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

by Alex Roland

AN ENLIGHTENING, EXPANDED VIEW OF AMERICAN MARITIME HISTORY From Native Americans with birch bark canoes and inventive colonists who took fishing shallops and laid decks over them for coastal trading to the rise of the automated mass carrier and ever-bigger passenger cruise ships, this book tells the story of four hundred years of America’s maritime history. It is filled with powerful and evocative images of ships such as the Mayflower, Savannah, Flying Cloud, Alabama, Sea-Land McLean, and Exxon Valdez; ports, including Boston, New Orleans, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Salem, Buffalo, and Seattle; and people such as Joseph Peabody, Robert Fulton, Mark Twain, Donald McKay, Cornelius Vanderbilt, J. P. Morgan, and Malcom McLean. The Way of the Ship offers a global perspective and considers both 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, authoritative look at American maritime history and the ways it helped shape the nation’s history.  Includes 16 color pages of marine paintings by John Stobart. This is part of a two-book project created by the American Maritime History Project, Inc., an independent enterprise with an office at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.

Genres: History, Maritime

556 pages, Hardcover

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