Full Description
In 1840, Matthew Fontaine Maury became the first superintendent of the US Naval Observatory, where he began his life's work mapping the great ocean routes and providing sailing directions for navigators the world over. This book uses his career as a window on 19th-century maritime history: the ascendancy of the US as a maritime power; the brief, but glorious, clipper-ship era of the 1850s; the rise of steam and steel; and the Civil War and the destruction of the US merchant fleet.
Contents
PrefaceIntroductionChapter OneThe Trackless SeasChapter TwoThe Lure of the SeaChapter Three The Education of a SailorChapter Four A Thirst for Knowledge UnheededChapter Five Setting the Navy StraightChapter SixTracking the Winds and CurrentsChapter Seven Sailors and WhalersChapter Eight The California ClippersChapter Nine Disasters and DiscoveriesChapter TenOrganizing the NationsChapter Eleven The "Indefatigable Investigator"Chapter Twelve Maury's Charts Go to WarChapter Thirteen Loaves and FishesNotesIndexNER(01): WOW
