From the Preface--Established in 1800 with a small collection of books that served the Secretary of the Navy, the [Navy Department Library] holds the most comprehensive collection of U.S. navy literature. For the past two hundred years, it has collected the books, documents, journals, and manuscripts the record the Navy's achievement in combat, international diplomacy, exploration, technological development, medicine, education, and social reform. This literature described in the catalog chronicles the more significant events, customs and traditions, organizations, and personalities in navel history, providing insight into the origins and development of Navy doctrine.

Demonstrates that US travelers abroad were not limited to the rich and privileged even in previous centuries, by presenting over 2,000 titles with full bibliographic citations and brief evaluative descriptions. Arranged alphabetically by author and indexed by place and author's occupation. Updated from the 1969 edition with titles subsequently discovered. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR