Young Men and the Sea
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Yankee Seafarers in the Age of Sail
Daniel Vickers with Vince Walsh
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Format: PaperPrice: $39.00
Two centuries of American maritime history, in which the Atlantic Ocean remained the great frontier Westward expansion has been the great narrative of the first two centuries of American history, but as historian Daniel Vickers demonstrates here, the horizon extended in all directions. For those who lived along the Atlantic coast, it was the East—and the Atlantic Ocean—that beckoned. While historical and fictional accounts have tended to stress the exceptional circumstances or psychological compulsions that drove men to sea, this book shows how normal a part of life seafaring was for those living near a coast before the mid–nineteenth century.
Drawing on records of several thousand seamen and their voyages from Salem, Massachusetts, Young Men and the Sea offersa social history of seafaring in the colonial and early national period. In what sort of families were sailors raised? When did they go to sea? What were their chances of death? Whom did they marry, and how did their wives operate households in their absence? Answering these and many other questions, this book is destined to become a classic of American social and maritime history.
“Young Men and the Sea is a gripping book. A sound and original contribution, the book reflects Daniel Vickers’ career-long immersion in maritime history. His astute insights make for fascinating reading.”—Christopher Clark, The University of Warwick
"Deeply researched, powerfully argued, and movingly eloquent, Young Men and the Sea is the perfect antidote to the romanticized image of seafaring. This stunning account of maritime life rings true. It will be a classic."—Philip Morgan, Johns Hopkins University
"With the quiet competence of a seasoned shipmaster in ill-charted waters, Vickers has redefined the meaning of seafaring under sail. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, this is a stunning book."— W. Jeffrey Bolster, author of Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail
"Casting away what we think we know, Vickers has redefined the meaning of seafaring under sail. Distinguished by impeccable scholarship and innovative methodology, this is the most original American maritime history ever published."— W. Jeffrey Bolster, author of Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail
Provides solid and exciting information about [the] region’s formation [provoking] controversy in some quarters. The heart of good historical inquiry.
“This meticulously researched book leaves crystal-clear impressions of life from the early 1600s through the 1800s, as seen through the microcosm of Salem’s maritime orientation. . . . Young Men and the Sea will prove indispensable for the student of history seeking an overview of the early colonization of New England and the forces that shaped it, as well as satisfy readers of nautical literature who wish to fill in the gaps left by our great writers of sea literature such as Dana, Melville and Cooper.”—Neva Sullaway, San Diego Union-Tribune
Publication Date: April 10, 2007
25 b/w illus.
