Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Way of the Ship" is intended (and mostly succeeds) as a basic introduction to the history of the maritime industry of the United States from 1607 to the first years of the 21st century. Roland does an admirable job at describing the growth of the maritime sector in New England and how that industry played a considerable role in the character of New England's economy from the 17th century through the 19th century. He rightly notes that coastwide trade between various colonial ports played a significant part in the development of a national consciousness and that without these economic ties it would be arguable whether there would ever have developed the necessary sense of identity that led to the War of Independence. Roland also does a commendable job at examining aspects of America's maritime history that are often ignored by maritime histories. One particuarly strong point in this respect is the book's frequent references to the role of riverine or "brown water" carriage in the development of the maritime industry in America and its considerable role in America's economic growth (those who work in the maritime industry will know that the issue du jour these days is what is now called short sea service, i.e. using waterways and coastwise ocean carriage to offset the demands on interstate roads and railroads). Far too many histories focus solely on the blue water aspect of US maritime history and it's good to see a more balanced approach to this aspect of a complex industry. The book also provides some very good information on the developments in the organization and eventual decline of the maritime labor sector. The reason I only give this book four stars, however, is that it's not as well-edited as it should be. Too often acronyms or terms already defined in earlier chapters are redefined in subsequent chapters. Moreover, the chapters are often far too short, in some instances literally no more than 5-7 pages, followed by a chapter on a similar or related subject during the same chronological period. A good editorial staff would have found ways to organize the material so that chapters made more sense organizationally.

To start out if you are reader for pleasure this book is very difficult to understand. The book covers lots of details but is difficult to read.