The poems in OCEANS OF LOVE: TO US FROM US are proud and uplifting, dripping with respect and admiration for the black race. "We as people, are Black, Beautiful, Proud, Diverse and Intelligent." Her poems encourage African Americans to embrace their culture, strive to uplift the race, make a difference in society, break disastrous cycles, and shed oppressive behavior. Black love and self-love are recurring themes that the author spreads throughout the book. She also impresses the importance of political awareness in the African American community. "...Think out of the box. Find our loud voice. Create some prosperous strategy, with unlimited choice...Gather our voices and energize our political clout..." Lastly, she encourages African Americans not to become complacent, and to be prepared for a lukewarm society by getting an education.

These positive poems are reflective, motivating, and profound. You can carry this book of poems in your purse or satchel, and pull them out when you need to hear a voice that respects you, has confidence in you, and understands your struggles. You can give this book of poems to your children, young impressionable black males, or your grandparents because there is a word of encouragement for every generation.

Reviewed by KaTrina Love (MissLove)
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

"I really enjoyed reading her book of poetry which brought back many memories of the past and how far we've come as African American people. We are loving people and it will take love to heal all wounds. I congratulate you, Dee, on such a beautiful work," says fellow poet Dianne M. Hicks.

Here I'll consider the stories organized by author rather than order within the book.

Edghill, Rosemary: At six, when Mykene first showed awareness of the dolphin songs in the water, the Pilot's Guild took her as an apprentice "Child of Ocean". The story's in braided format, the past-thread showing her selection and learning the significance of the pilot's voyage-token drawn secretly by lot, and the present when her "luck" has run out. [Good as far as it goes, but the ending isn't a complete resolution.]

Grubb, James: "Catch of the Day" In a world - the future? - where some catastrophe drowned much of the world under perpetual cloud cover, humanity lives on scattered mountaintops, and ships sail the clouds. The scholar August Gold wishes to test ancient legends speaking of dragons, "fishing" for them by trailing a bait to tempt their territorial hearts.

Huff, Tanya: "Oh, Glorious Sight" Zoane Cabatto - now John Cabot - is obsessed with leading an expedition to the New World. He's almost unaware of the wild-animal kid he casually rescued from a beating on an English dock, and gave a place on board. Everyone but he can see young Tam's devotion and hear his music, wasted on this man looking ever over the horizon and never at wonders nearer home.

Kupfer, Allen C.: "The Sir Walter Raleigh Conspiracy" - from the diary of Robert Defoe, writing in fear for his life: an impoverished attorney ordered by James I to 'defend' Sir Walter in a secret trial in the Tower - giving a veneer of legality to the necessary death of one who chose to go native in Guiana rather than remain loyal to the established order. But everyone connected with Raleigh's imprisonment seems to be dying horribly, although he's in solitary confinement and appears insane.

Kupperberg, Paul: Since Atlantis' founding, Thalis has been her highest-ranking mage-priest - and since her people have spurned their gods for science, seems doomed to be last as well as first. Thalis, however, ventures forth to "Walk Upon the Waters" one last time - 'I do not presume to speak for the gods. I must go and ask them.' Most of the remaining story is spent in memory. [An anti-science slant (particularly with *no* attempt at rationale) is guaranteed to irritate me, and Kupperberg's world-building is too thin for the short-story format.]

Murray, Frieda A.: "The Winds They Did Blow High" Setting: an alternate early-19th-century England, where the narrator listens to Captain Northcott's tale of his magical confrontation with a French fleet. (Even without magic, the history's a little different, but magic has been mostly kept out of naval warfare up to the narrative present because it erodes discipline: superior officers and subordinates both mistrust wind-whistling and wave-singing, and tend to blame all problems on any nearby practitioner.)

Odom, Mel: "The Colossus of Mahrass" occupies a full quarter of the book. As in 'Smoker' (_Vengeance Fantastic_), the protagonist - the privateer Captain Jaelik - opens the story with a character-revealing barroom brawl, although in this case the revelation is that he's spoiling for a fight, any fight, despite the fact that he's looking for a good exorcist to deal with a ghost only he can see. (His sidekick figures 1) maybe the captain got one too many blows to the head or bad batches of rum, 2) that Jaelik, not he, is spoiling for a fight with the 7-foot-tall Deathwatch guard, so 3) he, Alff, is going to have a drink.)

Ordover, John J: "The Devil and Captain Briggs" - the captain of the _Mary Celeste_, mysteriously left drifting with no explanation. But if Father Dominicus hadn't destroyed a certain manuscript left behind by a survivor unknown to the world, the mystery would be only a footnote in an even more famous story.

Patton, Fiona: "The Sacred Waters of Kane" Makani's friend Kai is gifted at reading signs written in wind and wave, but his teacher openly doubts whether he has the discipline to be kahuna kilo - and Kai sets out to prove how spectacularly correct old Alaula is. As Makani says, "You're going to risk your life to harvest a night-growing plant in haunted waters for [mythical] kahuna...because you haven't the patience to listen to Alaula instead of fighting with him?" (The specific setting is near Peahi on Maui.)

Reichert, Mickey Zucker: As the price of passage aboard _Salty Rainbow_, priest-mage Alzon swore to use no magic while aboard - a vow binding him no matter *what* happens, on pain of losing his magic. So when sacrificed to become "The Sea God's Servant", Alzon is trapped, his freedom in pawn to his magic.

Resnick, Mike and Gerencer, Tom: "Ocean's Eleven" The North Atlantic recently vanished from its bed, but it was voluntary; after trying 10 other jobs, it has sought out Bob Zellinski at Intellitemp Employment Services. "I was an ocean 200000000 years ago. I was an ocean 5000 years ago. I was an ocean last Tuesday. There's no advancement."

Rusch, Kristine Kathryn: The narrator, serving as intelligence officer aboard a battleship in the Pacific fleet, was in a better position than any to answer a pirate ghost's demand for a crewman as "Tribute": as censor, he'd literally read the hearts of every man aboard.

Ward, James M.: "Midshipwizard" Blithe is green as grass, on his first ship, a half-living dragonship of the Royal Navy in this Hornblower-like setting. But someone aboard tried to sabotage the ship by poisoning its heart soon after he came aboard - and the magic he used to save it violated one of this navy's equivalent of the 39 articles: a court-martial, capital offense.

This book definitely makes my top ten list. Some of these stories really made me stop to think. Once I started "Oceans of Magic" I just couldn't put it down. To quote the critic of Stephen King, "This book will make you stay up past your bedtime". I hope that you all pick up this book and once you do I dare you to try and put it down. It will be a spellbinding experience, promise.

This book is much more comprehensive than William Miller's, "German Ocean Liners of the 20th Century", although the information is much less organized. It's less expensive as well. William Miller's book has gorgeous artwork and pictures, but it seems his preeminace as ship historian as made him rather blase. This book is much better for reasearch, although both are still a decade out of date. It does not solve the mystery of why the Germans sold the beautiful 1980 Europa and built the misproportioned 1997 version. The multitude of well shot photos, as well as the fact that many are appearing for the first time, make up for not being as pretty as Mr. Miller's work. Definately worth the time to acquiant yourself with one of the most important but underrated passenger marines of the past two centuries.

I love book on Passenger Linrs from all over the world and I find the book helpful when looking a ships that is listed in the book and I love the book very much

The Grateful Dead will have to forgive me for borrowing a line of theirs, but it came to mind after finishing this metaphysical tale by Marryat. I've read many of his action-packed sea adventures, but none of them really prepared me for what he has in store for the reader of "The Phantom Ship."

Where to start? There's young Philip Vanderdecken, who pledges his soul to redeem the sins of his father, who committed murder on the high seas and is thus condemned to eternally ply the stormy oceans until his son can track him down (no mean feat considering the father is something akin to a ghostly spirit), and provide the blasphemous father with the only means of achieving redemption....that is, to kiss a holy relic of the Cross. Whew!

I'm not sure Marryat was at the height of his narrative powers when he penned this sad, strange tale. Frankly, the story line gets, if you will forgive the pun, a bit choppy. But Marryat can be forgiven. What he has to say about the uneasy juxtaposition of traditional Catholicism and Middle Eastern spiritualism has a certain poignancy. So, too, does the depiction of men corroded through and through by their insatiable lust for gold.

Strangely, despite all of the tragedies (and there are many), I for one was not really moved by some very horrific events, which is not to say that there are no moving moments in this 300+ page novel. Surely, the story of Philip's heroic wife, Amine, will touch even the most insulated heart. But, perhaps, in Marryat's effort to narrate so many metaphysical twists and turns, he may have sacrificed a bit of good old fashioned human drama.

I will say, however, that there are parts that may scare the heck out of you. In one scene, Philip is sailing in the South Seas with his faithful companion, Krantz, who relates a childhood story that will make your flesh crawl. Not for the faint hearted.

The revival of the 19th Century Marryat novels is tied in no small way to the success of Patrick O'Brian. It is tempting, therefore, to draw at least one small contrast between the two. Both authors provide their readers with plenty of morality. The difference, of course, is that Marryat's morality is fairly straight forward and unambiguous, as in "The Phantom Ship." O'Brian's "morality" is of an entirely different dimension.

I wouldn't say "The Phantom Ship" is a must-read, even for Marryat fans. But, still a worthwhile diversion. I just wouldn't start out on this voyage if you're looking for an uplifting, heart-warming story. That is not to be found here. This is a voyage with no return.

Once upon a time, somewhere in the middle of the XVII century, Mynheer Captain Vanderdecken defied God and brought a curse of the Heavens on himself and his crew, to sail in doom and suffering until the Day of Judgment, bringing despair and death to encountered seamen, unless the holy relic is offered to him, for that is the only chance of forgiveness for Captain Vanderdecken. The phantom ship thus haunts the Cape, later to be know as the Cape of Hope, at the southern outskirts of Africa, but of course, since it's no longer of this earth, it may appear anywhere at the wild seas, serving as a fatal prophecy of disaster. The captain's wife keeps the secret to herself, until one day her son is grown enough to make a decision to go to sea. Frightened out of her wits, the widow reveals the secret, and thus Philip Vanderdecken learns that his fate, his destiny, is to find his doomed father and salvage his soul from eternal hell. And so begins the most revered nautical tale of adventure, a literary account of the Flying Dutchman legend, written by Captain Marryat, the man who spent the best years of his life at the seas in the service of the United Kingdom. Written in the first half of the XIX century, when the literary form of the novel was in its toddler stage, "The Phantom Ship" is astoundingly modern in expression, although the language is often very ancient. Together with the protagonists, we sail around the Cape, we travel around the globe through the Magellan straits dividing the savage land of Patagonia from Terra del Fuego, the door to the Antarctic; in a never-ending series of breathtaking adventures we discover the nautical world of the XVII century, where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans with the surrounding shores were the battlefield where Portugal, Holland, Spain and England fought for domination. Despite the fact that this text will soon be two hundred years old, I can guarantee that you will read this novel more than once, simply because good adventure never gets old, and the ancient world of wooden ships is as enchanting as ever. And then there are the historical and theological aspects of the book. Needless to say, in the mid XVII century the Holy Inquisition was at the peak of its power. "The Phantom Ship", the mythical tale of the Flying Dutchman, is also contextually rich, and offers a plausible, though grim, portrayal of the times. The books is thus serious, analytical, well-researched, and enriched by the author's personal experiences - in addition to the invariably entertaining and often horrifying tale of the cursed ship. The century which just passed was the century of the imperfect man, with atrocities and weaknesses in the spotlight, and it's indeed refreshing to read a novel where it's a perfectly natural phenomenon that all things are in place, men were men and women weren't; and the words, terms and descriptions hadn't lost their original meaning yet. This novel is guaranteed to entertain, do not hesitate to pick it up.

I first became interested in the "pre-Columbian exploration" problem in college, back in the early '60s, and I've been reading in the field ever since -- and also collecting published works and building a bibliography. What got my attention, actually, was not so much the question of whether or not Europeans (or Phoenicians, or Africans, or the Chinese) visited or explored or colonized the Western Hemisphere before 1492 -- though I do find that a fascinating problem -- but rather the open warfare in the historical profession between the diffusionists and the "independent development" people on this issue. Historians who on any other problem could disagree, state their reasons, and go on to the next point of debate, become dogmatic and vitriolic over the question of whether Columbus was the first or simply the latest non-Amerind to wander to the New World -- what has been called the NEBC, or "No Europeans Before Columbus" principle. When I first heard about this massive bibliography, I was two minds: I wanted to see what had been published that I might have missed, but I also had had vague thoughts of publishing such a work myself some day, perhaps accompanied by an extended essay on the history of the historiographical brouhaha. On the other hand, these two volumes cover more than 5,100 books, articles, and papers, and my own list includes "only" a little more than half that number, so I doublt I'll ever catch up.

The first thing I noticed, though, is that Research Press is the publishing arm of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. We all know that the Latter-Day Saints take as an article of faith the ancient migration of certain Israelite groups to the Americas, even considering them the progenitors of the American "Indians" (against all anthropological sense, I have to add), so is there a predisposition here to one side of the argument? Well, having worked my way through the majority of the annotations, I'm relieved to say that does not appear to be the case -- even though the authors were at BYU when they began this project. The coverage and the annotatations both seem evenly balanced.

While the annotations themselves vary greatly in length, detail, and utility, they don't seem to left out any books that I am familiar with, except for those 19th century publications which apparently don't meet the current standards of scholarship (but which are of interest to me for different reasons, as noted above). They even included what they call "weird" publications, though passing on Atlantis and VanDanikenesque speculations (which is okay by me). They do say they deliberately excluded newspaper articles because of the difficulty of locating copies -- though I have scores of photocopies in my files from the popular press over the past 150 years, mostly obtained with no difficulty though Inter-Library Loan.

My major complaint with this project, and I say this as a professional book-indexer and editor of two decades' experience, is the very poor index. Sorenson goes to some length in describing how they compiled it (with their word processing software, apparently), but he seems not to understand the difference between "index" and "concordance." Using such terms as "Mexico" and "transpacific" and "diffusion," and then following each with as many as several hundred undifferentiated locators is pretty useless. Since the annotatations themselves are arranged strictly by author, not subject, this is even more of a problem for the user. I could also wish there were a title index.

This carefully annotated work from an archaeological perspective complements and well surpasses other work such as that of the historian Fingerhut. The discussion of individual texts is even-handed, and the compilers do not unfairly push their point of view (though it shows through). This two-volume work is well organized and easy to use.

While this relatively specialized book might be a bit pricey for public libraries, it is an important corrective to the fantasy about pre-Columbian contacts that is on most public library's shelves. For the academic library with any pretense to serious coverage of New World archaeology, it is a must.

A Private Revenge continues the series as a direct extension from its predecessor In Distant Waters. Drinkwater proceeds from the conclusion of In Distant Waters by crossing the Pacific and contacting Sir Edward Pellew off the Asian coast. Drinkwater also comes into contact with his nemesis of several novels beginning with The Eye of the Fleet, Morris, who is one of the vilest creatures in the genre. Drinkwater, who is a decent man, fails to understand the lasting grudge that Morris holds for events nearly 30 years previous. His lack of understanding leads to deception and tragedy. For followers of the series who have become attached to the characters, this episode will be painful. A Private Revenge contains action, suspense and Woodman's excellent descriptions of time, place and naval details. However, it is perhaps the darkest novel that I have read of the Napoleonic naval genre. The series has always had strong gothic elements but this entry is the darkest. It's hard to believe but Morris is even viler than in earlier novels. Morris' desire for revenge drives the plot and leads to a bloody climax. The writing is up to Woodman's excellent standards but A Private Revenge is a very grim novel. It's only for the hardiest series enthusiasts.

After battling a typhoon and rescuing an East Indiaman, Nat arrives in China, where Britain is no longer welcome and she has to decamp, covering her losses as best she can, so Nat is put in charge of the defence of the convoy.
The vile, venal Morris (see Eye of the Fleet & Brig of War) rears his ugly head again, but with no apparent agenda in mind, other than the recovery of several thousands of specie. But his presence on board, along with his catamite, greatly disturbs Nat, as well as Mr.Q and Tregembo, wondering when and how he will wreak the revenge he has sworn on Nat.
Sabotage, treachery, kidnap and torture follow as the depths of Morris's depravity become horrifically clear, revealing more would be a spoiler.

As usual, excellent descriptions and tension-building make the pages fly by - and there are the author's notes to add plausability to the tale.

Anson's famous (and mostly disastrous) voyage, told in detail. An excellent exposition of many aspects of the Royal Navy 50 years before Trafalgar; mutiny, scurvy, provisioning, fearful conditions. Good for anyone who like O'Brian or Forester.

Anson's circumnavigation of the world in the early 1740s was an upshot of that strange Anglo-Spanish conflict we now call the "War of Jenkins' Ear." The master plan of the Admiralty was to capture the entire west coast of South America, including modern day Chile, Peru and Panama. Bizarrely, this plan was to be effected by a small fleet of wormy old boats populated, in the main, by press-ganged sailors and pensioner soldiers. As Williams recounts, the death toll was extraordinay and Anson's eventual triumph little short of a miracle. There is a fascinating sub-plot (equally well recounted in Richard Hough's "The Blind Horn's Hate"), dealing with the wreck of the "Wager" along the south coast of Chile and the epic attempts of the various survivors to get back to England. Terrific adventure.

The familiar Conrad hero Captain Tom Lingard(Outcast of the Islands) comes to the rescue of an English pleasure yacht that has foundered in the shallows just as war is about to break out between Malay tribes. Tom has war supplies including gunpowder stored in his own boat that has been turned into a fort and Tom's decisions will greatly effect the outcome of the war. Meanwhile though there is the English problem which Tom sees as being just that until he spies on board a lovely woman. Thats enough to distract our hero from his more pressing war time duties. Romantic Tom recalls Lord Jim and is in fact Jims brother, but he is not as complex or as troubled as Jim was so this is more a tale of pure adventure. External events take precedence over internal conflicts and so the adventure can be enjoyed for just that. Not one of Conrads most important works but still it exerts a lot of appeal. Anything by the best writer ever of sea and island tales is worth my time.

Author writes about true piracy in Caribbean ca. 19th cent. Conrad writes with historical and experiential knowledge.

Reviews the source of technology and fielding of marine mobile HFDF used in ASW during WWII, parimarly in the Atlantic. Does not cover land based systems in the same depth which was dissappointing to this reader. Hints at the technology but does not specify the actual techniques employed. Does, however does provide an analysis of the impact of ship born HFDF towards countering German U Boat activity. Overall interesting reading ! Dave Larrabee HFDF Center Compliance & Information Bureau - FCC

Although the story of the role of technology in the defeat of german U-boats in the Battle of the Atalantic has often been told, the role of HF-DF (huff-duff) has usually been slighted. This book corrects that situation. Secret Weapon is an important new contribution in out understanding of the battle of the Atlantic, and an archetype of contemporary history of military technology. (From a longer review that appeared in the New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter).

somewhat slow but with a constant hint of exciting intrigue and believeable action. Vivid descriptions of the sea scape and the "art" of sailing coupled with excellent character development make this story a terrific adventure.

Sam Llewellyn's latest sailing mystery novel is a departure from others he has written. Set in the early 1900 in England - and off the coast of Germany- it is written as the memiors of a young man who captains the racing yachts for "gentleman." Charlie Webb, orphaned before his teens, starts out fishing for a living and can not understand people who "sail for pleasure" but, for extra money, he agrees to captain a gentleman's yacht. His talent for winning earns him a share of the prize money, and a nautical encounter with the Kaiser. A few years later, that encounter sets up an unwanted assignment by a mysterious Duke, a man Charlie hasn't trusted for a day. This voyage is full of twists and turns, literally and figuratively, right to the last. Witten in the first person, using the speech and slang of the early 1900's, the story is still fast-paced and full of sailing detail, but at times, difficult to follow. English readers will have less objection to the prose, and Llewellyn fans will find it worth the effort.