Frozen Empires is a study of the ways in which imperial powers (American, European, and South American) have used and continue to use the environment and the value of scientific research to support their political claims in the Antarctic Peninsula region. In making a case for imperial continuity, this book offers a new perspective on Antarctic history and on global environmental politics more broadly.

Aristotle Onassis was the most famous shipowner of the twentieth century. He became the archetype and image of the ship-owning magnate, the symbol of Greek enterprise on a global scale. What distinguished him from the rest was that he created the shipping business of the new global era, combining the European maritime tradition and the American institutions and resources. Almost all books written on Onassis focus on his lifestyle and personal life. This is the first book examining all aspects of his multi-faceted global business activities in the shipping, airline and oil industries. It is based on the newly-formed Onassis Archive comprising thousands of new and unpublished files of his core business. Contributors are: Alexandra Papadopoulou, Amalia Pappa, Maria Damilakou, Lars Scholl, and Christos Tsakas.

It’s almost impossible to imagine spending eight months at sea “without once putting foot on land.” But that’s exactly what whalers experienced when playing the dangerous “game of chance,” hunting down leviathans for oil and bone—all for a “lay,” or share, of the vessel’s spoils. A Game of Chance is the first comprehensive, in-depth study of British North American South Seas whaling. Author Andrea Kirkpatrick takes readers on a series of fascinating and sometimes fantastical journeys as she chronicles in great detail the story of a largely forgotten industry that operated out of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ports from the 1760s to 1850. Kirkpatrick plumbed the depths of myriad logbooks and journals to piece together the often-murky tales of an astonishing number of ships. In this treatise covering a century of whaling, she shares details such as ownership, tonnage, voyages, captains’ pedigrees, and names of crewmen, including nascent whaler Herman Melville, author of Moby-Dick. Hoping for “greasy luck,” the men who manned these ships found both camaraderie and competition as they hunted the world’s whaling grounds from Cape Horn to Kamchatka, many circumnavigating the globe during their careers. They battled squalls and high seas, scurvy and venereal disease, heartbreak and homesickness—and sometimes each other. Many never returned home, their bodies committed to the deep or buried on foreign land. Written in two parts—landward and seaward—Kirkpatrick’s clear prose and adoption of whaling lingua franca brings this high-risk venture to the fore with authenticity, newly revealed facts, and remarkable stories of adventure.

A reference book providing a snapshot of the life histories of more than fifty shipowners investing in the South Sea Whale Fishery over a forty year period. It gives details of their places of business, the number of whaling ships they owned and biographical information about their commercial dealings and personal lives. A map of London showing the River Thames and the location of the businesses of the majority of these shipowners is enclosed.

Explores how humans' view of whales changed from the nineteenth to the twentieth century, looking at how the sea mammals were once viewed as monsters but evolved into something much gentler and more beautiful.

Vast salt marshes, ancient grasslands, lush forests, pristine beaches and dunes, and copious inland waters, all surrounded by a teeming sea. These are probably not the first things you imagine when you think of Long Island, but just beyond its highways and housing developments lies a stunning landscape full of diverse plant and animal life. Combining science writing, environmental history, and first-hand accounts from a longtime resident, At the Glacier’s Edge offers a unique narrative natural history of Long Island. Betsy McCully tells the story of how the island was formed at the end of the last ice age, how its habitats evolved, and how humans in the last few hundred years have radically altered and degraded its landscape. Yet as she personally recounts the habitat losses and species declines she has witnessed over the past few decades, she describes the vital efforts that environmental activists are making to restore and reclaim this land—from replanting salt marshes, to preserving remaining grasslands and forests, to cleaning up the waters. At the Glacier’s Edge provides an in-depth look at the flora, fauna and geology that make Long Island so special.