SHIPS AND THE OCEAN A LIST OF BOOKS ON SHIPS, COMMERCE, AND THE MERCHANT MARINE D STATES SHIPPING Compiled for the ATES SHIPPI By the Free Public Libraryj of \Newark, N. J. MISS M. v Lf PREVOST . . .. Compiler Under direction of JOHN COTTON DANA, Librarian WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1918 13 SHIPS, COMMERCE, AND THE MERCHANT MARINE. There is probably no subject more inherently interesting than that of sea commerce, since it contains in so large proportion the elements of adventure, discovery, and reward. Here are some of the books of fact about ships, commerce, and the merchant marine chosen for their interesting forms. All have the story quality in high degree and make excellent reading, with the possible exception of the last three, which are included for reasons given in the notes. All are well illustrated. Ships and Commerce. " The Eomance of Commerce," by H. G. Selfridge, published by Lane, New York, 1918, $3. Publishers and reviewers have said many good things of this history of business achievement through sea commerce ; but it remains for each individual reader to measure his own appreciation of this stirring volume. The author is a merchant of world-wide fame. " Sailing Ships ; the Story of Their Development from the Earliest Times to the Present Day," by E. K. Chatterton, published by Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1909, $2. Fascinating for its illustrations as well as for its story. Gives a bibliography of many unusual references and has a good index. Practically every type of sailing boat is pictured, those of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Phoenicia, Scandinavia, England, of all periods, and so on, to the Chinese junk and the modern yacht. "Steamships and Their Story," by E. K. Chatterton, published by Cassell, London. 1910, $5.25. Does for steam what the book above does for the sail. Another shorter volume by the same author, "The Romance of Commerce," published by Lippincott, Philadel- phia, $1.50, combines and abridges the two. " Merchant Venturers of Old Salem," by R. E. Peabody, published by Houghton, Boston, 1912, $2, is the history of the commercial voyages of a New England family to the Indies and elsewhere in the eighteenth century. The bearing of the politics of the time oil trade is shown and a sketch of colonial commerce is given. Individual master mariners and merchants, their ships, voyages, homes, and associations are described in "The Old Shipmasters of Salem," by C. E. Trow, published by Putnam, New York, 1905, $2.50. " Steamboat Conquest of the World," by Frederick A. Talbot, pub- lished by Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1912, $1.50, shovs the develop- ment of water transportation in the past hundred years. The birth, 96295 18 (2) 3 building, equipment, and launching of a modern liner are described at length, and topics such as salvage and derelicts, floating docks, steamship surgery, safety, and the conquest of little-known waters, are included. What the invitation of our American lakes and rivers has done to the shipwright's trade is told in " Our Inland Seas ; Their Shipping and Commerce for Three Centuries," by J. C. Mills, published by McClurg, Chicago, 1910, $1.75. The building of a lake freighter, ore and grain carriers, wrecking and fire tugs, and the merchant marine of Canada are a few of its striking chapters. It will not be long before our newly awakened shipyards will be the material of which similar books are made. Already the maga- zines are seizing on their dramatic points and publishing arresting stories, a good example of which is R. M. Hallett's " Fashioning the Hollow Oak," in Century, June, 1917. Merchant Marine. " The Story of the American Merchant Marine," by J. R. Spears, published by Macmillan, New York, 1910, $1.50. A deservedly popu- lar little volume. From the Virginia, first pinnace built in the United States, to the Lusitania, it runs along, with enlivening touches of smugglers, pirates, and slavers. " The American Merchant Marine ; Its History and Romance," by W. L. Marvin, published by Scribner, New York, 1902, $2. This is well-done history, slightly longer and more formal. "American Merchant Ships and Sailors," by W. J. Abbot, pub- lished by Dodd, Mead, New York, 1902, $2. Very entertaining vol- ume by the author of popular sea histories. " The Men of the Merchant Service," by Frank T. Bullen, pub- lished by Stokes, New York, 1900, $1.50, described by its author as "the polity of the mercantile marine for longshore readers," is a clever presentation of each and every man aboard a merchantman from master to boy, a chapter or more to each, his characteristics, surroundings, and duties on schooner, tramp, and liner. Mr. Bullen shows all his yarn-spinning talent in these sketches. " Men on Deck," by Felix Riesenberg, published by Van Nostrand, New York, 1918, $3, is a technical manual for master, mates, and crew, their duties and responsibilities, in accordance with the latest American practice. " The Merchant Marine Manual,' n by E. E. O'Donnell, published by Yachtman's Guide, Boston, 1918, $1, is a good short volume of instruction on the elements of seamanship, prepared expressly for apprentices on United States training ships and for young men thinking of the service. The direct action of politics in the past, both English and Ameri- can on our merchant marine, is the basis of " American Marine ; tho : Shipping Question in History and Politics," by W. W. Bates, pub- j 4 lished by Houghton, Boston, 1893, $4. The author was United States Commissioner of Navigation. Marine insurance in this and foreign countries, discussions of our Department of Commerce and Bureau of Navigation, and tables on the comparative life of wood and iron, British and American built vessels, are given. A volume that will be needed in any thorough examination of the subject. More recent history of the same sort is contained in the " American Mercantile Marine," the title given to the Proceedings of the Acad- emy of Political Science of the city of New York for October, 1915, published by the Academy of Political Science, New York, 1915, $2, and containing articles by various authorities. Some of the topics covered are : What Congress has done and should do, the working of the seaman's act, investments and South American trade, Govern- ment policy and trade relations with the Far East, shipping prob- lems, and the probable effects of the war on our foreign trade. But the most recent history of all, and the most actively important, is to be found as yet only in current periodicals and papers. TREASURE SHIPS. Here are books about treasure ships, old and new, everything about them how they are built, how they are sailed, the men who own them, the men who sail them, the men whom they profit, where they go and what they carry, and some of the exciting adventures they have known. Once the United States was famous for her treasure ships in colonial and revolutionary days and after and thrilling histories some of the old merchantmen had. Now, after going to sleep on the job for awhile we are waking up. Hammers are sounding in ship- yards all over the land and the future of our merchant marine, for that is the business name of modern treasure ships, is going to be more glorious and many thousand times more wealth-producing than its past. And our young people of to-day are going to be its treasure seekers and finders. Making of Ships. " Sailing Ships," by E. K. Chatterton, published by Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1910, $2. Every kind of sailing ship that was ever built is shown and pictured here boats of ancient Egypt and Greece, Roman triremes, Phoenician vessels (the greatest treasure carriers of ancient times), Viking ships and those of Spanish Armada days, and many more, down to the Chinese junk and the modern yacht. This author has written other books about boats, all equally inter- esting. His " Romance of the Ship," published by Lippincott, Phila- delphia, 1910, $1.50, tells about steamships, too. " The Boy's Book of Steamships," by J. R. Howden, published by Stokes, New York, 1913, $2, carries us from the first application of steam to boats down to the Lusitania. It gives much information about steamship companies, mostly English owned because so many of the best have been English owned in the past. In the future, with our great sea opportunities, east and west, we hope to put England and other seagoing nations on their mettle in this friendly rivalry of commerce. " Steamship Conquest," by F. A. Talbot, published by Lippin- cott, Philadelphia, 1912, $1.50, describes at length the making and launching and stocking of a great liner and brings out many unusual points in its subjects and illustrations. We read of steam- less ships and steamship surgery, of salvage and floating docks, and wireless; of the ships that travel in little-known waters, and of the work of derelict destroyers. A very enjoyable book. Our newest American merchant ships are still too young to have books about them but we find them in articles in magazines. " Fash- ioning the Hollow Oak," by E. M. Hallet, is a good story of how one shipyard woke up. It is in the Century for June, 1917. Seamanship. The ways of the sea and of ships, lighthouses, lifeboats, divers, and other nautical matters, are told for boys in an illustrated book called " A Book of the Sea," by Archibald Williams, published by Sully & Kleinteich, l$ew York, 1916, $1.35. A boy who enjoys it will be apt to want a further knowledge of seamanship. The shortest handbook on this subject is one prepared for use on United States training ships. It is " The Merchant Marine Man- ual," by Capt. E. E. O'Donnell, published by Yachtmen's Guide, Boston, 1918, $1, and gives all important facts needed by the novice. Navigation is made interesting to the beginner in a new, short book, " Simplified Navigation," by C. L. Poor, published by Century Co., New York, 1918, $1.50. Technical language and complicated formulas are avoided and principles are clearly explained for the benefit of " our coming navigators on sea and in the air." The most used American book on this subject is " Modern Sea- manship," by A. M. Knight, rear admiral, U. S. Navy, published by Van Nostrand, New York, 7 ed., 1917, $6.50. Admiral Knight considered the views of 40 prominent merchant officers in dealing with emergency tactics. Of course, this is a technical work; but there is no seamanship that is not good seamanship, and boys who are interested will want the best. A book which comes under this subject and is small as the last- named is large, and which any boy might like to have in his pocket, is " Knots, Splices, and Rope Work," by A. Hyallt Verrill, published by Norman W. Henley Publishing Co., New York, 1917, 75 cents. Every knot in the profession is described in words and drawings. Nothing more stirring can well be desired than the history of business achievement through commerce told in the " Romance of 6 Owners and Merchants. Commerce," by H. G. Selfridge, published by Lane, New York, 1918, $3. The author is a merchant who has made good many times aver. " Old Shipmasters of Salem," by C. E. Trow, published by Put- nam, New York, 1905, $2.50. These are short sketches full of inter- est of the old master mariners and ships that " stood the storm when winds were rough," and some of their voyages and brave deeds. The Peabody Academy of Science and East Indian Marine Museum, in which many models of ships and specimens of their cargoes are pre- served, are also described. " Merchant Ventures of Old Salem," by R. E. Peabody, published by Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, 1912, $2, is a tale of the commercial voyages of one New England family to the Indies and elsewhere in the seventeen hundreds, and shows how political events of those days affected trade. It has a good chapter on colonial commerce. Sailors. In " The Men of the Merchant Service," by Frank T. Bullen, pub- lished by Stokes, New York, 1900, $1.50, we find a chapter and some- times more, given to each man aboard a merchantman, and his differ- ent duties on liner, tramp, and sailing ship. Most complete and interesting, it tells of master, mates, boatswain, carpenter, sailmaker, steward, cook, seaman, apprentice, engineer, fireman, and all the rest, including the boy. In "Two years Before the Mast," by R. H. Dana, published by Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, 1911, $1, we have the best description ever written of life oji a sailing ship. This edition is especially enjoy- able for its excellent colored illustrations by Boy d- Smith. Cargoes. Scarcely anything that is found in the earth, or grown on it or made upon it, but is fit to be made the cargo for a ship, and the best way to see at a glance all our merchantmen may carry is to turn to a commercial geography and see what the earth produces. These books vary considerably. Two short and entertaining ones with many pictures are " Commercial Geography," by A. G. Keller and A. L. Bishop, published by Ginn & Co., Boston, 1912, $1, whose pic- tures show the development of products from early times ; and " Com- mercial Geography," by A. P. Brigham, published by Ginn & Co., Boston, 1911, $1.30, which takes up imports and exports of different countries. Still more interesting, perhaps, is the "Geography of Commerce and Industry," by W. F. Rocheleau, published by Educational Pub- lishing Co., Boston, 1905, $1, in which stories of the great industries appear. "Commercial Geography," by Jacques W. Redway, pub- lished by Scribner, New York, 1915, $1.25, covers more ground in a more advanced way ; and if a really complete work is wanted for ref- erence, the "Handbook of Commercial Geography," by George G. Chisholm, published by Longman-Green, New York, 1911, $4.80, is the best to use. "A History of Commerce and Industry," by C. A. Herrick, pub- lished by Macmillan, New York, 1917, $1.60, varies from the others in combining history with its geography, so that we read of the way things have changed and improved as well as the way they are now. Sometimes these products of the earth cross the ocean in their first form as " rough " materials. Then they are made into articles of use and beauty and shipped again to other markets. Some of this work of making is shown in " The Romance of Modern Manufacture," by C. R. Gibson, published by Lippincott, New York, 1910, $1.50. One of the manufactures is shipbuilding itself. History and Adventure. " The Story of the American Merchant Marine," by John E. Spears, published by Macmillan, New York, 1910, $1.50. A very popular book, and for good reason. Through sailing days into steam, from the first pinnace, Virginia, built in the United States, to the Lusi- tania, it holds the attention. Smugglers, pirates, and slavers all add their share. " The American Merchant Marine ; Its History and Romance," by W. L. Marvin, published by Scribner, New York, 1902, $2, is good, interesting history, slightly longer and more formal than the book above. "American Merchant Ships and Sailors," by W. J. Abbot, pub- lished by Dodd Mead, New York, 1902, $2, has all the attractive points of the many popular sea histories this author has written - thrilling adventure, as a matter of course. If anyone can spin a good yarn, it is Frank T. Bullen, who wrote " The Cruise of the Cachalot." published by Appleton, New York, $1.50. What the Cachalot did was to sail round the world after sperm whales. Where the Ships Go. There seems to be almost no end to the books written r.bout the lands to which our merchantmen may go. Many of them tell of single lands and more of them tell of single places, and these can not be mentioned in this short list. So, the best way to begin is to select the shortest books that give us a little of everywhere, and, when one or another place looks good to us, to go to the library and ask for books and articles about the country and people and products of Brazil, or Japan, or France, or China, or Russia, or Italy, or Aus- tralia, or the West Indies, or the South Sea Islands, as the case may be. The best small books for our purpose are the Geographical Read- ers, by F. G. Carpenter, published by the American Book Co., New York. Their names and prices are as follows: North America, 60 cents; South America, 60 cents; Europe, 70 cents; Asia, 60 cents; Africa, 60 cents ; Australia, 60 cents.