Maury's life, rising from the humble origins of a farming family in Virginia and then Tennessee, to a career as an internationally renowned scientist, is quite interesting, and generally well told by author Chester Hearn. Most scientists would feel their careers were a success if they made a few contributions to their area of science. Maury's genius invented two whole sciences: oceanography and marine astronomy. He significantly improved navigation by finding "tracks in the sea," the patterns which numerous currents and winds follow all over the globe. Perhaps because he sided with the Confederacy in the Civil War, he became a relatively obscure figure. Since he had an enduring influence on the human race's knowledge of the oceans, he deserves to be better known. This book will help, and is well worth reading.

This is a great book for anyone with an interest in or passion for sailing, navigation, mapping and charting or who holds an interest in the challenges of early explorers.

This book was not written by Bernard C. Nalty. It was written by Chester G. Hearn and to the best of my knowledge edited by Ray Bonds, who was the project manager.

When many people think of naval action in the Civil War, they likely think of the battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack. Ellet's Brigade is about the "brown water" action that took place around Vicksburg before and after the seige of that Confederate city. The brigade was run by a visionary, Charles Ellet, Jr., who believed the way to defeat the Confederate river navy was to use inexpensive, expendable rams. His thinking led to the Union victory at Memphis, where he was killed. After Ellet's death, no one knew what to do with the fleet of rams. Rear Admiral Porter, with the help of Ellet's relatives, developed a Marine unit and used the rams as part of a counter insurgency group against rebel guerrilla activities. Ultimately this effort failed, because there was no effective chain of command over the brigade. The brigade essentially ran itself and during the years following Memphis hurt the Union effort in the west as much as it helped it. Author Chester G. Hearn does a great job moving the story forward and documenting the facts. This is a good read and well worth any Civil War buff's time. I strongly recommend it.

Chester G Hearn's lavish book gives us an insight to the often waylaid naval battles of the American civil war.

The large format gives a good spread of illustrations as well as written history. Some of today's naval technology were first tried out in this conflict albeit in very primitive form.

The Submarine was first used with tragic consequenses as well as the dawn of the ironclad vessel with the now famous Monitor verses Virginia battle.

Tactics are well explained and a good map reference is provided.

So much media attention is given to the land battles of the war and it is good to see a nice big well laid out book that anyone can read.

I have always been fascinated with General Benjamin Butler both because of the story of his ill fated term as military governor of New Orleans during the Civil War and because of his physical image. The photographs always show someone who seems to be a grotesque characature of a human being rather than a real person, somehow appropriate for a man known as 'the Beast of New Orleans'. This book is significant not only for its detailed account of the conflicts and controversy that surrounded Butler during his time in New Orleans, but also for providing enough complementary material to see him as more than an evil abberation. The author does detail the evidence for Butler's depredations - his thefts, corruptions and overzelous application of lethal force - but also provides ample evidence that he was a complex and sometimes thoughtful person as well. In one case, he condemns a man to be hung because he had pulled down the union flag. The man's wife and children go to Butler to plead for his life. He refuses to stop the hanging but promises to be of whatever assistance he can be in the future. Years later the widow approaches him to say that she has been cheated by her lawyer out of her life savings and that she and her children are in jeapordy. Butler finds her a government job and, at his own expense, sees to the children's education. A very complex 'devil' indeed.

For those who enjoy new light cast upon old oversimplified history, this book is excellent. Well written and with a lot that is new to say, this book represents a chance to actually learn something new rahter than simply revisiting the old story.

Though well written, Hearn's book adds nothing new to our understanding of the New Orleans Campaign. His bibliography indicates that he did little research in primary sources, of which hundreds are available. He appears to have "borrowed" citations from the best book on the subject--Charles L. Dufour's _The Night the War Was Lost_. If you are interested in this campaign, read Dufour and don't bother with Hearn.

I beg to differ with the previous reviewer. Chester G. Hearn's writing is concise, interesting, and thorough, not to mention being a great read! I would highly recommend everything he's written, in fact, with the exception of "Rebels and Yankees: Naval Battles of the Civil War" (pub. Thunder Bay Press); that one is so uncharacteristically bad that I can only conclude that a lousy editor was involved. At any rate, this one on New Orleans is a keeper.

This book superficially covers the operations of the commerce destroyers of the Confederate State Navy during the American Civil War. For an historical work, this book is poorly organized. It bounces all over the place when it should have maintained chronological order. Moreover, the events discussed appear to have occurred in limbo. There is very little attempt to place them in context with other events of the period. Coverage seems accurate, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth. Sources are first rate and the the work is well documented.