A Furious Sky, the Five-Hundred-Year History of America’s Hurricanes — A Review

Having grown up on the Gulf Coast of Florida, I can say without hesitation that a hurricane is the most magnificent and absolutely the most terrifying of all events in nature. Recently NOAA announced that their Atlantic forecast is for … Continue reading

Eric Jay Dolin’s Black Flags, Blue Waters, the Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates – A Review

What is it about the pirates of the so-called “Golden Age” that holds our attention over the centuries? The period has been romanticized and fictionalized in books, British musicals, Hollywood movies, and cable TV shows. Where do the legend and lore … 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

Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America

In 2007, Eric Jay Dolin wrote Leviathan, The History of Whaling In America, a wonderful book that follows the American whale fisheries from shore whaling, to the fleets of whale ships that sailed in every ocean, to the industry’s decline in the … Continue reading