Both American-born Batham and her British husband grew up aboard boats and are experienced and accomplished seafarers. After several years of sailing the South Pacific Islands, they settled temporarily in Japan in the mid- 1990s. Two-and-a-half years later, in 1997, they set sail again, on a 14-month, 10,000 mile journey back to their home in New Z

Under orders from President Theodore Roosevelt, sixteen battleships of the United States’ Atlantic Battle Fleet and their consorts made a peace-time circumnavigation of the globe, from December 1907 to February 1909. Text, illustrations, and captions tell the story of this fourteen-month world cruise. Separate chapters provide an overview of the origins, course, and accomplishments of the cruise, describe the ships that circumnavigated the globe, depict the character and experiences of the sailors who participated, narrate the cruise’s principal events and itinerary, and analyze the Great White Fleet’s significance organizationally for the United States Navy and diplomatically for the United States of America.

Under orders from President Theodore Roosevelt, sixteen battleships of the United States Atlantic Battle Fleet and their consorts made a peace-time circumnavigation of the globe, from December 1907 to February 1909. Text, illustrations, and captions tell the story of this fourteen-month world cruise.