It was a secretive, glamorous, often brutal business—one where teas and silks and porcelain were purchased with profits from the opium trade. But the journey by sea to New York from Canton could take six agonizing months, and so the most pressing technological challenge of the day became ensuring one’s goods arrived first to market, so they might fetch the highest price. “With the verse of a natural dramatist” (The Christian Science Monitor), Steven Ujifusa tells the story of a handful of cutthroat competitors who raced to build the fastest, finest, most profitable clipper ships to carry their precious cargo to American shores. They were visionary, eccentric shipbuilders, debonair captains, and socially ambitious merchants with names like Forbes and Delano—men whose business interests took them from the cloistered confines of China’s expatriate communities to the sin city decadence of Gold Rush-era San Francisco, and from the teeming hubbub of East Boston’s shipyards and to the lavish sitting rooms of New York’s Hudson Valley estates. Elegantly written and meticulously researched, Barons of the Sea is a riveting tale of innovation and ingenuity that “takes the reader on a rare and intoxicating journey back in time” (Candice Millard, bestselling author of Hero of the Empire), drawing back the curtain on the making of some of the nation’s greatest fortunes, and the rise and fall of an all-American industry as sordid as it was genteel.

    This authoritative guide provides a handy, all-in-one reference for photographers using either medium (or both), combining the practical know-how of more than 50 outstanding professional photographers with National Geographic's world-renowned tradition of excellence and expertise. The Ultimate Field Guide to Photography presents ten easy-to-read chapters exploring every aspect of the digital revolution. With straightforward explanations of both simple, all-but-foolproof equipment like inexpensive autofocus point-and-shoot cameras and of sophisticated, megapixel single lens reflex units boasting interchangeable lenses. It also covers important accessories; provides advice of all kinds, from key facts and basic tips for beginners to advanced techniques for skilled amateurs; and addresses the essentials of PhotoShop editing, scanning and printing, effective archiving, and more. Along with digital information, there's also plenty of material on traditional film, from old techniques to helpful sidebars on when to use film rather than digital. Throughout the book dozens of well-known, highly accomplished photographers showcase some of their most famous shots and share both the human stories behind them and the specific technical details of their creation. This wonderful mix of vivid examples and vital nuts-and-bolts information makes The Ultimate Field Guide to Photography a uniquely useful, indispensable reference for photographers everywhere.

    As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. walking the plank is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex & often bloodier. 16 pages of photos. Maps.

    Battered by year-round freezing rain and constant winds, it is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. To be shipwrecked there means almost certain death.Incredibly, at the same time on the opposite end of the island, another ship runs aground during a storm. Separated by only twenty miles and the island’s treacherous, impassable cliffs, the crews of the Grafton and the Invercauld face the same fate. And yet where the Invercauld’s crew turns inward on itself, fighting, starving, and even turning to cannibalism, Musgrave’s crew bands together to build a cabin and a forge—and eventually, to find a way to escape. Using the survivors’ journals and historical records, maritime historian Joan Druett brings to life this untold story about leadership and the fine line between order and chaos.

    In an attempt to stop the legendary Barbary Pirates of North Africa from hijacking American ships, William Eaton set out on a secret mission to overthrow the government of Tripoli. The operation was sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson, who at the last moment grew wary of "intermeddling" in a foreign government and sent Eaton off without proper national support. Short on supplies, given very little money and only a few men, Eaton and his mission seemed doomed from the start. He triumphed against all odds, recruited a band of European mercenaries in Alexandria, and led them on a march across the Libyan Desert. Once in Tripoli, the ragtag army defeated the local troops and successfully captured Derne, laying the groundwork for the demise of the Barbary Pirates. Now, Richard Zacks brings this important story of America's first overseas covert op to life.

    Testing themselves against treacherous currents, braving depths that induced hallucinatory effects, navigating through wreckage as perilous as a minefield, they pushed themselves to their limits and beyond, brushing against death more than once in the rusting hulks of sunken ships.But in the fall of 1991, not even these courageous divers were prepared for what they found 230 feet below the surface, in the frigid Atlantic waters sixty miles off the coast of New Jersey: a World War II German U-boat, its ruined interior a macabre wasteland of twisted metal, tangled wires, and human bones–all buried under decades of accumulated sediment.No identifying marks were visible on the submarine or the few artifacts brought to the surface. No historian, expert, or government had a clue as to which U-boat the men had found. In fact, the official records all agreed that there simply could not be a sunken U-boat and crew at that location.Over the next six years, an elite team of divers embarked on a quest to solve the mystery. Some of them would not live to see its end. Chatterton and Kohler, at first bitter rivals, would be drawn into a friendship that deepened to an almost mystical sense of brotherhood with each other and with the drowned U-boat sailors–former enemies of their country. As the men’s marriages frayed under the pressure of a shared obsession, their dives grew more daring, and each realized that he was hunting more than the identities of a lost U-boat and its nameless crew.Author Robert Kurson’s account of this quest is at once thrilling and emotionally complex, and it is written with a vivid sense of what divers actually experience when they meet the dangers of the ocean’s underworld. The story of Shadow Divers often seems too amazing to be true, but it all happened, two hundred thirty feet down, in the deep blue sea.

    You'll make informed decisions, avoid frustrations and save thousands over the life of your home. Here's just a small sample of what's inside: The smartest thing you can do before going on vacationPush a button and save $100Be ready for any natural disasterMake burglars bypass your houseThe most effective way to cut heating and cooling costsClever shortcuts for home maintenance;indoors and outKeep mice, ants and other invaders out of your houseBoost curb appeal without remodelingWhat to do when the power goes outThe most common and costly homeowner mistakesEliminate noises, odors and other household irritationsGrow the best lawn on the blockSecret weapons pros use for easy, instant repairsMake appliances last years longerThe key to drip-free faucetsMake your mower start right up, every timeCures for damp basementsExterminate mold and mildewPick a paint color you'll loveGet faster downloads and better TV qualityStop peeling paintPlus, incredibly easy repairs for appliances, plumbing, flooring, walls, furniture and more!

    11.00pm. Dense fog blankets the North Atlantic as two liners, the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm, surge blindly towards each other in the overture to a night of devastation and horror.Here is the true story of that momentous collision - the people on board, the courage and the cowardice, the panic that spread amongst the ravaged Andrea Doria's 1706 passengers and crew .... the terrifying scenes as the life boats drew near ... and the final death throes of the great liner as she plunged beneath the swirling waves.The harrowing reconstruction from eyewitness accounts of the catastrophe and the enthralling rescue operation - an explosive account of humanity pitched headlong into a nightmare.

    On the western horizon is the pinnacle of Skellig Michael-700 feet of vertical rock rising out of exploding seas. Somewhere on the isolated island are sixth-century monastic ruins where the light of civilization was kept burning during the Dark Ages by early Christian Irish monks. Puffins surface a few yards from the boat, as hundreds of gannets wheel overhead on six foot wing spans. The ocean rises violently and tosses paddler and boat as if they were discarded flotsam. This is just one day of Chris Duff's incredible three month journey.

    What none of the sailors knew until it was far too late was that they would soon face the worst storm ever to hit the Great Lake, a storm that nearly half of their number would not survive.This is the story of that fateful storm, and of one of the worst shipping disasters in the nation's history. As the storm strikes without warning, readers are taken aboard the SS Mataafa as it crashes into Duluth's piers, half of the crew freezing to death overnight as the other half survives by dancing through the dark around bathtubs set ablaze with scuttled pieces of the ship--all while 10,000 Duluthians set bonfires on shore to guide ships to safety. Next we find ourselves aboard the SS Ira H. Owen, crashing into the cliff where Split Rock Lighthouse would later be built, too late for these men. And here too are the many ships, from Canadian shores to Michigan, where all hands were lost. It is a story drawn from the accounts of witnesses and survivors. It is a tale of people pitted against the elements, of a disaster so extreme that, in its wake, weather forecasting, shipbuilding, and compass-reading in light of the Iron Range's magnetism were forever changed.

    Bullied and forced into a duel, he takes an even chance. And then he has many more chances to show his skills and ingenuities - from sailing a ship full of wetted and swelling rice to imprisonment and saving the lives of shipwrecked sailors. And along the way, he fights galleys, feeds cattle, stays out of the way of the guillotine, and makes friends with a Duchess. Here Hornblower becomes a man and develops the strength of character which will make him a hero to his men, and to all England.

    Detailed accounts of the hardships experienced while traveling across mountains and prairies; vibrant portraits of emigrants and Western wildlife; and vivid descriptions of Indian life and culture. A classic of American frontier literature.

    Most books on smoking just give some elementary information and then are filled with recipes; this book is the reverse, scholarly information and theory as it applies to smoking meats and a few recipes that will get one started. While various recipes usually get the spotlight, it is the authors' opinion that the technical know-how behind preparing meats and sausages is far more important. There is a section with some basic recipes, but after reading the book one should be able to create his own recipes without much effort. The book explains differences between grilling, barbecuing and smoking. The sections on smokehouse design include over 250 construction diagrams and photos that cover most known methods: masonry, portable, wood, concrete, and drum smokers. After reading this book a reader will fully comprehend what can be expected of any particular smoker and how to build one that will conform to his individual needs. The book will benefit the serious smoker as well as the beginner.

    Written by the author of the best-selling guides, Maui Revealed, Hawaii The Big Island Revealed and The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook. He actually hikes all the trails, rides the boats, scuba dives the reefs, dines in the restaurants, reviews all the resorts, snorkels the coastline, explores the hidden waterfalls and shares all the secrets that he finds. Everything is reviewed anonymously. This book and a rental car are all you need to discover what makes Oahu so exciting.

    A color wildflower identification guide is included in the 20 pages of color photos. The back of the book includes brief descriptions of 109 more hikes.