Here is the compelling story of Americans who went down to the sea (and inland waters) in ships, their life at home, their life aboard ships, and and their life in far away lands.
Ships discovered this country and ships, in large part, have made possible its greatness They have played a major partan every phase of our growth. In wars they have provided the bridge for victory and freedom. In peace, they have been and are the means of discovery, expansion, and friendly commerce.
This is an entertaining, informal account, in pictures and text, of maritime America from the Indian canoe to the modern blue-ribbon liners, covering everything that has anything to do with water craft—high seas and inland—and the men who made such craft important. It is Americana at its best!
No other book contains so many little known, yet vital, facts about the maritime history of this country and the story of shipping on inland waters. The volume covers everything from sea serpents to the Pearl Harbor disaster, from Mississippi River showboats to fishing craft, from slavers to yacht racing, from the Panama and Erie Canals to the Navy of World War II.
Never were facts and entertainment more cleverly combined to produce reading enjoyment. This is a book of America and for Americans about the rich and vital part ships have played in the history and develop- ment of our country. It is divided into the following sections: New World Landfalls, The Glory Days, Ebb Tide and Flood.
Jacket photograph of the "Flying Cloud" (top) is from a painting by Warren Sheppard which appears in The Hague Collection, The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia.
—from the dust jacket
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