Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History

by Bill Bleyer, Billy Joel (Foreword by)

Overview

For more than five centuries, the waterways surrounding Long Island have profoundly shaped its history.

Familiar subjects of lighthouses, shipwrecks and whaling are found alongside oft-forgotten oddities such as Pan-American flying boats landing in Manhasset Bay in the early days of transatlantic flight. From the British blockade and skirmishes during the American Revolution to the sinking of merchant vessels by Germany in World War II, the sea brought wars to these shores. By the later part of the 20th century, Gold Coast millionaires commuted in high-speed yachts to Manhattan offices as the island's wealth grew. Historian Bill Bleyer reveals Long Island's nautical bonds from the Native Americans to current efforts to preserve the region's maritime heritage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467138628
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	04/08/2019
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	1,011,771
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Bill Bleyer was a prize-winning staff writer for Newsday, the Long Island daily newspaper, for thirty-three years before retiring in 2014 to write books and freelance for the newspaper and magazines. He is coauthor, with Harrison Hunt, of Long Island and the Civil War (The History Press, 2015). He is the author of Sagamore Hill: Theodore Roosevelt's Summer White House (The History Press, 2015) and The Fire Island Lighthouse: Long Island's Welcoming Beacon (The History Press, 2017). The Long Island native has written extensively about history for newspapers and magazines. In 1997-98, he was one of four Newsday staff writers assigned full time to "Long Island: Our Story," a year-long daily history of Long Island that resulted in three books and filled hundreds of pages in the newspaper. His work has been published in Civil War News, Naval History, Sea History, Lighthouse Digest and numerous other magazines, as well as in the New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times, Toronto Star and other newspapers. Bleyer graduated Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors in economics from Hofstra University, where he has been an adjunct professor teaching journalism and economics. He earned a master's degree in urban studies at Queens College of the City University of New York. An avid sailor, diver and kayaker, he lives in Bayville, Long Island.

Table of Contents

Foreword Billy Joel 9

Acknowledgments 11

Introduction 15

1 Native Americans 19

2 The Age of Exploration 23

3 The Whalers 26

4 The Fishermen 53

5 Shellfishing 60

6 Maritime Trade 71

7 Pirates 77

8 Shipbuilders and Boatyards 80

9 The American Revolution 94

10 The Culper Spy Ring 106

11 Lighthouses 110

12 War of 1812 121

13 Steamboats and Ferries 127

14 Shipwrecks in Peacetime 144

15 Slave Ships 164

16 The U.S. Life-Saving Service 169

17 Civil War 173

18 Developing Technology 177

19 Coastal Defenses 184

20 Theodore Roosevelt 196

21 World War I 202

22 Landing on Water 206

23 Sailing and Powerboating 211

24 Rumrunning 225

25 World War II 232

26 Maritime Colleges 243

27 Aircraft Manufacturers Look Seaward 251

28 Roadside Assistance on the Water 256

29 Long Island Maritime History Preserved 258

Notes 265

Bibliography 283

Index 295

About the Author 301

Editorial Reviews

A new book is on the way from Bill Bleyer, Bayville's favorite history buff. The former Newsday reporter and columnist is publishing his fourth book on local history with The History Press.



"The most comprehensive book yet on the subject, it covers from the Native Americans and the Age of Discover to current preservation efforts."Enterprise-Pilot

From the Publisher