In the early nineteenth century in the United States, cancer in the breast was a rare disease. Now it seems that breast cancer is everywhere. Written by a medical historian who is also a doctor, Unnatural History tells how and why this happened. Rather than there simply being more disease, breast cancer has entered the bodies of so many American women and the concerns of nearly all the rest, mostly as a result of how we have detected, labeled, and responded to the disease. The book traces changing definitions and understandings of breast cancer, the experience of breast cancer sufferers, clinical and public health practices, and individual and societal fears.

This WWI naval history vividly tells the story of the Royal Navy’s Northern Blockade and the battles at sea that brought Germany to its knees. At the outbreak of World War I, Britain established a naval blockade that greatly diminished Germany’s access to trade and vital resources. The Northern Blockade brought the German economy to its knees and greatly diminished home front morale. Patrolling the inhospitable waters between Iceland and Scotland, the 10th Cruiser Squadron played a vital role in winning the war on the Western Front. At the same time, the Royal Navy successfully countered Germany’s attacks on British commerce, preventing much suffering in Britain. Drawing on numerous first-hand accounts, Historian Steve Dunn vividly chronicles this long-running battle at sea. Beginning with the blockade’s initial formation, he recounts the changes in strategy on both sides, including the use of converted liners and armed merchant vessels as warships. He also vividly describes the final destruction of German surface vessel commerce warfare, culminating in the hard-fought battle between the raider SMS Leopard and two British warships.

This new collection of scholarly, readable, and up-to-date essays covers the most significant naval blockades of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Here the reader can find Napoleon’s Continental Blockade of England, the Anglo-American War of 1812, the Crimean War, the American Civil War, the first Sino-Japanese War 1894-95, the Spanish-American War, the First World War, the second Sino-Japanese War 1937-45, the Second World War in Europe and Asia, the Nationalist attempt to blockade the PRC, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the British blockade of Rhodesia, the Falklands War, the Persian Gulf interdiction program, the PRC "missile" blockade of Taiwan in 1996, and finally Australia's recent "reverse" blockade to keep illegal aliens out of the country. The authors of each chapter address the causes of the blockade in question, its long and short-term repercussions, and the course of the blockade itself. More generally, they address the state of the literature, taking advantage of new research and new methodologies to provide something of value to both the specialist and non-specialist reader. Taken as a whole, this volume presents fresh insights into issues such as what a blockade is, why countries might choose them, which navies can and cannot make use of them, what responses lead to satisfactory or unsatisfactory conclusions, and how far-reaching their consequences tend to be. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of strategic studies, military history and maritime studies in particular.

This study uses historical analysis to derive factors which merit consideration by political and military planners contemplating the employment of a naval blockade as a possible option. The 1986 Joint Staff Officer's Guide, AFCS Pub 1, identifies seven military mission options available to national leaders as passable solutions to deal with international problems. Of these seven options, two specifically involve the use of a naval blockade or quarantine. The study identifies characteristics which have contributed to the success of past naval blockades and focuses on characteristics that have been common to most successful applications of the naval blockade. The study analyzes 41 blockades or periods of blockade occurring between 425 B.C. and 1973. The study reviews these blockades in three distinct time periods; prior to 1600, during the age of sail from 1600 to 1860, and during the age of iron and steel from 1966 to 1973. Additionally, two other blockades are reviewed in detail. These include the blockade of the South during the American Civil War and the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The study identifies 22 characteristics which were common to most blockades. The study also reveals 23 secondary characteristics which were also found to contribute to the success of blockades. Two factors were found to be utilized in virtually all successful blockades. The first of these two characteristics was the use of superior sea power by the blockading forces. The second of these characteristics was the use of operations ashore in conjunction with the blockade. These operations took the form of an invasion by ground forces, air strike, land campaign or the imminent threat that one of these operations might be used successfully. The study also includes a review of potential future trends in operations. CHAPTER 1 * INTRODUCTION * PURPOSE * RESEARCH QUESTION * BACKGROUND * ASSUMPTIONS * DEFINITION OF TERMS * SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS * SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY * METHODOLOGY * ORGANIZATION * REVIEW OF LITERATURE * CHAPTER 2 * NAVAL BLOCKADES PRIOR TO 1600 * INTRODUCTION * THE COMBINATION OF A NAVAL BLOCKADE AND INVASION FORCES * CONTROL OF BLOCKADE RUNNERS * SUPERIOR SEA POWER AND THE USF OF A COMBINED FORCE * THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL OBSTACLES * THE EFFECT OF WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY * THE EFFECT OF BLOCKADES OVER LONG PERIODS OF TIME * USE OF A DEFENSIVE BLOCKADE * CHARACTERISTICS * CONCLUSIONS * CHAPTER 3 * NAVAL BLOCKADES IN THE AGE OF SAIL 1600-1860 * INTRODUCTION * IMPORTANCE OF THE DEFENSIVE BLOCKADE * IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE AND TIMELY INTELLIGENCE * PROPER DISPOSITION OF BLOCKADING FORCES * NATIONS WITH EXTERNAL INTERESTS AND VITALLY DEPENDENT ON TRADE . * SUPERIOR SEA POWER * WEATHER * ABILITY TO CONDUCT RESUPPLY OF BLOCKADING FORCE * POSSESSION OF STRATEGIC BASES * ANCHORAGES ON THE FLANKS OF ENEMY TRANSIT ROUTES * USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY * THE COMBINATION OF NAVAL BLOCKADE AND LAND OPERATIONS * IMPORTANCE OF CAPTURING KEY PORTS * THE USE OF DECEPTION * INADEQUATE LAND TRANSPORTATION INSIDE THE BLOCKADED NATION * USE OF SHALLOW DRAFT VESSELS TO BREAK BLOCKADES * THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE * THE INFLUENCE OF LAW ON THE BLOCKADE * SPEED CAPABILITY OF BLOCKADING SHIPS * CHARACTERISTICS * CONCLUSIONS * CHAPTER 4 * THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: THE UNION BLOCKADE OF THE CONFEDERACY 1861 TO 1865 * INTRODUCTION * LIMITED NUMBER OF MAJOR SOUTHERN SEAPORTS * CAPTURE OF KEY PORTS * IMPORTANCE OF STRATEGIC BASES * IMPORTANCE OF ADEQUATE LOGISTICS AND RESUPPLY * ADEQUACY OF INTERNAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM * GEOGRAPHIC CONSIDERATIONS * USE OF SUPERIOR SEA POWER * CONTROL OF BLOCKADE RUNNERS * more

Perhaps more than all the campaigns of the Union armies, the Union naval blockade--covering all major Southern ports along 3,500 miles of coastline for the duration of the war--brought down the Confederacy. The daring exploits of Confederate blockade runners are well known--but many of them were British citizens operating out of neutral ports such as Nassau, Havana and Bermuda. Focusing on British involvement in the war, this history names the overseas bankers and manufacturers who, in critical need of cotton and other Confederate exports, financed and equipped the fast little ships that ran the blockade. The author attempts to disentangle the names and aliases of the captains--many of whom were Royal Navy officers on temporary leave--and tells their stories in their own words.

Blockade runner Captain Wade McKay and the crew of the Atlantis battle the death choke of the Union naval blockade of Wilmington, North Carolina. Massive Fort Fisher stands as the lone guardian of the ships daring to run the blockade. Their mission is of the utmost importance because each precious cargo brought in means new life for the Confederacy. Knowing that the fall of Fort Fisher could hasten the end of the war, the Union army and navy launches a deadly assault to capture the fort and stop blockade running forever.