12/01/2017
Naval history specialist Stein examines cultures that used rivers and seas for trade, exploration, and war. Arranged in chronological order and divided into eight chapters that start with early civilizations and end with TV's The Love Boat, the entries dive into the rise and fall of maritime peoples and how waterways have been used for the exchange of goods, religion, and technology over 5,000 years of human history. Each chapter starts with a time line of important events and ends with primary source documents, including excerpts from The Epic of Gilgamesh and an account of the voyages of Zheng He, a Chinese admiral during the Ming Dynasty. The book circumnavigates the world of mariners, looking at the teak ships of Gujarat (India), Chinese junks, the reed boats of Peru, the hide umiaks and kayaks of the Inuit, the doubled-hulled canoes of Polynesia, and the sewn plank boats of the Chumash in California. Illustrations, although not copious, provide examples of different types of seagoing vessels and construction and navigational tools. There is enough introductory information so that newcomers will not feel out of their depth and plenty of fascinating details. VERDICT For undergraduates, general readers, and anyone interested in the development of seafaring technology and how nautical travel has shaped the modern world.—Susanne Caro, Univ. of Montana Lib., Missoula
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