The Lost Hero of Cape Cod : Captain Asa Eldridge and the Maritime Trade That Shaped America

Vincent Miles

ISBN 10: 0962506885 / ISBN 13: 9780962506888

Editore: Historical Society Of Old Yarmouth, 2015

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nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - The Lost Hero of Cape Cod tells the story of an extraordinary nineteenth-century mariner? and of a morale-boosting victory for the young United States over Britain in the commercial battle that broke out on the Atlantic after the War of 1812. Born in a small village on Cape Cod in 1809, Asa Eldridge grew up to become one of the world's greatest shipmasters. Even today, he still holds the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a sailing ship, which he set on a run from New York to Liverpool in 1854. But this record is only part of his story, which includes voyages to numerous countries, command of Cornelius Vanderbilt's private yacht, an early move into steamships, and a mysterious end that eerily foreshadowed the Titanic disaster half a century later. In recounting Eldridge's fascinating career, Vincent Miles also tells a much broader story-of the rise of America's merchant navy to a dominant position over Britain's in the decades following the War of 1812, and of the government-subsidized British response that created the legendary Cunard Line. And along the way, Miles offers a guided tour of the maritime trade that shaped America, and a memorial to the courageous men who made it possible.

Codice articolo 9780962506888

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: The Lost Hero of Cape Cod : Captain Asa Eldridge and the Maritime Trade That Shaped America
• Editore: Historical Society Of Old Yarmouth
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0962506885
• ISBN 13: 9780962506888
• Rilegatura: Taschenbuch
• Condizione: Neu
• Dimensioni: 229 L x 152 A x 11 P (millimetri) 229 millimetri di larghezza per 152 millimetri di altezza per 11 millimetri di profondità
• Peso: 298 grammi

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

The Lost Hero of Cape Cod tells the story of an extraordinary nineteenth-century mariner… and of a morale-boosting victory for the young United States over Britain in the commercial battle that broke out on the Atlantic after the War of 1812.

Born in a small village on Cape Cod in 1809, Asa Eldridge grew up to become one of the world’s greatest shipmasters. Even today, he still holds the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic by a sailing ship, which he set on a run from New York to Liverpool in 1854. But this record is only part of his story, which includes voyages to numerous countries, command of Cornelius Vanderbilt’s private yacht, an early move into steamships, and a mysterious end that eerily foreshadowed the Titanic disaster half a century later.

In recounting Eldridge’s fascinating career, Vincent Miles also tells a much broader story—of the rise of America’s merchant navy to a dominant position over Britain’s in the decades following the War of 1812, and of the government-subsidized British response that created the legendary Cunard Line. And along the way, Miles offers a guided tour of the maritime trade that shaped America, and a memorial to the courageous men who made it possible.

Informazioni sull'autore

Vincent Miles grew up in Liverpool, and as a child spent many happy hours exploring its waterfront and absorbing its maritime history. Many years later, having lived in the US for several decades, he was intrigued to discover that his house on Cape Cod had once been home to a captain who sailed to Liverpool. Further investigation revealed that the captain in question was much less interesting than a cousin who lived just around the corner and so was presumably a regular visitor: Asa Eldridge. After realizing that one of the most famous mariners ever to sail to his hometown had very probably sat in his current living room, Miles felt a compulsion to find out more. The Lost Hero of Cape Cod is the result of that compulsion.

When he can tear himself away from the story of Asa Eldridge, Miles works in the biotech industry in the Boston area. He holds a B.Sc. in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from University College London.