Book Review

By Rod Scher Published by Sheridan House, an imprint of Globe Pequot Press 312 pages hardback $29.95 Think “retired geography professor” and you might picture someone quiet pursuits in a comfortable, book-lined study, mentoring former students or perhaps presenting an occasional lecture. Marvin Creamer, however, was not the retiring type. At sixty-six years of age, Creamer was determined to do something that had not been done for a thousand years – if indeed anyone had ever done…

Mental Skills Applications for Improved Sailing Performance By Karen Jewell Seaworthy Publications   80 pages   $25 Being physically fit is essential for success in sailboat racing (just ask Anna), but mentally prepared is an equally important component of peak performance on the water. Karen Jewell, a certified fitness trainer and mental skills coach, shares her expertise to help you successfully navigate those times when your head gets in the way of your body, negotiate emotional ups and downs,…

A Novel by Roger Vaughan Published by Choptank Word Bank   210 pages The thrilling sequel to Coming About, Roger Vaughan’s latest book Coming About finds the protagonist, wealthy wastrel Andy Moss, on another careening ride, this time aboard the yacht All American in “The Race,” a ‘round the world sprint not unlike the one that made a stopover in Newport last month. The author shares this passage from the Southern Ocean: The crew had seen a couple…

Deep Water Voyaging, Navigation and Yacht Management By Tom Cunliffe Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, an imprint of Adlard Coles Reviewed by Cooper For aficionados of the British sailing press, the name Tom Cunliffe ought to be well known. If it isn’t, you need to change that. He is one of the masters of the sailing game. A veteran sailor having spent time in, and on, every style of boat on most oceans and worked in just about…

100 Tips for a Pet-Friendly Voyage By Michelle Segrest Published by Navigate Content, Inc. 102 pages E-book Our friend Michelle Segrest has written the definitive work on the subject of bringing canine companions on board a sailboat. If you’re contemplating a sail with your dog, whether for an afternoon or an ocean crossing, How to Sail with Dogs is a wealth of information about everything you need to know to sail comfortably and safely with dogs. Chapters…

The Wisdom of the Waves: Any Time, Anywhere, Any Way By Gerry Lopez Published by Patagonia 416 pages paperback $24.95 Our friends at Patagonia have released a revised third edition of what many consider the finest book ever written on the sport of surfing, penned by one of the most revered surfers of all time, the man known as “Mr. Pipeline.” Born and raised in Hawai’i, Gerry Lopez is a legendary surfer, surfboard shaper, journalist, actor, and…

A Personal Odyssey By Tristan Jones Published by Sheridan House, an imprint of Globe Pequot 391 pages paperback Our friends at Sheridan House in Essex, CT have re-released one of our favorite books by long distance sailor and writer Tristan Jones for their Maritime Classics series. Originally published in 1977, The Incredible Voyage finds the author retracing the voyages of discovery made by 16th century European explorers. Determined to set “the vertical sailing record of the world”…

By Thomas E. Crocker Published by McBooks Press, an imprint of Globe Pequot 429 pages $29.95 The years known as the Federal Period (1783-1822) were a time of unprecedented expansion for the fledgling United States of America, on both the largely unexplored continent and the Atlantic Ocean. As the closest American port to Europe, Portland, Maine prospered greatly from sea trade. Adam Hale, an industrious and self-made captain, had been a blockade runner during the Revolutionary War….

Privateering in the American Revolution By Eric Jay Dolin Published by Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company The United States Navy was founded during the Revolutionary War, but the fledgling nation might not have emerged victorious – and independent – were it not for a ragtag fleet of privately owned vessels. The Continental navy, at that time comprising no more than about sixty ships, was engaged in combat with the most formidable naval…

A novel by David Kushner Published by KDP Direct Publishing 511 pages paperback Those who make a living smuggling illegal commodities are a resourceful lot, their efforts at avoiding detection perhaps most famously portrayed in The French Connection with its Lincoln Continental and its heroin-packed rocker panels. David Kushner’s latest book takes that theme to a new level by loading six kilograms of Soviet weapons-grade plutonium (enough to build a nuclear device capable of massive destruction) into…