James P. Delgado – författare

The ocean is humanity's largest battlefield. It is also our greatest graveyard. Resting in its depths lay the lost ships of war spanning the totality of human history. Many wrecks are nameless, others from more recent times are remembered, honored even, as are the battles they fought, like Actium, Trafalgar, Tsushima, Jutland, Pearl Harbor, and Midway. This book is a dramatic global tour of the vast underwater museum of lost warships. It is also an account of how underwater exploration has discovered them, resolving mysteries, adding to our understanding of the past, and providing intimate details of the life of war at sea. Arranged chronologically, the book begins with ancient times and the warships and battles of the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, the Chinese, and progresses through three thousand years to the lost ships of the Cold War. In bringing this violent past to life, James Delgado's approach is informed by scholarship, but it is not academic. Through his insights as an explorer, archaeologist, and story teller, Delgado provides a unique and idiosyncratic history of naval warfare, the evolution of its strategy and technology, and it critical impact on the past. From fallen triremes and galleons to dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, and nuclear submarines, this book vividly brings naval warfare to life.

The ocean is humanity''s largest battlefield. Resting in its depths lie the lost ships of war, spanning the totality of human history. Many wrecks are nameless, others from more recent times are remembered, honored even, as are the battles that claimed them, like Actium, Trafalgar, Tsushima, Jutland, Pearl Harbor, and Midway. Underwater exploration is increasingly discovering long-lost warships from the deepest parts of the ocean, revealing a vast undersea museum that speaks to battles won and lost, service, sacrifice, and the human costs of warfare. War at Sea is a dramatic global tour of this remote museum and other formerly lost traces of humanity''s naval heritage. It is also an account by the world''s leading naval archaeologist of how underwater exploration has discovered these remains, thus resolving mysteries, adding to our understanding of the past, and providing intimate details of the experience of naval warfare. Arranged chronologically, the book begins with the warships and battles of the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, and then progresses through three thousand years to the lost ships of the Cold War.James Delgado, who has personally explored, dived, and studied a number of the wrecks and sites in the book, provides insights as an explorer, archaeologist, and storyteller. The result is a unique and compelling history of naval warfare. From fallen triremes and galleons to dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, and nuclear submarines, this book vividly brings thousands of years of naval warfare to life.

The ocean is humanity''s largest battlefield. Resting in its depths lie the lost ships of war, spanning the totality of human history. Many wrecks are nameless, others from more recent times are remembered, honored even, as are the battles that claimed them, like Actium, Trafalgar, Tsushima, Jutland, Pearl Harbor, and Midway. Underwater exploration is increasingly discovering long-lost warships from the deepest parts of the ocean, revealing a vast undersea museum that speaks to battles won and lost, service, sacrifice, and the human costs of warfare. War at Sea is a dramatic global tour of this remote museum and other formerly lost traces of humanity''s naval heritage. It is also an account by the world''s leading naval archaeologist of how underwater exploration has discovered these remains, thus resolving mysteries, adding to our understanding of the past, and providing intimate details of the experience of naval warfare. Arranged chronologically, the book begins with the warships and battles of the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, and then progresses through three thousand years to the lost ships of the Cold War.James Delgado, who has personally explored, dived, and studied a number of the wrecks and sites in the book, provides insights as an explorer, archaeologist, and storyteller. The result is a unique and compelling history of naval warfare. From fallen triremes and galleons to dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, and nuclear submarines, this book vividly brings thousands of years of naval warfare to life.

A detailed and riveting account of the U.S. Navy's greatest mutiny and its wide-ranging cultural and historical impactThe greatest controversy in the history of the U.S. Navy of the early American Republic was the revelation that the son of the Secretary of War had seemingly plotted a bloody mutiny that would have turned the U.S. brig Somers into a pirate ship. The plot discovered, he and his co-conspirators were hastily condemned and hanged at sea. The repercussions of those acts brought headlines, scandal, a fistfight at a cabinet meeting, a court martial, ruined lives, lost reputations, and tales of a haunted ship “bound for the devil” and lost tragically at sea with many of its crew. The “Somers affair” led to the founding of the U.S. Naval Academy and it remains the Navy's only acknowledged mutiny in its history. The story also inspired Herman Melville's White-Jacket and Billy Budd. Others connected to the Somers included Commodore Perry, a relation and defender of the Somers' captain Mackenzie; James Fenimore Cooper, whose feud with the captain, dating back to the War of 1812, resurfaced in his reportage of the affair; and Raphael Semmes, the Somers' last caption who later served in the Confederate Navy. The Curse of the Somers is a thorough recreation of this classic tale, told with the help of recently uncovered evidence. Written by a maritime historian and archaeologist who helped identify the long-lost wreck and subsequently studied its sunken remains, this is a timeless tale of life and death at sea. James P. Delgado re-examines the circumstances, drawing from a rich historical record and from the investigation of the ship's sunken remains. What surfaces is an all-too-human tale that resonates and chills across the centuries.

A detailed and riveting account of the U.S. Navy''s greatest mutiny and its wide-ranging cultural and historical impactThe greatest controversy in the history of the U.S. Navy of the early American Republic was the revelation that the son of the Secretary of War had seemingly plotted a bloody mutiny that would have turned the U.S. brig Somers into a pirate ship. The plot discovered, he and his co-conspirators were hastily condemned and hanged at sea. The repercussions of those acts brought headlines, scandal, a fistfight at a cabinet meeting, a court martial, ruined lives, lost reputations, and tales of a haunted ship "bound for the devil" and lost tragically at sea with many of its crew. The "Somers affair" led to the founding of the U.S. Naval Academy and it remains the Navy''s only acknowledged mutiny in its history. The story also inspired Herman Melville''s White-Jacket and Billy Budd. Others connected to the Somers included Commodore Perry, a relation and defender of the Somers'' captain Mackenzie; James Fenimore Cooper, whose feud with the captain, dating back to the War of 1812, resurfaced in his reportage of the affair; and Raphael Semmes, the Somers'' last caption who later served in the Confederate Navy. The Curse of the Somers is a thorough recreation of this classic tale, told with the help of recently uncovered evidence. Written by a maritime historian and archaeologist who helped identify the long-lost wreck and subsequently studied its sunken remains, this is a timeless tale of life and death at sea. James P. Delgado re-examines the circumstances, drawing from a rich historical record and from the investigation of the ship''s sunken remains. What surfaces is an all-too-human tale that resonates and chills across the centuries.

A detailed and riveting account of the U.S. Navy''s greatest mutiny and its wide-ranging cultural and historical impactThe greatest controversy in the history of the U.S. Navy of the early American Republic was the revelation that the son of the Secretary of War had seemingly plotted a bloody mutiny that would have turned the U.S. brig Somers into a pirate ship. The plot discovered, he and his co-conspirators were hastily condemned and hanged at sea. The repercussions of those acts brought headlines, scandal, a fistfight at a cabinet meeting, a court martial, ruined lives, lost reputations, and tales of a haunted ship "bound for the devil" and lost tragically at sea with many of its crew. The "Somers affair" led to the founding of the U.S. Naval Academy and it remains the Navy''s only acknowledged mutiny in its history. The story also inspired Herman Melville''s White-Jacket and Billy Budd. Others connected to the Somers included Commodore Perry, a relation and defender of the Somers'' captain Mackenzie; James Fenimore Cooper, whose feud with the captain, dating back to the War of 1812, resurfaced in his reportage of the affair; and Raphael Semmes, the Somers'' last caption who later served in the Confederate Navy. The Curse of the Somers is a thorough recreation of this classic tale, told with the help of recently uncovered evidence. Written by a maritime historian and archaeologist who helped identify the long-lost wreck and subsequently studied its sunken remains, this is a timeless tale of life and death at sea. James P. Delgado re-examines the circumstances, drawing from a rich historical record and from the investigation of the ship''s sunken remains. What surfaces is an all-too-human tale that resonates and chills across the centuries.

The ocean is humanity's largest battlefield. Resting in its depths lie the lost ships of war, spanning the totality of human history. Many wrecks are nameless, others from more recent times are remembered, honored even, as are the battles that claimed them, like Actium, Trafalgar, Tsushima, Jutland, Pearl Harbor, and Midway. Underwater exploration is increasingly discovering long-lost warships from the deepest parts of the ocean, revealing a vast undersea museum that speaks to battles won and lost, service, sacrifice, and the human costs of warfare. War at Sea is a dramatic global tour of this remote museum and other formerly lost traces of humanity's naval heritage. It is also an account by the world's leading naval archaeologist of how underwater exploration has discovered these remains, thus resolving mysteries, adding to our understanding of the past, and providing intimate details of the experience of naval warfare. Arranged chronologically, the book begins with the warships and battles of the ancient Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, and then progresses through three thousand years to the lost ships of the Cold War.James Delgado, who has personally explored, dived, and studied a number of the wrecks and sites in the book, provides insights as an explorer, archaeologist, and storyteller. The result is a unique and compelling history of naval warfare. From fallen triremes and galleons to dreadnoughts, aircraft carriers, and nuclear submarines, this book vividly brings thousands of years of naval warfare to life.

An immersive dive into the meaning and mystique of shipwrecksThe sea is the largest museum on earth, with more than a million lost ships resting in its depths. Those shipwrecks date back thousands of years, some from civilizations long vanished, others from more recent history. Some are famous, others obscure and unremembered but each has a story to tell. In The Great Museum of the Sea, archaeologist, museum director, television host, journalist, and award-winning author James Delgado takes the reader on a personal tour of the world's wrecks, including many of the more than a hundred lost ships he has personally discovered and investigated, including Titanic, USS Arizona, and the slave ship Clotilda. The Great Museum of the Sea vividly explains how and why ships experience catastrophe at sea, and why their remains have captured our imagination for millennia. Shipwrecks engage us in many ways--we treat them as tombs, but also recover them for museums and memorials, and salvage them for treasure. Authoritative and informed by decades of shipwreck expeditions, Delgado's account offers an insider's perspective, taking the reader into the deep and behind the scenes.

An immersive dive into the meaning and mystique of shipwrecksThe sea is the largest museum on earth, with more than a million lost ships resting in its depths. Those shipwrecks date back thousands of years, some from civilizations long vanished, others from more recent history. Some are famous, others obscure and unremembered but each has a story to tell. In The Great Museum of the Sea, archaeologist, museum director, television host, journalist, and award-winning author James Delgado takes the reader on a personal tour of the world's wrecks, including many of the more than a hundred lost ships he has personally discovered and investigated, including Titanic, USS Arizona, and the slave ship Clotilda. The Great Museum of the Sea vividly explains how and why ships experience catastrophe at sea, and why their remains have captured our imagination for millennia. Shipwrecks engage us in many ways--we treat them as tombs, but also recover them for museums and memorials, and salvage them for treasure. Authoritative and informed by decades of shipwreck expeditions, Delgado's account offers an insider's perspective, taking the reader into the deep and behind the scenes.

An immersive dive into the meaning and mystique of shipwrecksThe sea is the largest museum on earth, with more than a million lost ships resting in its depths. Those shipwrecks date back thousands of years, some from civilizations long vanished, others from more recent history. Some are famous, others obscure and unremembered but each has a story to tell. In The Great Museum of the Sea, archaeologist, museum director, television host, journalist, and award-winning author James Delgado takes the reader on a personal tour of the world's wrecks, including many of the more than a hundred lost ships he has personally discovered and investigated, including Titanic, USS Arizona, and the slave ship Clotilda. The Great Museum of the Sea vividly explains how and why ships experience catastrophe at sea, and why their remains have captured our imagination for millennia. Shipwrecks engage us in many ways--we treat them as tombs, but also recover them for museums and memorials, and salvage them for treasure. Authoritative and informed by decades of shipwreck expeditions, Delgado's account offers an insider's perspective, taking the reader into the deep and behind the scenes.

Described as a 'forest of masts', San Francisco's Gold Rush waterfront was a floating economy of ships and wharves, where a dazzling array of global goods was traded and transported. Drawing on excavations in buried ships and collapsed buildings from this period, James P. Delgado re-creates San Francisco's unique maritime landscape, shedding new light on the city's remarkable rise from a small village to a boomtown of thousands in the three short years from 1848 to 1851. Gleaning history from artifacts - preserves and liquors in bottles, leather boots and jackets, hulls of ships, even crocks of butter lying alongside discarded guns - "Gold Rush Port" paints a fascinating picture of how ships and global connections created the port and the city of San Francisco. Setting the city's history into the wider web of international relationships, Delgado reshapes our understanding of developments in the Pacific that led to a world system of trading.

In its 11,000 year human history, the Isthmus of Panamá has been dominated by its relationship to the sea and the rivers that feed it. A unique marine environment, the land bridge shaped its inhabitants’ activities, and those inhabitants shaped the Isthmus—from harvesting resources to physically transforming the land to link two oceans. This seminal work explores this intersection between people and the environment, mining the archaeological and ethnological record created during the formation and development of Panamá''s maritime cultural landscape.Assessing sites both submerged and on land, the authors explore the maritime history of the isthmus through its many stages: from its prehistoric period through Spanish colonialism to the building of the canal and its function as a route for modern-day maritime traffic. Combining archaeology, history, geography, and economic history, this volume situates Panamá''s canal and isthmus in the global economy and world maritime culture, while providing a more complex understanding of human adaptation and the persistence of culture.

This book tells the story of the steamship Robert J. Walker, an early coastal survey ship for the agency that would later become the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), that sank with loss of 21 crew off the coast of New Jersey in 1860. The wreck was a frequent stop for divers and anglers before it was identified by a team of researchers in 2013. Here, leaders in the documentation efforts describe the history of the ship and the archaeology of the shipwreck, emphasizing the collaborative community participation that made the project successful.James Delgado and Stephen Nagiewicz highlight the contributions of government archaeologists from NOAA as well as local divers from varying backgrounds. Although such groups are not typically known for working together, they united to achieve the shared goal of mapping and interpreting this historically significant shipwreck. Delgado and Nagiewicz show how incorporating local knowledge both improves archaeological work and empowers community members as stakeholders, inspiring residents to promote their maritime heritage.With Contributions from Vincent J. Capone, Matthew S. Lawrence, Dan Lieb, Deborah E. Marx, Lisa J. Stansbury, Peter F. Straub, and Albert E. Theberge

This book tells the story of the steamship Robert J. Walker, an early coastal survey ship for the agency that would later become the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), that sank with loss of 21 crew off the coast of New Jersey in 1860. The wreck was a frequent stop for divers and anglers before it was identified by a team of researchers in 2013. Here, leaders in the documentation efforts describe the history of the ship and the archaeology of the shipwreck, emphasizing the collaborative community participation that made the project successful.James Delgado and Stephen Nagiewicz highlight the contributions of government archaeologists from NOAA as well as local divers from varying backgrounds. Although such groups are not typically known for working together, they united to achieve the shared goal of mapping and interpreting this historically significant shipwreck. Delgado and Nagiewicz show how incorporating local knowledge both improves archaeological work and empowers community members as stakeholders, inspiring residents to promote their maritime heritage.With Contributions from Vincent J. Capone, Matthew S. Lawrence, Dan Lieb, Deborah E. Marx, Lisa J. Stansbury, Peter F. Straub, and Albert E. Theberge.

Documents the maritime historical research and archaeological fieldwork used to identify the wreck of the notorious schooner ClotildaClotilda: The History and Archaeology of the Last Slave Ship is the first definitive work to examine the maritime historical and archaeological record of one of the most infamous ships in American history. Clotilda was owned by Alabama businessman Timothy Meaher, who, on a dare, equipped it to carry captured Africans from what is now Benin and bring them to Alabama in 1860—some fifty years after the import of captives to be enslaved was banned. To hide the evidence, Clotilda was set afire and sunk.What remained was a substantially intact, submerged, and partially buried shipwreck located in a backwater of the Mobile River. The site of the wreck was an open secret to some people who knew Meaher, but its identity remained unknown for more than a century as various surveys through the years failed to locate the ship.This volume, authored by the archaeological team who conducted a comprehensive, systematic survey of a forgotten “ship graveyard,” details the exhaustive forensic work that conclusively identified the wreck, as well as the stories and secrets that have emerged from the partly burned hulk. James P. Delgado and his coauthors discuss the various searches for Clotilda, sharing the forensic data and other analyses showing how those involved concluded that this wreck was indeed Clotilda. Additionally, they offer physical evidence not previously shared that situates the schooner and its voyage in a larger context of the slave trade.Clotilda: The History and Archaeology of the Last Slave Ship serves as a nautical biography of the ship as well. After reviewing the maritime trade in and out of Mobile Bay, this account places Clotilda within the larger landscape of American and Gulf of Mexico schooners and chronicles its career before being used as a slave ship. All of its voyages had a link to slavery, and one may have been another smuggling voyage in violation of federal law. The authors have also painstakingly reconstructed Clotilda’s likely appearance and characteristics.

Documents the maritime historical research and archaeological fieldwork used to identify the wreck of the notorious schooner Clotilda Clotilda: The History and Archaeology of the Last Slave Ship is the first definitive work to examine the maritime historical and archaeological record of one of the most infamous ships in American history. Clotilda was owned by Alabama businessman Timothy Meaher, who, on a dare, equipped it to carry captured Africans from what is now Benin and bring them to Alabama in 1860—some fifty years after the import of captives to be enslaved was banned. To hide the evidence, Clotilda was set afire and sunk. What remained was a substantially intact, submerged, and partially buried shipwreck located in a backwater of the Mobile River. The site of the wreck was an open secret to some people who knew Meaher, but its identity remained unknown for more than a century as various surveys through the years failed to locate the ship. This volume, authored by the archaeological team who conducted a comprehensive, systematic survey of a forgotten “ship graveyard,” details the exhaustive forensic work that conclusively identified the wreck, as well as the stories and secrets that have emerged from the partly burned hulk. James P. Delgado and his coauthors discuss the various searches for Clotilda, sharing the forensic data and other analyses showing how those involved concluded that this wreck was indeed Clotilda. Additionally, they offer physical evidence not previously shared that situates the schooner and its voyage in a larger context of the slave trade. Clotilda: The History and Archaeology of the Last Slave Ship serves as a nautical biography of the ship as well. After reviewing the maritime trade in and out of Mobile Bay, this account places Clotilda within the larger landscape of American and Gulf of Mexico schooners and chronicles its career before being used as a slave ship. All of its voyages had a link to slavery, and one may have been another smuggling voyage in violation of federal law. The authors have also painstakingly reconstructed Clotilda’s likely appearance and characteristics.

In 2001, while vacationing on Panama’s Pacific coast, maritime archaeologist James P. Delgado came upon the hulk of a mysterious iron vessel, revealed by the ebbing tides in a small cove at Isla San Telmo. Local inquiries proved inconclusive: the wreck was described as everything from a sunken Japanese "suicide" submarine from World War II to a poison-laden "craft of death" that was responsible for the ruin of the pearl beds, decades before. His professional interest fully aroused, Delgado would go on to learn that the wreck was the remains of one of the first successful deep-diving submersibles, built in 1864 by Julius H. Kroehl, an innovator and entrepreneur who initially sought to develop his invention for military use during the Civil War. The craft’s completion coming too late for that conflict, Kroehl subsequently convinced investors that it could be used to harvest pearls from the Pacific beds off Panama, in waters too deep for native pearl divers to reach. In Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine, Delgado chronicles the confluence of technological advancement, entrepreneurial aspiration, American capitalist ambition, and ignorance of the physiological effects of deep diving. As he details the layers of knowledge uncovered by his work both in archival sources and in the field excavation of Kroehl’s ill-fated vessel, Delgado weaves the tangled threads of history into a compelling narrative. This finely crafted saga will fascinate and inform professional archaeologists and researchers, naval historians, students and aficionados of maritime exploration, and interested general readers.

“One of the last remaining and persistent mysteries of the Pearl Harbor attack is that of the Japanese Midget Submarines. It is a fascinating story of innovation, courage, secrets, and failed expectations. And it is not only a story of the morning hours of December 7, but of the years before to develop these weapons and the years after, where they were deployed in the great Pacific War and how they fared as weapons of war.”These words by Daniel J. Basta, Director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, from the foreword of this manuscript, capture both the essence and the impact of this work, assembled by James P. Delgado and his coauthors. Th e authors have combed the records of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the recollections of its veterans as well as US Department of Defense archives. They have logged hours of direct observation and research on the mini-subs in their final resting places, in some cases more than 1,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific. And in the end, they have woven a tapestry of scholarship, historical sleuthing, scientific insight, and good storytelling that will enthrall specialists and history buff s alike.

At once fascinating and horrific, this book details the conception, development and impact of the atomic bombs infamously dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.The obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 brought the world to a stand still. This unimaginable shock confirmed to the world that the race to develop a working atomic weapon during World War II had been won by the American-led international effort.Horrific and controversial even today, these first uses of the atomic bomb had intense ramifications not only on the continued development of the bomb, but also on politics and popular culture.As well as the technological development, historian James Delgado also examines how the US Army Air Force had to develop the capacity to deliver the weapons, and examines the sites where development and testing took place, in order to give a comprehensive history of the dawning of the nuclear age.

At once fascinating and horrific, this book details the conception, development and impact of the atomic bombs infamously dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.The obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 brought the world to a stand still. This unimaginable shock confirmed to the world that the race to develop a working atomic weapon during World War II had been won by the American-led international effort.Horrific and controversial even today, these first uses of the atomic bomb had intense ramifications not only on the continued development of the bomb, but also on politics and popular culture.As well as the technological development, historian James Delgado also examines how the US Army Air Force had to develop the capacity to deliver the weapons, and examines the sites where development and testing took place, in order to give a comprehensive history of the dawning of the nuclear age.

''Silent Killers is a triumph that is educational as well as highly entertaining.'' - Clive CusslerJames P. Delgado, President and CEO of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, presents a detailed and visually stunning examination of the history and development of the modern nuclear submarine.Calling on his training as a nautical archaeologist who was among the first explorers to dive the Titanic, Delgado recreates the story of the submarine from the bottom up – that is through eerie photographs of subs at the bottom of the sea.In addition, he explores submarine technology, from wooden to iron to steel hulls, from hand-cranked to nuclear-powered propulsion, from candlelight to electricity, from gunpowder ''torpedoes'' to nuclear missiles.An esteemed underwater archaeologist and marine historian, Jim Delgado has compiled an extraordinary history of the dragons of the deep.

''Silent Killers is a triumph that is educational as well as highly entertaining.'' - Clive CusslerJames P. Delgado, President and CEO of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology, presents a detailed and visually stunning examination of the history and development of the modern nuclear submarine.Calling on his training as a nautical archaeologist who was among the first explorers to dive the Titanic, Delgado recreates the story of the submarine from the bottom up – that is through eerie photographs of subs at the bottom of the sea.In addition, he explores submarine technology, from wooden to iron to steel hulls, from hand-cranked to nuclear-powered propulsion, from candlelight to electricity, from gunpowder ''torpedoes'' to nuclear missiles.An esteemed underwater archaeologist and marine historian, Jim Delgado has compiled an extraordinary history of the dragons of the deep.