A maritime album - John Szarkowski

This fascinating book features 100 historical photographs selected, introduced, and explained by two preeminent figures in photography. Each photograph chronicles a fragment of the mariner's experience-shipbuilding, commercial fishing and whaling, deep-sea diving, naval encounters, and more.

"Each of these beautiful, informative and idiosyncratic photographs must be savored. When juxtaposed with Benson's extended captions, however, they become focal points through which readers can assess the relationship of our humanity to the rationalizations of our seafaring. . . . A moving testimonial to the exaltation and apprehension of human interaction with the sea. In fishermen's parlance, it's a keeper."-W. Jeffrey Bolster, New York Times Book Review

"This diverse selection explores the human relationship to the sea in an engaging combination of historical text and fascinating photos. . . . Each photo is arresting, whether for the story it tells or the beauty of the tones and forms within frame."-Cheryl Shugars, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Offers a capsule overview of an unfamiliar, vanishing world."-Douglas Baiz, Chicago Tribune

"The album allows the reader to relish the artistry of the visionaries behind the lenses. The lovely essay that accompanies each picture connects the reader to individual pieces of United States maritime history."-Susan L. Sweetnam, Christian Science Monitor