Discover the history of the three-masted schooner Wawona and the quirky adventures of her captains and crews in the North Pacific. Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen reveals the innovations of Wawona's builder, H.D. Bendixsen. Capt. Ralph E. "Matt" Peasley, "the big overgrown kid," became the most famous ship captain in America. Capt. Charles Foss called on the heavens for a breeze by wearing his wife's hats. And the crew caught hundreds of tons of cod in the stormy Bering Sea while secretly fermenting shipboard wine with canned fruit and sourdough starter. Complete with detailed illustrations, historical photographs, and great stories, Shipbuilders, Sea Captains, and Fishermen recreates a world that ended with the last sailing ships.

Cod is one of the most widely consumed fish in the world. For many years, the Atlantic cod industry took center stage, but partly thanks to climate change and overfishing, it is more and more likely that the cod on your kitchen table or in your fast food fish fillets came from Alaska’s Pacific Cod Fishery. Alaska Codfish Chronicle is the first comprehensive history of this fishery. It looks at the early decades of the fishery’s history, a period marked by hardship and danger, as well as the dominance of foreign fishermen. And the modern era, beginning in 1976 when the United States claimed an exclusive economic zone around the Alaska coasts, “Americanizing” the fishery and replacing the foreign fleets that had been ravaging the resources in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. Today, the Pacific cod fishery is, in terms of poundage, the second largest fishery in Alaska, and considered among the best-managed fisheries in the world. This history is extremely well documented, does not spare details, and is accessible to general readers. It incorporates nearly a hundred photographs and illustrations and is sprinkled with numerous observations from fishing industry journals and reports, even incorporating poems and recipes, making this an especially thorough and unique account of one of Alaska’s most iconic and important industries.

Outpirating the pirates with one of the most interesting men alive: Max Hardberger recounts his adventures repossessing ships and sneaking them out of lawless, third-world countries, often under threat of death or imprisonment. His journeys lead him from corrupt ports in the Caribbean to the ice-bound docks of Vladivostok. His adventures in rescuing ships pit him against a rogue's gallery of antagonists, including Haitian rebels, modern-day Caribbean pirates and Russian mobsters. • Capt. Max Hardberger uses every trick, tool and tactic at his disposal to right wrongs and out-pirate pirates in this action-packed expose of the seedy underworld of international shipping. As a professional ship extractor, he risks death and imprisonment in dangerous third-world ports to steal ships from modern buccaneers and corrupt governments and deliver them back to their rightful owners. In the course of his adventures, he's had to outwit resourceful crime families, subdue armed soldiers, and turn the tables on clever con artists. He's escaped imprisonment in Venezuela and avoided death at the hands of the Russian mafia. Because Max shuns the use of force, the ingenious methods he must use to accomplish his missions are the stuff of legend he's employed a witch doctor in Haiti, tricked armed guards off a ship in Honduras, and rented a brothel in Mexico, all to thwart the designs of ship-thieves. Seized! is an intense, fast-paced window on the underbelly of ocean shipping, where all power comes from the barrel of a gun, and the only law is the law of survival. -- "Max Hardberger, maritime repo man extraordinaire ... Using a combination of ingenuity, stealth and good old-fashioned derring-do, he has made his name retaking vessels which have been hijacked or which, through local corruption, are impounded by authorities hungry for bribes." • -- Sunday Express • "With most people, the longer you spend talking to them, the more normal they appear. With Hardberger, the reverse applies. Just when you think you've heard it all, he comes up with something wilder ... Over the years, he's distracted crews with prostitutes and witch doctors, bribed officials to look the other way, conned Russian mobsters and hidden from naval radar by riding out thunderstorms at sea; he's even taken a 10,000-tonne freighter out of Haiti while the 2004 revolution was going on around him." • -- Guardian • "Required reading, fascinating. Maritime Repo Man Hardberger does it tough; his life is flown by the seat of his pants, or shipped, much like his profession ... This book delivers." • -- Paul Carter, bestselling author of Don't Tell Mum I Work On The Rigs and This Is Not A Drill • "In this heart-stopping account of his work recovering stolen (or otherwise illegally-seized) ships from 'hellhole' ports, commercial captain Hardberger proves himself tough as a tank and articulate as a poet ... [He] has a seafarer's gift for atmospheric storytelling, layering details to create a sense of place, history, and foreboding ... Hardberger's escapades make undeniably fun reading." • -- Publishers Weekly • "One of the strengths of Hardberger's book is his prose, which is lucid, entertaining and dramatic." • -- Daniel Sekulich, author of Terror on the Seas: True Tales of Modern Day Pirates

From the invention of eyeglasses to the Internet, this three-volume set examines the pivotal effects of inventions on society, providing a fascinating history of technology and innovations in the United States from the earliest European colonization to the present. Technical Innovation in American History surveys the history of technology, documenting the chronological and thematic connections between specific inventions, technological systems, individuals, and events that have contributed to the history of science and technology in the United States. Covering eras from colonial times to the present day in three chronological volumes, the entries include innovations in fields such as architecture, civil engineering, transportation, energy, mining and oil industries, chemical industries, electronics, computer and information technology, communications (television, radio, and print), agriculture and food technology, and military technology. The A–Z entries address key individuals, events, organizations, and legislation related to themes such as industry, consumer and medical technology, military technology, computer technology, and space science, among others, enabling readers to understand how specific inventions, technological systems, individuals, and events influenced the history, cultural development, and even self-identity of the United States and its people. The information also spotlights how American culture, the U.S. government, and American society have specifically influenced technological development.

Fish bones in the caves of East Timor reveal that humans have systematically fished the seas for at least 42,000 years. But in recent centuries, our ancient, vital relationship with the oceans has changed faster than the tides. As boats and fishing technology have evolved, traditional fishermen have been challenged both at sea and in the marketplace by large-scale fishing companies whose lower overhead and greater efficiency guarantee lower prices. In Fishing Lessons, Kevin M. Bailey captains a voyage through the deep history and present course of this sea change—a change that has seen species depleted, ecosystems devastated, and artisanal fisheries transformed into a global industry afloat with hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Bailey knows these waters, the artisanal fisheries, and their relationship with larger ocean ecology intimately. In a series of place-based portraits, he shares stories of decline and success as told by those at the ends of the long lines and hand lines, channeling us through the changing dynamics of small-scale fisheries and the sustainability issues they face—both fiscal and ecological. We encounter Paolo Vespoli and his tiny boat, the Giovanni Padre,in the Gulf of Naples; Wenche, a sea Sámi, one of the indigenous fisherwomen of Norway; and many more. From salmon to abalone, the Bay of Fundy to Monterey and the Amazon, Bailey’s catch is no fish tale. It is a global story, casting a net across waters as vast and distinct as Puget Sound and the Chilean coast. Sailing across the world, Bailey explores the fast-shifting current of how we gather food from the sea, what we gain and what we lose with these shifts, and potential solutions for the murky passage ahead.

The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History is a one-of-a-kind directory for tall ships, lighthouses, historic warships, maritime museums, and other attractions you can visit today that preserve, protect, and interpret our nation's maritime history. Use the Guide to plan a family trip, map out a heritage travel experience, research your local history, or find a heritage organization to help you discover the sea captain in your family tree. The Guide covers maritime history attractions in the Lower 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. More than 200 authentic tall ships, many offering travel excursions and educational experiences lasting from an hour to several weeks. More than 300 historic commercial vessels, such as ferries, tugs, and steamboats, as well as warships, including battleships, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and small craft dating from the 18th century to the middle 20th century that you can visit. More than 750 photogenic lighthouses and lightships grouped by East Coast, West Coast, the Gulf Coast, and the Great Lakes. More than 260 family-friendly maritime museums in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Three maps with suggested itineraries for discovering lighthouses in New England, California, and Michigan. Special articles on the tall ship Lady Washington, forgotten steamboats on the Okanogan River, the best lighthouse books, and major maritime festivals. Twenty-five professional photos of key ships and other attractions. The Fyddeye Guide to America's Maritime History complements Fyddeye, http: //www.fyddeye.com, the Internet's most comprehensive website dedicated to maritime history and heritage. Fyddeye also features an online community that discusses news about maritime history and current issues, including preservation of historic ships. You can also share photos and vote in polls on current events. Visit Fyddeye's pages on Facebook and follow Fyddeye on Twitter.

The endgame in chess is the one facet of chess which most players pay least attention to, but the study of which can give the most pay off. Sure, it is very attractive to study openings or tactics to help you gain an immediate large advantage, but how does a large advantage material or positional advantage help you if you cannot convert it to a win once you reach the endgame?The aim of this book is to make the study of endings a little less daunting. Of course there will be some work involved in the process of taking you from a relative novice to a reasonable strong endgame player.The material is split up in the following parts:Basic Knowledge, which includes everything you have to know, the kind of material which you should be able to rattle of in the middle of the night, if someone has to courage to wake you up to test you. The reason for this is that you will likely only see these types of positions at the end of a long game, when either you are tired or have no time left on the clock, or both. It has to be second nature. While most of these endgames look simple, it may not prove to be so simple when under the severe pressure of having no time left on the clock. I will take time to explain all the background knowledge and tricks relevant to these endings. The endgames in this section will mostly comprise of basic checkmates and pawn endingsWhat You Should Know builds on top of the knowledge you have acquired in the first part, and will serve to lift you up above those players who have never really studied endgames. This part will include endgames of all types: pawn, rook, bishop, knight and queen endings, but balanced out on what is still mostly relevant to you in your progress to becoming a stronger player.Kicking it up a Notch will take you even further, introduce you to more complicated endgames, with more pawns, more pieces, uneven material distribution, and present advice on how to play approximately equal positions, both as the defender and as the aggressor, because you never know when you will need to win an important game from an equal position in the endgame.Along the way there are opportunities to test your acquired knowledge and subsequently present you with the answers.All in all, a very comprehensive treatment for beginners and novices of this most important aspect of the game of chess.

This work offers a new and comprehensive account of the fastest and most beautiful sailing ships ever built. It explores the quest for speed on the seas from the early 1800s through the fast-paced times of the 1850s spurred on by the California Gold Rush of 1849. Not only are the career details of such noted ships as the Flying Cloud and Challenge discussed in detail, but they are also put in context with the times in which they operated. Their builders in East Coast states from Maine to Florida are discussed in detail, as are the men, and a woman in one instance, who commanded and manned these ships. The book documents the roles that owners and shipping agents played, what kinds of cargo the ships carried worldwide and the unusual trades in which they participated.