Mastering the Inland Seas

How Lighthouses, Navigational Aids, and Harbors Transformed the Great Lakes and America

De: Theodore J. Karamanski, Theodore Karamanski

Narrado por: Gary L Willprecht

Theodore J. Karamanski's sweeping maritime history demonstrates the far-ranging impact that the tools and infrastructure developed for navigating the Great Lakes had on the national economies, politics, and environment of continental North America. Synthesizing popular as well as original historical scholarship, Karamanski weaves a colorful narrative illustrating how disparate private and government interests transformed these vast and dangerous waters into the largest inland water transportation system in the world.

Karamanski explores both the navigational and sailing tools of First Nations peoples and the dismissive and foolhardy attitude of early European maritime sailors. He investigates the role played by commercial boats in the Underground Railroad, as well as how the federal development of crucial navigational resources exacerbated sectionalism in the antebellum United States. Ultimately Mastering the Inland Sea shows the undeniable environmental impact of technologies used by the modern commercial maritime industry. This expansive story illuminates the symbiotic relationship between infrastructure investment in the region's interconnected waterways and North America's lasting economic and political development.

The book is published by University of Wisconsin Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

©2020 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Magnificently researched and written with clarity and high energy...” (Robert Michael Morrissey, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign)

"Rare is the history book that belongs on the shelves of scholars and enthusiasts alike...this is such a book.” (CHOICE)

“Sparkling and vigorous narrative....” (Michigan in Books)