Two Books From American Maritime History Project

Your clothing, cell phone, coffee, car, refrigerator, electronic gadgets and a myriad of other indispensable everyday items (all for the most part taken for granted) are likely to have made their way to you via sea. Maritime transport -- 400 years in the making -- as well as the extraordinary advances in containerization, have unequivocally revolutionized the way we live, what we wear, eat, drive and play with. It has been and will continue to be a pivotal force in globalization.
 

• THE WAY OF THE SHIP: America’s Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000

The Way of the Ship America’s Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000 by Alex Roland, W. Jeffrey Bolster and Alexander Keyssar (John Wiley & Sons; Publication Date: November 2007; ISBN 978-0-470-13600-3; $35 cloth) is a revisionist and engaging account of American maritime society from the colonial era (1600) to the present. This revisionist narrative depicts the rise and fall of the American merchant marine. The authors show that from 1820, domestic “brown water” shipping outweighed all the American shipping overseas, and that the American economic engine rode on American shipping. Oceanic shipping was important, especially in times of national crisis such as world wars; but it was never as important as domestic shipping on the coast, rivers and lakes. Unlike the previous view, the true picture of American maritime history, the authors show, must combine both brown water and blue water shipping.

Alex Roland is professor of history at Duke University, where he teaches military history and the history of technology, and previously taught at the U.S. Army War College and the U.S. Naval Academy. W. Jeffrey Bolster, a maritime historian with a lifetime of experience in boats and small ships, is a member of the history department at the University of New Hampshire. Alexander Keyssar is the Stirling Professor of History and Social Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

The American Maritime History Project, located at the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, has created a two-book project, of which The Way of the Ship America’s Maritime History Reenvisioned, 1600-2000 is one. The American Maritime History Project is dedicated to recording and expanding knowledge of America’s rich seafaring history and its future. America’s maritime history is long, colorful, and interwoven with many fascinating strands. They include individuals, enterprises and vessels, passenger and cargo, sail and steam, blue water vessels, brown water vessels, both large and small, as well as, shipbuilding and mariners themselves. Together they carried America’s commerce.
 

• IN PEACE AND WAR: A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point

In Peace and War A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point by Jeffrey L. Cruikshank and Chloe G. Kline (John Wiley & Sons; Publication Date: November 2007; ISBN: 978-0-470-13601-0; $35 cloth) is the new history of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point set in the context of the broader American maritime tradition.

In Peace and War A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point goes beyond the standard history of the Academy to show how Kings Point fits into the longer and larger maritime history of the United States. It also documents the current history of the Academy from the early 1940’s. Its history is told through first-hand witnesses who were interviewed about the story of the Academy and the maritime industry it has served.

Jeffrey L. Cruikshank is a writer, editor, consultant, and co-founder of The Cruikshank Company, as well as the author or co-author of several dozen books. Chloe Kline is a writer and researcher at The Cruikshank Company, and has contributed to numerous communications projects for educational institutions.

The American Maritime History Project, located at the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, has created a two-book project, of which In Peace and War A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point is one. The American Maritime History Project is dedicated to recording and expanding knowledge of America’s rich seafaring history and its future. America’s maritime history is long, colorful, and interwoven with many fascinating strands. They include individuals, enterprises and vessels, passenger and cargo, sail and steam, blue water vessels, brown water vessels, both large and small, as well as, shipbuilding and mariners themselves. Together they carried America’s commerce.
 

• For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Sandra Goroff-Mailly & Associates, Inc. at 617-375-9013 or via email at [email protected]. Additional information about the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point may be found at www.usmma.edu.