The Gulf of Mexico (eBook)

A Maritime History

John S. Sledge (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2019
280 Seiten
University of South Carolina Press (Verlag)
978-1-64336-015-7 (ISBN)

Infos

"e;[Sledge] rightfully celebrates and affirms the southern sea's enriching past and gives readers reason to want for its wholesome and meaningful future."e; -Jack E. Davis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Gulf: The Making of an American SeaThe Gulf of Mexico presents a compelling, salt-streaked narrative of the earth's tenth largest body of water. In this beautifully written and illustrated volume, John S. Sledge explores the people, ships, and cities that have made the Gulf's human history and culture so rich. Many famous figures who sailed the Gulf's viridian waters are highlighted, including Ponce de Leon, Robert Cavelier de La Salle, Francis Drake, Elizabeth Agassiz, Ernest Hemingway, and Charles Dwight Sigsbee at the helm of the doomed Maine. Gulf events of global historical importance are detailed, such as the only defeat of armed and armored steamships by wooden sailing vessels, the first accurate deep-sea survey and bathymetric map of any ocean basin, the development of shipping containers by a former truck driver frustrated with antiquated loading practices, and the worst environmental disaster in American annals.Occasionally shifting focus ashore, Sledge explains how people representing a gumbo of ethnicities built some of the world's most exotic cities-Havana, way station for conquistadores and treasure-filled galleons; New Orleans, the Big Easy, famous for its beautiful French Quarter, Mardi Gras, and relaxed morals; and oft-besieged Veracruz, Mexico's oldest city, founded in 1519 by Hernan Cortes. In the modern era the Gulf has become critical to energy production, fisheries, tourism, and international trade, even as it is threatened by pollution and climate change. The Gulf of Mexico is a work of verve and sweep that illuminates both the risks of life on the water and the riches that come from its bounty.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.11.2019
• Zusatzinfo: 36 color photos, 38 b&w halftones
• Verlagsort: Columbia
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 180 x 180 mm
• Themenwelt: Natur / Technik ► Fahrzeuge / Flugzeuge / Schiffe ► Schiffe
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte
• Schlagworte: Armada de Barlovento • Conquistadores • CSS Alabama • divers • Environment • Exxon Valdez • Fishermen • Florida Panhandle • French intervention in Mexico • Gulf • Gulf Intracoastal Waterway • Gulf of Mexico • Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies • Havana • History • Hurricane • Hurricane Frederic • Hurricane Georges • La Belle (ship) • letter of marque • Louisiana Offshore Oil Port • Maritime • Mexico • Mexico City • Mexico–United States border • New Orleans • ocean • Oil • Oil Spill • Pirate haven • pirates • Port of New Orleans • shipping • steamships • stevedores • Tampa Bay • Texas • USS Maine (ACR-1) • Veracruz • Water
• ISBN-10: 1-64336-015-9 / 1643360159
• ISBN-13: 978-1-64336-015-7 / 9781643360157