There was a time, back when the United States was young and the robber barons were just starting to come into their own, when fortunes were made and lost importing luxury goods from China. 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 back home to New York could take six agonizing months, and so the most pressing technological challenge...

This is the most comprehensive book ever to be published on the sailing men-of-war of the United States Navy. The sailing-ship era of our Navy was highly picturesque and most important. It was an era that saw the founding of the United States, its development as a naval and maritime power, the foundation of a national maritime policy, and the establishment of the great and enduring traditions of the Navy. Mr. Chapelle here presents a full story of...