Chesapeake is an Algonquian word meaning great shellfish bay, and for decades, the oyster was the undisputed king of Chesapeake Bay shellfish. Early settlers reported them to be as large as dinner plates, and the reefs or rocks in which they lived were large enough to be hazards to navigation. In 1884, fifteen million bushels of oysters were harvested and shipped around the world. The skipjack was the perfect vessel for sailing into the Chesapeake Bays shallow waters and dredging for oysters, and each winter, hundreds of these wooden craft set out across the bays cold waters. The oyster population of the 21st century is a fraction of what it once was, and the skipjacks have disappeared along with them. No longer economically viable, the boats have been left to rot in the marshes along the bay. Only 25 boats are still operational, and fewer than five still dredge.

In Skipjack, Christopher White spends a pivotal year with three memorable captains, each at the helm of a wooden oystering sailboat unique to the Chesapeake Bay, in what has become the only wind-powered fishing fleet in America.

E. James Tull’s innate artistic talent, his caring, nurturing personality, his mechanical skills and attention to detail advanced him from apprentice to owner of the shipyard, and from a young man fixing the drawbridge to town councilman and Pocomoke Mayor. E. James Tull’s flowing graceful curves in his ship plans, the hand polished wooden pegs, which reinforced the joints of the ship, and the words “E. James Tull, Builder” proudly engraved into the bowsprit reflected quality craftsmanship in each phase of the building process. Valuing diversity and quality, E. James Tull designed and constructed 200 of the most exquisite bateaux, pleasure yachts, master sailing ships and steamers on the East Coast

In this classic novel, James A. Michener brings his grand epic tradition to bear on the four-hundred-year saga of America’s Eastern Shore, from its Native American roots to the modern age. In the early 1600s, young Edmund Steed is desperate to escape religious persecution in England. After joining Captain John Smith on a harrowing journey across the Atlantic, Steed makes a life for himself in the New World, establishing a remarkable dynasty that parallels the emergence of America. Through the extraordinary tale of one man’s dream, Michener tells intertwining stories of family and national heritage, introducing us along the way to Quakers, pirates, planters, slaves, abolitionists, and notorious politicians, all making their way through American history in the common pursuit of freedom. BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from James A. Michener's Hawaii. Praise for Chesapeake “Another of James Michener’s great mines of narrative, character and lore.”—The Wall Street Journal “[A] marvelous panorama of history seen in the lives of symbolic people of the ages . . . An emotionally and intellectually appealing book.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Michener’s most ambitious work of fiction in theme and scope.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer “Magnificently written . . . one of those rare novels that is enthusiastically passed from friend to friend.”—Associated Press