Drawing on previously untapped sources, naval historian James Reckner provides a complete picture of the fleet that thrust the United States into the ranks of great world naval powers. His fresh interpretations of the fleet's historic 1907-09 world cruise, which won him the 1989 Roosevelt Naval History Prize, allow today's readers to fully appreciate the significance of the famous fleet that set sail during Teddy Roosevelt's second term as president. Reckner recreates the colorful pageantry of the event--sixteen U.S. battleships on a fourteen-month voyage around the world--that drew thousands of sightseers at every port of call, but his main emphasis is on the cruise's long-range impact on the Navy. He shows how the cruise revealed the fleet's shortcomings and forced the naval establishment to acknowledge the faults and make concessions that eventually led to permanent benefits.

The story of the two year round the world voyage of 16 ships from Theodore Roosevelt's refurbished Navy--a cruise that marked Americas' coming of age as a world power.

The last predreadnought battleships of the US Navy were critical to the technological development of US battleships, and they were the first tool of international hard power wielded by the United States, a nation which would eventually become the world's dominant political and military power of the 20th century. These battleships were the stars of the 1907–09 Great White Fleet circumnavigation, in which the emerging power and reach of the US Navy was displayed around the world. They also took part in the bombardment and landings at Veracruz, some served as convoy escorts in World War I, and the last two were transferred to the Hellenic Navy and were sunk during World War II. This book examines the design, history, and technical qualities of the final six classes of US predreadnought battleships, all of which were involved in the circumnavigation of the Great White Fleet. These classes progressively closed the quality gap with European navies – the Connecticuts were the finest predreadnought battleships ever built – and this book also compares and contrasts US predreadnought battleships to their foreign contemporaries. Packed with illustrations and specially commissioned artwork, this is an essential guide to the development of US Navy Battleships at the turn of the twentieth century.

A richly illustrated story from the glory days of passenger travel on the Great Lakes. For decades Canada Steamship Lines proclaimed itself as the world’s largest transportation company operating on inland waters. Its passenger and freight vessels could be found on the Great Lakes as far west as Duluth, Minnesota, and as far east as the Lower St. Lawrence River. The passenger steamers were known collectively as the Great White Fleet. These ships – from day-excursion vessels to well-appointed cruise ships – had rich histories. The sheer scope of these passenger services were a wonder to behold. No fewer than 51 steamers comprised the passenger fleet at the company’s inception in 1913, and its network of routes was awesome. This is the story of the beloved steamers of the Great White Fleet from 1913–65, when the passenger vessels stopped running. Nearly half a century after the last passenger boats sailed, this book will provide a window into a wonderful lost way of life.

The story of the famous fleet that thrust the United States into the ranks of great world naval powers. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Under orders from President Theodore Roosevelt, sixteen battleships of the United States’ Atlantic Battle Fleet and their consorts made a peace-time circumnavigation of the globe, from December 1907 to February 1909. Text, illustrations, and captions tell the story of this fourteen-month world cruise. Separate chapters provide an overview of the origins, course, and accomplishments of the cruise, describe the ships that circumnavigated the globe, depict the character and experiences of the sailors who participated, narrate the cruise’s principal events and itinerary, and analyze the Great White Fleet’s significance organizationally for the United States Navy and diplomatically for the United States of America.

But scarcely a generation earlier, in 1880, the U.S. Navy had reached the nadir of a precipitous decline that had begun just after the Civil War.