Customer Reviews

The Maritime History Of Massachusetts, 1783-1860 (Northeastern classics edition)

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One of the most fascinating accounts of sailing, history and economics I've ever encountered, this book is a must if you have an interest in the great age of sail.

Certainly more than a dry recounting of historical events, Morrison helps you understand the passions, motivation and impact on the economic development of the western world of those who came and went from Boston and other East coast ports in the early to mid-1800's.

The last two chapters, in particular were absolutely rivetting. The era of the clipper ships was not only amazingly brief, but possibly one of the biggest catalysts for economic change in the 19th century. In particular, the extremely detailed description of the activities on the deck of a huge clipper moving into a berthing at a Boston pier, completely through the skill of the experienced captain literally moved me to tears. Understanding the pride of a seaman in presenting the best face of his ship and crew to the watching throngs on shore is something that any sailor can readily identify with.

You'll find it a very rewarding read.

I was pretty excited to find a Morison book available for the Kindle, and downloaded the sample immediately. As best I can tell, the publisher merely scanned in a hardcover print, and this version appears to be straight pictures of the scans. You can't zoom the text, and the print is quite small. Pages also take significantly longer to load, as compared to "regular" Kindle ebooks.

I would like this book better if there were not the tech problems. Someone tried to cram a lot of writting into a little Kindle space, thus causeing a number of difficulties. I would be glad for a rewrite.