Cindy Vallar's Blog, page 25
February 17, 2020
Review of Joshua Tallis's The War for Muddy Waters
The War for Muddy Waters: Pirates Terrorists Traffickers and Maritime Insecurity by Joshua TallisMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
To truly understand this book’s content, it is essential to understand three points. First, the term “maritime security” lacks a definitive meaning; it connotes one thing to some, another thing to others, depending on who is explaining what it encompasses. Second, the word “littoral” once referred to the water surrounding a nation’s coast. At one time this extended three miles from the shore; later that distance was extended to twelve. But it encompasses more than just the water, coming to incorporate a portion of the land, people, and economy near the water. For example, if a littoral extends 200 miles inland, this means that “75 percent of the world’s population, 80 percent of capital cities, and practically ‘all major centres of international trade and military power’” lay within this littoral, which turns this area into a more inviting target for terrorists and other criminals. (3)
Third, “broken windows theory” is a way of explaining the connection between the growth of crime in and the decay of urban neighborhoods. For example, if the window of an establishment is broken and then repaired, those who live there take pride in their community and flourish. If, however, the broken window is not repaired, it can lead to other windows being broken, a lack of caring, a growth of fear in the inhabitants, and a rise in crime because those breaking the law know there is little or no policing. What the author attempts to do in this book is to apply broken windows theory to littoral regions of the world to show that this criminological principle can be effectively applied to maritime security and thus, provide those tasked with maritime security, such as the United States Navy, with an out-of-the-box method of addressing a danger that all nations already do or will face in the future.
In the past, the navy’s traditional role has been to safeguard its nation’s interests at sea and far from land. This is no longer the case, since nowadays the highest threats impacting nations can be found much closer to home. For example, Tallis recounts the November 2008 attack on Mumbai, India when Pakistani terrorists hijacked a fishing trawler, killed the captain, and successfully infiltrated the city and killed 100 people and wounded many more.
But applying a theory originally deemed as an appropriate means of policing crime, doesn’t automatically make it applicable to addressing issues of maritime security. This is what Tallis sets out to do in this book. He shows how this theory can be and has been applied to trafficking crimes, as well as how it can impact other types of crimes, such as money laundering and corruption, that are integral to successful criminal enterprises. Then he tests his hypothesis by showing how it can be applied to two regions where maritime piracy threatens maritime security. To achieve his goals of showing that broken windows theory is applicable and to spark new conversations in strengthening maritime security, he begins by exploring the current literature on maritime security and the challenges strategists face. Then he focuses on the theory itself and elucidates the key themes of the book.
The second part of the book focuses on the Caribbean and the trafficking of cocaine and crimes tangentially connected to drug smuggling. By the conclusion of these three chapters he successfully provides readers with the necessary foundation to test his conclusions in part three, where he integrates piracy into the broken windows theory. This section is divided into two chapters, one that examines West African piracy – a relatively new region for this crime – and then moves to Southeast Asia, which has been combatting piracy with varying degrees of success for centuries.
Tallis readily admits that his book isn’t geared toward the general lay reader. He identifies his audience as being either researchers or naval strategists. This doesn’t make the material less interesting to other readers, but it is written in a more academic style than a down-to-earth book on modern maritime piracy, such as John Burnett’s Dangerous Waters or Jay Badahur’s The Pirates of Somalia. What makes The War for Muddy Waters an invaluable addition to collections on modern piracy is that Tallis uses a different approach to examine and address dangers that navies and nations face today and in the future. Since pirates and terrorists have access to modern technologies and tend to think outside normal parameters to achieve their goals, it makes sense that those who study maritime security issues and devise strategies to address these issues should do so as well.
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Review of John Sledge's The Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History by John S SledgeMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Since 1550 this body of water, which contains over 600 quadrillion gallons and ranks tenth in size worldwide, has been known as el Golfo de Mexico or the Gulf of Mexico. It began to form when the supercontinent Pangaea broke apart approximately 200,000,000 years ago, but the oval-like shape we recognize formed far more recently (5,000 to 10,000 years). Today, it covers 600,000 square miles and its shores include numerous lesser bodies of water (such as bays and lakes, as well as rivers that feed into it) and land (such as shorelines, deltas, and barrier islands). Elizabeth Custer likened the Gulf to “almost always a tempest in a teapot” when she accompanied her husband, Captain George Armstrong Custer, to his new assignment in New Orleans. (7)
Others have written about the Gulf of Mexico, but Sledge offers a history that is geared toward the general reader and encompasses far more than the narrow focus of the water itself. He includes information on the people whose livelihoods and existence depend on it, as well as the various boats and ships that have plied the water since the days when Mayans, Seminoles, Calusa, and other Native Americans lived near and relied on the fruits of the Gulf to survive. He discusses European explorers, pirates and smugglers, fishermen, loggers, and many others. Among those of particular note are William Dampier, William Bartram, Juan Ponce de Leon, René Robert Cavalier, Laurens de Graff, the Laffite Brothers, and Commodore David Porter. Also incorporated into the narrative are details on the flora and fauna, cultures, conflicts, memories (personal and firsthand), and historical events. Examples of the last topic cover conflicts – Seven Years’ War, Pastry War, Mexican War, and American Civil War to name a few – and natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The book is divided into eight chapters that present the history of the Gulf in a chronological sequence. These are comprised of Indian Shore, Spanish Sea, Colonial Crossroads, Pirates’ Haunts, King Cotton’s Pond, Violent Sea, American Sea, and Blowout! Maps, illustrations, and two sections of color plates enhance the reading experience. Notes, a bibliography, and an index provide readers with sources consulted and where to find additional information.
Readers seeking an all-encompassing, entertaining introduction to the Gulf of Mexico will enjoy Sledge’s book. No matter how much or how little you know, you will come away from the experience having learned something new about the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, and gaining a new appreciation for a body of water that “is by turns beautiful, bountiful, frightening, and destructive.” (8)
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February 16, 2020
Review of Carmen Gentile's Blindsided by the Taliban
Blindsided by the Taliban: A Journalist’s Story of War, Trauma, Love, and Loss by Carmen GentileMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
In September 2010, a freelance journalist accompanies soldiers on patrol in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. He’s scared – after all, this is Taliban territory – but showing that fear will just aggravate the tense situation. He’s well aware of the dangers, since he’s been embedded before, yet listeners of CBS Radio and readers of USA Today need to know what’s happening in a war zone, the dangers soldiers face, and the conditions they endure. His greatest fear? Surviving a bomb blast and losing his legs. On this particular day, however, it’s not a bomb he faces, but a man holding a rocket launcher aimed directly at him. The projectile slams into his face. He should be dead; instead, he sustains a ruptured eyeball and a shattered orbital socket.
This is Carmen Gentile’s firsthand account of his life, the attack, and the aftermath of that attack, as well as the psychological trauma it caused. In the preface, he mentions that his saving grace was the birth of his daughter. Although he shares many personal snapshots of his life, he remains relatively silent about her and her mother. The book is rather a gritty, no-holds-barred examination laced with candid honesty, dark humor, and explicit language. Be forewarned: Some readers will hate this book; others will admire it as a stunning, vivid, at times shocking, and insightful journey into how Gentile comes to terms with what happened and refinds purpose in his life.
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January 19, 2020
Review of James Boschert's A Falcon Flies
A Falcon Flies by James BoschertMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Trouble comes at inopportune times. Just when all is going right for Sir Talon de Gilles, old charges of witchcraft resurface and he comes under close scrutiny by the Bishop in Acre and his henchman, Brother John. But Talon must leave his affairs in his friend Max’s capable hands, for Sir Guy de Veres requires his special talents. Salah ed Din, the Sultan of Egypt, has been too quiet, and Sir Guy fears what that silence might mean for the Templars and the king of Jerusalem in 1177. Additional peril comes from the Assassins of Rashid ed Din, who have been attacking Templar castles – a fact that Talon and Sir Guy experience firsthand when an assault comes from unexpected quarters. Talon’s suspicions help the Templars to gain the upper hand and capture several prisoners, one of whom reveals that Reza and Rav’an yet live.
News of his best friend and his heart’s true love rekindle hope. For six long years, Talon has feared both died soon after the Templars took him prisoner and shipped him back to his real family in France. He yearns to find Reza and Rav’an, but trouble intervenes once more when Salah ed Din’s true intent becomes known: he plans to attack the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Talon’s knowledge of the Egyptians proves invaluable, and his participation in the Battle of Montgisard gains him the edge he needs to be given special dispensation to leave the Templars and search for Reza and Rav’an. But the way to reunion is fraught with escalating perils that threaten to thwart him time and again. Then he hears that Rav’an is a sultan’s wife, her brother’s pawn in an alliance that promises only death if her secret becomes known.
From first page to last, A Falcon Flies keeps the reader spellbound with serpentine twists more numerous than coiled rope and more breathtaking than the plunges and climbs of a roller coaster. As always, Boschert introduces an array of intriguing and unique characters, not least of which is Talon’s servant, a young thief whom he rescues from death. Maps and translations are included to orient readers as they journey from Acre to Antioch, Jerusalem, Bagdad, and Isfahan. A Falcon Flies, the Fifth Book of Talon, is heart-stopping adventure not to be missed. It is also a journey of true love, where one man is willing to risk all to reunite with his beloved.
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January 18, 2020
Review of Frederick J. Hanselmann's Captain Kidd's Lost Ship
Captain Kidd's Lost Ship: The Wreck of the Quedagh Merchant by Frederick H HanselmannMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
On 30 January 1698, William Kidd and the crew of the Adventure Galley seized a merchant ship known as the Quedagh Merchant. She was laden with “1200 bayles of muslins, raw silk and calicoe of all sorts, fourteen hundred bags of brown sugar, 84 bayles of raw silk and eighty chests of opium . . . [along with] iron and saltpeter and other goods of less value” (38) They sailed to the Indian Ocean to capture pirates; instead, Kidd was denounced as a pirate. To clear his name, he sailed the Quedagh Merchant to the Caribbean, where she later sank. He was eventually arrested and taken to London, where he stood trial for murder and piracy.
Captain Kidd’s Lost Ship recounts Kidd’s rise and fall, the demise of both him and his prize, and her rediscovery. But far from the simple telling of a privateer who becomes a pirate, this volume delves much deeper into the myth, history, and archaeology surrounding one of the best-known episodes in pirate history. The following quote from page one best explains the purpose of this book.
“Archaeology is not solely the excavation of a site and the recovery of its artifacts; it includes an investigation of the social activity surrounding a site and its formation, the historical context, the actions of individuals in the past as related to a site, and the management and preservation of a site for public benefit and future generations.”
Hanselmann deftly recounts not only the scientific and theoretical sides of the story, but also showcases how one person’s actions and decisions, in combination with those of others and the states involved, snowballed into the loss of both ship and man. It is a tale of interconnected networks – the English East India Company, Armenian traders, sailors, privateers, and piracy – in a global tapestry that reaches from the Indian Ocean to the Caribbean and several points in between. He also explains how they identified the shipwreck and how the Dominican Republic decided to turn this archaeological find into a Living Museum in the Sea.
Even those familiar with William Kidd’s rise and fall will find new information within this book and come away with a better appreciation of who this man was, what he did, and how global changes played a significant part in his story. The step-by-step review of all aspects allows readers to better see “the differences between the commonly held view of Kidd and his vessel that has been passed down through the centuries and the true tale of Kidd’s rise and fall in a much broader context.” (2) The inclusion of contemporary documents, some of which may not appear in other works on Kidd, are an added bonus to a book that is well written. To further place this episode within its historical context, Hanselmann includes a Chronology of Events. There is also a list of cited literature and an index.
While the theoretical explanations may mislead some to think this is a pedantic treatment of a fascinating subject, the author provides a gripping account of how archaeologists sift through myths and legends to discover the reality. Hanselmann provides a well-rounded, more complete glimpse into Kidd and the world in which he lived. It’s one of the best demonstrations of how actions have consequences and how those consequences impact individuals in real world situations. As a result, Captain Kidd’s Lost Ship is an invaluable and informative addition to any maritime, archaeological, or piratical library.
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Review of J. D. Davies's Battle's Flood
Battle's Flood by J. D. DaviesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
England in 1555 differs from the one in which Jack Stannard fought the Scots and witnessed the death of his friend aboard the Mary Rose. Henry VIII is dead; his daughter, Mary, sits upon the throne and expects her first child. Her husband is King Philip of Spain, but in spite of the peace between both countries, he has no desire to allow his wife’s people to venture into realms he deems the total domain of Spain, namely the New World and Africa. Not all Englishmen agree with this, chief among them being the Hawkins.
It is also a time when Catholicism once again holds sway, much to the delight of Jack and his daughter, Meg. Love blossoms between her and a young Spaniard whose father is friends with hers. Hope and prosperity give rise to great expectations, but that which is today isn’t necessarily true on the morrow.
The passing of twelve years brings many such changes. The Virgin Queen rules England and has restored the faith of her father to the land, much to Meg’s chagrin. She holds out hope that it is a temporary aberration, one that will change once again when Mary Queen of Scots succeeds her cousin Elizabeth. Jack, on the other hand, and his eldest son Tom are involved in the business of smuggling arms to France, where Protestant Huguenots are stockpiling arms for the day when the Catholic monarchy allies with Spain to stamp out the heretics. While Tom has been raised mostly in the Protestant church, his father retains many Catholic tendencies, and it is those that come to the attention of Francis Walsingham, the queen’s spymaster.
John Hawkins’s new expedition to Guinea and possibly the Caribbean is purported to be a trading venture into Spanish domains, but it has an ulterior purpose known only to a few. Walsingham wants Jack to accompany the expedition. Although hostilities with Spain are on the distant horizon, England is unprepared to wage war at this time. Therefore, Jack must do whatever he can to keep Hawkins from breaking the fragile peace between the two countries, and to keep a detailed record of everything that happens. Such unfamiliar waters to Jack and Tom require them to hire a skilled, black Portuguese, who is somewhat abrasive at times. But the voyage gets off to a rocky start; foreign ships entering the port fail to salute and a tavern brawl creates animus between Tom and Francis Drake, who one day vows to get revenge. And venturing to strange lands with unfamiliar customs and unknown dangers adds to the perils Jack and Tom face.
Such a journey means a lengthy separation from family and friends, so Jack puts Meg in charge of the family business. She tries to warn him that her stepmother is up to no good, but time prevents him from heeding the warning. Having despised and distrusted her stepmother from the moment they first met, Meg slowly unravels the intrigue and discovers that Jennet is in league with Jack’s most hated enemy. To thwart her stepmother, Meg devises a plan of her own, one that will protect the business, her father, and the secret she guards.
Battle’s Flood is the second title in the Jack Stannard of the Navy Royal trilogy. While the prologue takes place in 1555, the majority of the story takes place between 1567 and 1569. The backdrop for the story is Hawkins’s third voyage to collect slaves in Africa and then sell them to Spanish colonists in the New World. Yet even that one event did not occur in a void, as Davies shows as he deftly weaves the tumultuous European history into this tale in ways that make it easy to understand the intricacies of trying to survive in a world verging on war. He drops you into the midst of a battle or a storm at sea with just enough description that then compels your imagination to vividly fill-in the details. Peaceful interludes are woven into engrossing and sometimes nail-biting action, rife with mutiny, poisoned arrows, tribal warfare, the slave trade, smuggling, cannibalism, love lost, betrayal, enmity, feuds, scheming, regrets, and so much more. Equally compelling is his historical note, not only because he provides the history behind the fiction but also because he addresses inconvenient truths, thorny issues, and his treatment of these in the book. While history books discuss these events and recount the unfortunate circumstances that result in the abandonment of so many, those accounts are often mere words on a page. In Battle’s Flood, Davies brings to life the infamous and the famous, and transports you back to the sixteenth century in a way that makes you feel as if you are there.
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Review of Lauren Smith's No Rest for the Wicked
No Rest for the Wicked: Pirates of Britannia Connected World by Lauren SmithMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kidnapped at the age of fourteen and sold to a French pirate, Dominic Greyville has long since buried what might have been and accepted life as a pirate and the fact that he can never go home. Rumors of a rich cargo lure him from Spain to the Caribbean where he seizes an English merchant ship, manned by Royal Navy men. Instead of treasure, he discovers an admiral bound for his new post, his best childhood friend, and two cabin boys who miss the boat taking the captured crew to Port Royal.
Roberta “Robbie” Harcourt craves adventure, a byproduct of being raised by her father who took her to sea after the death of her mother. When pirates attack her ship, she and her maid disguise themselves in boys’ attire. Maintaining the ruse will be difficult indeed, for Lucy is quite unnerved and not nearly as brave as her mistress. But Robbie is intent on living life to the fullest, since this may well be her last opportunity to do so before having to wed and settle down ashore.
The moment he meets Robbie, Dom knows something is odd about the lad. But coming face-to-face with Nicholas Flynn after all these years disturbs him more than he expects. To find his friend clad in the uniform of the enemy further complicates the issue. He throws Nicholas into the brig before going to confront his newest crew members. When he finally realizes the truth, he gives Robbie an ultimatum, but she’s determined to serve as his cabin boy no matter how difficult he makes the task.
What should be fun for Dominic turns out to be at first misery and then extreme danger – not only for him, but also Robbie and Lucy. The familiar pirate ship on the horizon brings with it a French monster, whose rancor has simmered for many years while he waits for the perfect time to unleash his vengeance.
One of my favorite lines in this story is Robbie’s quip, “Had the captain read that from some book entitled How to Infuriate Free and Independent Women? Perhaps he had written it.” (27) It perfectly sums up how women were treated in 1741, and how aggravating the male attitude would be for an individual like Robbie.
Smith deftly weaves pirate and maritime details into a story that brings the characters to life and transports readers back to the waning years of piracy in the Caribbean. Just when you think the romance is resolved, she adds another twist that either sends hearts soaring or plummeting, while twisting emotions into knots as intricate as those found aboard ships. Part of the Pirates of Britannia Connected World series, No Rest for the Wicked is reminiscent of swashbuckling tales of yore. It is adventure not to be missed and – in true piratical fashion – Smith includes an enticing treasure at the end that sets the stage for her next pirate adventure.
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Review of Tyson Reeder's Smugglers, Pirates, and Patriots
Smugglers, Pirates, and Patriots: Free Trade in the Age of Revolution by Tyson ReederMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The War for Independence in the American colonies during the second half of the eighteenth century issued in a new age, one that has become known as the Age of Revolution. That conflict inspired other nations to seek freedom from tyranny as well, and in the first decades of the following century, republicans in the United States felt that one way to fight against monarchies and their empires was through free trade. This is the focus of this book, which shows the interconnections between smugglers, pirates, and patriots, especially as it relates to the way Brazil gained its independence from Portugal in the nineteenth century.
The book is divided into four parts: Negotiating Empire, Regulation and Revolution, A Liberty of Trade, and “Connexions of Commerce and Liberation.” What soon becomes clear is that those who advocated free trade did so not just to help others achieve independence but to also influence the growth of commerce in ways that were to their best advantage. Americans believed their model was the right one, but not everyone agreed, and this is best shown in the struggle between Brazil and Portugal, especially since during part of the nineteenth century, the Portuguese monarch resided in Brazil and, in the end, the Brazilians chose a monarch over a president.
These struggles focus on both commercial changes and networks, as well as politics. Empires instituted a number of laws and edicts to limit trade, which then resulted in the growth of smuggling contraband. When the monarchy chose to lift some, if not all, of these restrictions, free trade prospered and smuggling died. This plays a crucial role in why history unfolds as it did in Brazil, as Reeder aptly demonstrates. He provides numerous examples of commodities, both illicit and legal, such as wine, sugar, gold, flour, and slaves. Aside from smugglers, pirates and privateers are also discussed, in particular those who sailed under letters of marque from the revolutionary leader José Gervasio Artigas. Since his government never acquired recognition from other nations, these men plied their trade in the murkiness of legal privateer or illegal pirate.
Scattered throughout the book are maps, graphs, tables, and illustrations to show points Reeder makes in the narrative. The Notes section provides citations for sources consulted or quoted, as well as additional information on particular topics mentioned in the main text. The extensive bibliography lists manuscript collections in Brazil, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States; newspapers and periodicals; primary sources; and published works. There is also an index.
Readers with a special interest in Brazil and its relationships with the early United States, as well as those seeking information on maritime commerce, will find this book particularly interesting. Those seeking a rousing account of maritime piracy and privateering may want to look elsewhere. Reeder does discuss both throughout the narrative, especially in chapter eight, and does mention North African corsairs (91) and the suppression of piracy in the 1820s (211), but his primary focus is on trade, traders, and trade networks and their effects on the shaping of Brazil as it strove toward independence. He does an excellent job of providing readers with a good understanding of the Monroe Doctrine and how it evolved.
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December 2, 2019
A Bottle of Rum by Steve Goble
A Bottle of Rum by Steve GobleMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Once forced into piracy in order to survive, master carpenter Spider John Rush has abandoned the sweet trade and seeks only to return to his wife and the son he’s never seen. Odin, a one-eyed pirate who once sailed with Blackbeard and Ned Low (or so he claims), accompanies him on the lam from the pirate-hunting Admiralty and navy-hunting press gangs. They’ve traveled incognito to Lymington, England where they repair Crosskeys tavern in exchange for room and board until they can find a ship to take them to Nantucket.
One evening in August 1723, they play chess for a bottle of rum. A woman screams, “Murder!” and unable to resist the lure of a puzzle, Spider John races upstairs. Odin’s for forgetting the whole affair, but Spider recognizes the knife sticking out of the proprietor’s neck. Bloody footprints lead him to the open window, where he spies a small man hobbling away into the darkness. Needing to know how the knife he fashioned found its victim and what happened to the friend he made it for, Spider John sets off in pursuit – which just makes him look guilty to the patrons who spy him holding the knife and escaping out the window.
As Spider John unravels this intricately woven tapestry of murder, the clues lead him to smugglers, a nasty associate from his past, a healer on a scientific quest, a house for troubled souls, and three women: a caretaker with access to poisoned rum, a pirate who’s determined to learn the true reason for his visit, and a young lady with a bizarre fascination with death. And let’s not forget his irrational fear of birds! It plays an important role in the story as well.
Although this story takes place entirely on land, pirates abound. There’s plenty of action reminiscent of swashbuckling battles at sea, as well as enough twists, turns, and red herrings to please any mystery lover who enjoys puzzles that require both brain and brawn to uncover the truth. The quirky and memorable characters are never commonplace nor do what’s expected. This third installment in the Spider John Mystery series is the best one yet.
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Swashbarklers of the Sea by Cynthia Kremsner
Swashbarklers of the Sea by Cynthia KremsnerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fearsome and bold Barkbeard has stolen a treasure belonging to swaggering dogs. With a mighty “Yo-ho!” they and their mates –a parrot, a monkey, rats, and you – sail after him to recover the loot. The journey takes them round Cape Horn where treacherous storms abound. Once Barkbeard’s vessel is sighted, it’s time to man the cannons and prepare to board. But what the swashbarklers find isn’t what they expect!
The lyrical poetry begs to be read aloud and young pirates will delight in adding their own rousing cheers and sound effects as the tale progresses. The artwork is colorful and large, perfect for young eyes that want to explore. The rats do steal the show once or twice, but in the end friendship melds them into a crew that works together on their high seas adventure. And don’t forget to read the glossary, too. The definitions aren’t quite what you expect and the piratey rhymes make it easy to remember what the words mean.
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