (Our friends at NHHC had it covered) and spent the day in Winchester, VA. The sleepy, historic town was just over an hour away. It would be the perfect

jampoler-congo expeditions death taunt

BOOK REVIEW – Congo: The Miserable Expeditions and Dreadful Death of Lt. Emory Taunt, USN

By Andrew C. A. Jampoler, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, (2013). Reviewed by Mark Lardas The nineteenth century United States Navy exploration efforts included the Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 that circumnavigated the globe and discovered parts of Antarctica and the 1848-49 hydrographic expedition charting the Dead Sea. Both were notable successes. On the other end

childs invading america english assault

BOOK REVIEW – Invading America: The British Assault on the New World, 1497-1630

By David Childs, Seaforth Publishing, South Yorkshire, UK, (2012). Reviewed by Thomas Sheppard The arrival of British settlers in the so-called “New World” has been characterized at various times as a discovery, an encounter, or even a clash of civilizations. All these descriptions have merit, but David Childs contends that perhaps the century of English

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BOOK REVIEW – Voyage to Jamestown: Practical Navigation in the Age of Discovery

By Robert D. Hicks, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD. (2011) Reviewed by Mark Lardas When Britain’s first North America colonies were established, transatlantic voyages were challenges analogous to trips to the Moon today. What did it take to sail the Atlantic four centuries ago? Voyage to Jamestown: Practical Navigation in the Age of Discovery; by