“Black Jacks” at Noble Maritime in Snug Harbor This Saturday

I read Dr. Jeffrey Bolster‘s book, Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail, not long after it came out a few years ago. It is a fascinating study of the largely untold story of African-American sailors in … Continue reading

Review: Eric Jay Dolin’s Brilliant Beacons — A History of the American Lighthouse

My review of Eric Jay Dolin’s Brilliant Beacons : A History of the American Lighthouse, originally published in gCaptain. Reposted with permission. Next only perhaps to an anchor, lighthouses are symbols of security and safety. Even with modern electronic navigation, there … Continue reading

Seventeen Fathoms Deep: The Saga of the Submarine S-4 Disaster by Joseph A. Williams — a Review

On the afternoon of December 17th, 1927, the US Navy submarine S-4 was surfacing near Provincetown, MA, when it was run down by US Coast Guard destroyer Pauling, sending the submarine to the bottom. Joseph William’s latest book, “Seventeen Fathoms … Continue reading

The Legacy of the Sailor Poet Gorch Foch, Killed in the Battle of Jutland

Johann Wilhelm Kinau was one of the more than 8,000 sailors who died in the Battle of Jutland just over 100 years ago. Kinau was 36 when he was killed while serving as a lookout on the German light cruiser … Continue reading

Linda Collison’s Water Ghosts — Foreword Reviews’ 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Finalist

Congratulations to Linda Collison! Her novel Water Ghosts is a Foreword Reviews’ 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award Finalist.  In our review from last May we wrote: In Linda Collison’s new novel, Water Ghosts, seven troubled teenagers embark on a vintage … Continue reading

Book Review: Alaric Bond’s HMS Prometheus — the Fine Line Between Valor and Recklessness

Originally posted in gCaptain by Rick Spilman. Reposted with permission. In Alaric Bond‘s most recent novel, HMS Prometheus, the eighth of his Fighting Sail series, the Mediterranean is a dangerous place for the Royal Navy. In the autumn of 1803, the … Continue reading

Podcast: “Captain Blackwell’s Prize” by V.E. Ulett

The Fictional Café is publishing three audio excerpts from V.E. Ulett’s Captain Blackwell’s Prize as a podcast.  The first went up last Friday and the will continue for the next two Fridays, followed by an interview with the author on the fourth and … Continue reading