Giovanni Verrazzano was, officially, the first European to discover the Maine coast. From that date in 1524 on, explorers including Andre Thevet and Sir Humphrey Gilbert reached her shores, and Maine gradually become populated by pioneers who utilized the abundant fish and lumber. Privateers, coal schooners and coastal steamers were built during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Maine yards and, at the same time, fishermen built sloops and lobster boats in every quiet cove. Roger Duncan's rich and anecdotal history traces Maine's 400-year maritime history, detailing the state's role in the development of the United States and emphasizing Maine's role in the fishing industry. Other themes explored are the demise of the coastal trade when faster transportation was offered by railroads and automobiles and the sudden popularity of yachting after World War II.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The first documented European visitor to the Maine coast was Giovanni Verrazano in 1524; subsequent explorers--Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Samuel de Champlain and John Smith--were then followed by fishermen and fishing settlements in succeeding centuries. By the 17th century, Maine was a hotbed of conflict among Indians, French and English. Duncan, coauthor of A Cruising Guide to the New England Coast, offers a sprightly history of maritime Maine through four centuries. Describing such vessels as pinnaces, shallops, clippers and schooners, he writes about privateers and pirates, shipbuilding and trade, fishermen and yachtsmen. He reports on the modern-day decline of the fishing industry and efforts at regulation and renewal, on fish farming and research on coastal ecology, concluding with the depiction of a summer day at the shore. Saltwater sailors and boat buffs, in addition to locals, will enjoy this history. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This highly detailed survey of more than 400 years of coastal Maine's history offers fascinating information about the sea, the people, and the land. Drawing primarily on secondary sources, the author brings to the book an intimate knowledge of the Maine coast and sailing experience that provide readers with a sense of involvement not normally found in survey histories. Chapter notes provide a virtual treasure trove of detail about the characters, places, and events in Maine's maritime past that enliven and explain information in each chapter. This helps make technical material such as that on 17th-century ships and their navigation easier to understand. Duncan has produced a detailed, lively history of Maine and the sea that is a required purchase for any library laying claim to a serious collection in American maritime history.
- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P.L., Broomall, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P.L., Broomall, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awsome Book of Maines Past and Present,
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This review is from: Coastal Maine: A Maritime History (Hardcover)
This is the most palatable book of history you will find. It's not just a text book with names,dates, and places. That is there, but,the author uses his skills of storytelling, scholorship, creativity,as well as his vast knowledge of the area, and extensive experience sailing along the New England Coast, to painlessly educate,inform, and actually make you feel as if you were right there as Maines maratime history unfolds. You will be taken from Mains earliest "discovery", to present day Maine. You will experience early European sailors and settelers, coastal natives, there interactions. Modern day commercial shipbuilding, past and present fisheries problems, small yacht builders using various building methods,tourism,etc. It's all covered, and done at a pace that keeps you completly interested and wanting to keep turning pages. You will find your self having a most enjoyable time with this book.
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