Annapolis [Hardcover]

William Martin (Author), William Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

The author of the best-selling Cape Cod presents a sweeping novel that traces the history of the Stafford family and their role in America's Navy, from Tripoli and the Civil War to the present day. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Martin is the maritime Michener, charting sweeping historical fictions centering on cities and lands by the sea: Back Bay (1979), Cape Cod (1991) and now America's foremost naval town. The primary protagonists of this multigenerational saga are the Staffords, whose story begins in the 1700s with the adventures at sea and war of the family patriarch, Jedediah. Rivaling the Staffords are the Parrishes, a contentious clan whose support for slavery causes a conflict that lasts for more than a century after Rebecca Parrish crosses the bloodlines of the two families. Martin follows his charges through the Navy's involvement in the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, WW II, Vietnam and into the present. The contemporary conflict between the two families, traced in passages that separate the historical material, revolves around the efforts of filmmaker Susan Browne, a Parrish descendant, to create a PBS documentary about the Staffords. Martin's characters tend toward type, but his historical detail is impressive, peaking in scenes depicting relatively obscure events such as a struggle between several tribes in the Marquesa Islands, witnessed by Jason Stafford in 1813. A storyteller whose smoothness equals his ambition, Martin has written a panoramic entertainment that brings to vivid life the history of the American struggle to control the high seas. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate selection; simultaneous Time Warner AudioBook; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Martin, the author of the well-received Cape Cod (Warner, 1991), has justly been compared to James Michener thanks to his sweeping, lengthy historical novels. Here he follows two families. Each generation of Staffords has sent at least one son to sea since the days of the Revolutionary War; the Parrishes, on the wrong side of the war, lost their Annapolis house to the Staffords and are still trying to get it back. Now, a distant cousin seeks to make a documentary film about the Staffords, aided by a black sheep Stafford who has been writing the family history. That history is interspersed with present-day squabbling over the property. But the predominant story is of the naval battles that the Stafford men fought, from skirmishes with pirates in Tripoli to Midway Island to the Tonkin Gulf. Because of the technical detail and the gore, this novel may appeal predominantly to fans of military fiction. Recommended for historical and military fiction collections.
Marylaine Block, St. Ambrose Univ. Lib., Davenport, Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 685 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; 1st edition (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446515116
• ISBN-13: 978-0446515115
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.5 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #994,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In his boyhood, William Martin loved what he later called "big stories on broad canvases." He read the novels of C.S. Forester, Dickens, and western author Will Henry. He sat transfixed by the big movies of the early sixties. So after college he went to Hollywood to try his hand at screenwritng but quickly found that his instincts were better suited to novels. His first, "Back Bay," introduced treasure hunter Peter Fallon in a new kind of adventure that joined the contemporary mystery-thriller to the historical novel. In his nine novels (including four best selling Peter Fallon adventures), Martin has tracked national treasures across the landscape of the American imagination, chronicled the lives of the great and the anonymous in American history, and brought to life legendary American locations, from "Cape Cod" to "Annapolis" to the "City of Dreams." He has also written an award-winning PBS documentary on the life of Washington and a cult-classic horror movie, has contributed book reviews to the Boston Globe, and has taught writing across the country, from the Harvard Extension School to the famous Maui Writers Conference. He lives near Boston with his wife and has three grown children. His work has established him as a "storyteller whose smoothness matches his ambition."(Publisher's Weekly) And he was the recipient of the 2005 New England Book Award, given to "an author whose body of work stands as a significant contribution to the culture of the region."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Haunting History, September 10, 1999

By 

Charles Andrews (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Annapolis (Mass Market Paperback)

Annapolis was my first William Martin book. I have since read everything except the out of print "The Rising of the Moon". Growing up just miles from Annapolis, the title drew me in while I was looking for a casual read. Boy was I wrong. From the beginning I was enraptured with the history of the US Navy and the people who made it the greatest force afloat. His familiar style of telling a history now and then until the complete historical fabric is woven is an entertaining vehihcle that maintains the relevance of the material. For Martin, history is more than a collection of dates. It lives and he breathes life into it for his readers.

The sequence in the South Pacific haunts me even now two years after reading the novel. Martin ably carries on the traditon of historical story telling from Michener. He has demonstrated the ability to paint on the large canvas (Annapolis), the small canvas (Cape Cod) and the personal canvas (Citizen Washington).

I look forward to learning more about my country and its heroes great and small from Martin in the future.

I loved this book and recommend it as a must read. Books like this should be mandated in schools however the stark nature of reality would keep this book out of curricula. Instead, students will continue to learn fabled accounts of how America came to be. It would be so much better if children were taught that some fairly ordinary people with faults like us came together and became something extrordinary. This is what Martin does best.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want more, December 30, 2001

By 

Karigig "Karigig" (Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Annapolis (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this book covered in dust on the back shelf of a dollar store of all places and thought..why not, its only a buck. After reading the first two pages I was ASTOUNDED, and couldn't believe my luck. Two pages is all it takes to be swept into the mastery of Martin's writing and carried away into another time.
This book is an absolute MUST HAVE for anyone into historical novels, or just appreciates an EXCELLENT read. The span of this book is fantastic and from the 1700's to the 1990's keeps you glued to its pages,with hope in your heart that its been sprinkled with nevernever dust and will not end.
I like to think William Martin knew the depth of attachment that would be aquired by its readers, and thoughtfully weans the reader of the world of Annapolis in the final two chapters. I have never been more pleased with a collection of words in my life. Get this book! You will not regret it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE U. S. NAVY..., October 17, 2001

By 

Jayhawk (Boston, Ma. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Annapolis (Mass Market Paperback)

Are you seeking a book with a panoramic sweep of American History? Do you wish to view it through the prism of perhaps the most tradition-bound institution in the United States? Do you want to witness the great battles that changed history and altered the map of the world? Do you want to see proud families clash? Behold Admirals' egos? Eavesdrop on the great personalities who have strutted history's stage? Then William Martin's sprawling ANNAPOLIS is for you! It's an almost 800 page epic you'll be sorry to finish. A work, I think you'll agree, begging to be a mini-series.
William Martin is a wonderful storyteller and Historian who brings life and breath - and breadth - to the people and events that propel his story - our story! Most of the historical moments you'll recognize. Others will be new and some will be revelations; but all of them are more interesting in his telling. From the battles waged by the U. S. S. Constitution to the sparring of the Monitor and the Merrimack....From Midway to the rivers of Vietnam, Martin's U. S. Navy - and his Stafford family - help shape and protect America. In light of recent dark days in our history, this story is more relevant than ever. It's a 5-Star effort from a 5-Star talent. It's unquestionably the best book of this type I have ever read.
Pick up this book! Keep your 'eyes in the boat,' and before long you'll understand why what's good for the U. S. Navy is good for the United States of America!