BOOK REVIEW: ‘The History of the Port of London: A Vast Emporium of All Nations’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: The History of the Port of London: A Vast Emporium of All Nations

Author: Peter Stone

Total No. of Pages: 250

Rating Scale (1: very poor; 10: excellent): 8½

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At the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851, London was described as being ‘The workshop of the world’. It was, according to the author of this volume, ‘…The [British] Empire’s economic capital… and at the heart of the vast emporium was the Port of London’. This book is that port’s story.

To state that this book is comprehensive is to be given to understatement. It is well researched, well-written and quite readable, with the qualification that it is more thesis than light romance. Because of its subject, it is also very wide-ranging in its narrative. When reading it the reader is taken from the Ice Age and the formation of both the British Isles and the River Thames, to the Twenty-first Century (specifically 2017), and the problems attendant to redeveloping a port system which technology and commerce have now passed-by. In the course of this perambulation through time, the reader partakes in the social and maritime histories which moulded and influenced the port and its surrounds, together with the occasional dose of warfare and politics for good measure. The result, as previously noted, is comprehensive and readable. It is also extremely interesting.

The bulk of this volume consists of eight Chapters preceded by an Acknowledgements section where tribute is paid to those who assisted the author in creating the book. That is in turn followed by a Preface This is six pages in length and summarises what is to follow. The Chapters are divided into sequential blocks, with each covering a specific time period. Subheadings within each Chapter provide additional detail about a specific topic appearing within that section. Reproductions of five lithographs appear within the volume to illustrate relevant points of the narrative.  They are supplemented by sixteen photographs placed within a small section in the book’s centre. The images are informatively captioned, although several give no indication of their source. There is no reference to the existence of the images (or even of the ‘Photographic’ section per se’) on the Contents page or within the Index. The volume also contains several Maps. These show both the development of the port itself over the centuries and its relationship to Great Britain, Europe and the larger world. As with the previously-mentioned images, neither the Contents page nor the Index contains any reference to the existence of Maps within the volume. A Selective Bibliography is placed after the last chapter, the author noting that the titles it contains ‘…Have been consulted to varying degrees’. An Index completes the volume. While comprehensive, this reviewer found the presence of unexplained italicised words within the Index puzzling.

While some were evidently the names of ships, others appeared to be Latin in origin. Unsourced quotations also appear within the volume. The discovery that HMS Belfast (p. 222) was a ‘Battle cruiser’ instead of her designated class of ‘Light Cruiser’ was also of interest. This reviewer hopes that this misclassification was only an isolated aberration and not indicative of other, similar, errors. There is no way to know.

Because it covers a multitude of topics under the broad umbrella of being a ‘History’ of the specific Port of London area, this book it is likely to have a wider audience than just those interested in ‘ships and the sea’. By default it is also a ‘Social’ history; its descriptions of social behaviour and micro-societies associated with the Port of London being possibly useful to social historians as a result. Political Researchers investigating British politics and their effect on the Port of London and international trade may also find it interesting. Those with an interest Twentieth Century warfare in general and the World War II London ‘Blitzes’ in particular,  may also find it worth perusing.

On a Rating Scale where 1: very poor; 10: excellent), I have given it an 8½.

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘Taming the Atlantic: The History of Man’s Battle with the World’s Toughest Ocean’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: Taming the Atlantic: The History of Man’s Battle with the World’s Toughest Ocean

Author: Dag Pike

Total Number of Pages: 222

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 8

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In Winds, Currents and Wild Seas, the introductory chapter to this volume, the author describes a close encounter he had with a storm in the North Atlantic [or ‘Western’] Ocean. He concludes ‘…The experience taught me to observe due reverence and respect for the Western Ocean, a wild stretch of sea that for centuries has been both a route for commerce and a barrier to trade’. Although the Atlantic Ocean actually has two sections (‘North’ and ‘South’) this book is primarily about its Northern section and, delivered with ‘Due reverence and respect’, it details mankind’s battle with what the author terms ‘The world’s Toughest Ocean’. It is a fascinating read.

The volume is prefaced with an Acknowledgements section in which the author thanks those who assisted him in its writing. Unusually, he also thanks ‘…The millions of people who have crossed the Atlantic in a variety of ships and boats…’; for this Reviewer, a nice touch. The twelve Chapters forming the main part of the book then follow. The previously-mentioned Chapter 1 (Winds, Currents and Wild Seas) acts as both a precis for the volume and a scene-setter for what is to come. In addition to the author’s personal narrative (and as the title suggests), it also details the geographical and atmospheric phenomena which contribute to the whole ‘Toughest Ocean’ appellation. Effectively, it acts as a base for what follows.  The geography and phenomena thus established, Chapters 2-9 narrate the maritime history of the ocean, and traces the exploration and exploitation of the North Atlantic Ocean over many centuries. The technological developments that occurred during this period are also explored, while the at-times bizarre attempts by individuals and groups to cross the ocean under their own power and for their own reasons are also investigated and assessed. Chapter 10 (An Ocean in Turmoil) returns again to the theme of the North Atlantic’s weather and waves, with the author’s personal experiences again adding a human touch to the narrative. Perhaps inevitably, Chapter 10 is followed by another Chapter (Number. 11) titled Disasters on the Atlantic. Within this the expected names appear (RMS Titanic being one such example), together with other, lesser known, vessels, their common theme being that they all fell victim to the ocean’s wrath. Chapter 12 (The Future) is the final part of the volume’s main section. In it the author reflects on future possibilities and liabilities associated with the Atlantic Ocean, offering his thoughts about the sea, ship design and human nature while so-doing. A Select Bibliography placed after Chapter 12 records the sources used when writing this book, while a six-page Index completes it.  The volume contains a large number of monochrome prints, and black and white and colour photographs (some sourced, the majority not), together with an assortment of Maps, Plans Diagrams, Charts and Tables that relate to the narrative. While informatively captioned, the existence the Maps, plans etc. is not noted on either the Index or Contents pages. Unusually, and  although there is a ‘local’ map (Captioned ‘The North Atlantic Ocean stretches from the Tropics to the Arctic’) there is no Mercator-type expanded global map to precisely-fix the Atlantic Ocean’s location on Planet Earth. For this reviewer, it is an unhelpful omission. Unfortunately there is also no Glossary to enlighten non-maritime readers as to the meanings of the nautical terms that the book contains. What (for example) is an ‘Astrolabe’ (page 29)? In the absence of an informative description, a reader cannot know.

While well written and informative, for this reviewer, this book was let down in several areas. Numerous unsourced quotes appear within it (Alain Gerbault’s on pages 102-103 being but one example), but with no supporting citations, their authenticity is inevitably suspect, and they have little value to researchers. The Index should also be treated with some caution. A random ‘Index’ search for La Dauphin (page 27) and  Mary Celeste (page 195) found nothing, while curiously, although the Flying Enterprise (page 197) was also missing from the Index, her captain (Curt Carlson) appears within it. As these ‘errors’ were found during a random search, there is no way to know what else may be missing, and (at least for this reviewer), the authority of the Index is now in doubt. Small grammatical errors were also noticed.

This volume is eminently readable, there being no doubt that the author of knows his subject. As a result (and despite the previously mentioned ‘failings’), it is likely to have broad appeal. It likely to be of interest to both Historians with an interest in ‘Things maritime’ and the ‘Weekend sailor’ who just wants to read and learn more about the ocean at his doorstep.  Those who love ‘ships and the sea’ in a more general way are also likely to find this book of interest, while a reader looking for something for a wet Sunday afternoon, will probably find it worthy of their attention. Ship modellers may also find some of the images of use.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent I have given this volume an 8.

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BOOK REVIEW: ‘Ocean Liners: An Illustrated History’

Reviewer: Michael Keith

Title: Ocean Liners: An Illustrated History

Author: Peter Newall

Total Number of Printed Pages: 192

Rating Scale (1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent): 7

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In his Foreword to this volume, Dr Stephen M. Payne describes this book in the following manner: ‘Ocean Liners provides a very informative voyage through the history of many of the ships, the advancing technologies that drove innovation and the companies that operated them’. It is a reasonable summation.

The volume opens with the previously-mentioned Foreword. Placed after the Contents page, this is in turn followed by the author’s Introduction in which he precis’ what is to follow and explains that what he has ‘…Tried to achieve with this book is a balanced coverage of the 100-year history of ocean liners…’ An Acknowledgements section on the same page thanks those who assisted with the book’s creation. The nine Chapters which form the bulk of the volume then follow. These cover the development of the ocean liner from its Nineteenth Century origins to its final demise in the 1970’s. Within each Chapter, subsections provide information about a specific technological or historical development, each subsection being accompanied by one (sometimes two), monochrome photographs of vessels which are relevant to the specific narrative. An Index completes the work.

The volume is of the ‘Enthusiasts Picture Book’ genre and it consequently contains numerous photographs. These are of high quality and have reproduced well. They are however, unsourced. Numerous shipping companies are mentioned within the text, many being abbreviated; P&O (the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) being one such example. There is however, no central list for either the Companies or the abbreviations. There are no maps.  The volume’s Index contains the names of those vessels which appear as illustrations within it. Where a named / illustrated vessel’s sisters are mentioned in the context of the narrative, these are frequently (but not always) omitted from the Index; Lhasa, Lama and Lunka (page 47) being a case in point. The inclusion or omission of such names appears to be random. Curiously, where a vessel has been renamed (and the new name is  specifically mentioned within the narrative), no Index entry for the new name appears. For readers who might know only the ‘rename’, this lack could prove problematic when undertaking a search. The owning Companies, the builders who constructed them and their countries of origin are also not mentioned. While it is probable that such information will be found within the volume, the absence of relevant Index entries renders this invisible to the reader.  With no certainty that what is being searched for actually exists, for this reviewer this lack is a major failing. It will  inevitably impact on the volume’s usefulness as a reference source. In addition, and although various ‘nautical’ terms are used throughout the volume, no interpretative Glossary is provided. What (for example) does the abbreviation ‘gt’ mean, and what is a ‘knot’? In the absence of an explanation, the layman-reader cannot know.

This is a ‘Beautiful’ book; the images being a pleasure to look at.  As a result it may well appeal to readers (even those with little nautical interest) who seek beautiful black and white images of beautiful ships. Serious researchers may however be disappointed, the previously-mentioned ‘difficulties’ with the Index et al making searching for specific information more of a chore than should be necessary. Ship Modellers with an interest in specific passenger vessels are likely to find this volume a useful resource.

On a Rating Scale where 1: Very Poor, 10: Excellent, I have given this volume a 7.

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