The Way of the Ship: America's Maritime History Reenvisoned, 1600-2000

by Alex Roland

The history of shipping in America, as traditionally recounted, is based primarily on the fortunes of the American merchant marine. This book offers a global perspective and considers oceanic shipping and domestic shipping along America's coasts and inland waterways, with explanations of the forces that influenced the way of the ship. The result is an eye-opening look at American maritime history and the ways it helped shaped the nation’s history. It features beautiful color images of paintings by today’s premier marine artist, John Stobart.

Genres: History, Maritime

556 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dan Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly readable history of American shipping. I like that the chapters are on the shorter side, given the short amount of time that I have to read. While the book is marketed as history, as a work of political economy it deserves a broader audience. I am sure I will reference it regularly in my classes on the global economy.

[Roman · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few disclaimers before the actual review: I was forced to read this for a college history class about America's maritime history. I also don't necessarily find history thrilling. I found this book to be okay. This book borders between a textbook and popular history text in terms of how the information is presented and how enjoyable it is. There were parts that I found interesting, and others I didn't. I also don't love long books. This book can teach you more than maritime history if you can understand the economic, business, and political implications of each chapter.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who doesn't already have a strong fascination with maritime history. However, if maritime history is your thing, my professor really loved this book, so perhaps you will too! 4/10