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Temple to the Wind: Nathanael Herreshoff and the Yacht that Transformed the America's Cup
Current price:
$16.95
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher:
Lyons Press
ISBN:
9780762784356
Pages:
312
Charter Books
On hand, as of Apr 27 1:07am
(Nautical/Exploration)
On Our Shelves Now
Description
In 1903, racing for the America's Cup was no longer a gentleman's game - it had become a race entangled with political tension and awesome, dangerous stakes. In this pivotal year, the two great rivals Britain and America raced head to head, with Britain determined to win with their privately funded Shamrock III, and America's bravado backed up by Reliance. Reliance was a yacht like no other - a work of beauty carrying more sail than any single-masted boat before. Some believed that the boat towering 190 feet above the water was simply too dangerous, but the race called for such staggering risk.
Pastore brings life to this strikingly astounding vessel from conception, to construction, to the hair-raising trials at sea. It is simply one of the most exciting sea tales ever told.
Praise for Temple to the Wind: Nathanael Herreshoff and the Yacht that Transformed the America's Cup
"Temple to the Wind is as expertly crafted as Nathanael Herreshoff's epic America's Cup yacht Reliance. A riveting account of an enigmatic genius and the yacht race that was once as big as today's Super Bowl, Christopher Pastore's new book will fascinate sailors and landlubbers alike." --Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea and Sea of Glory
"Temple to the Wind is an intriguing study of the legendary Captain Nat, his colleagues, his competitors and the designs he crafted leading up to the largest of them all, Reliance. In the process, author Chris Pastore has compiled a revealing image of yacht racing for the America's Cup as it existed a century and more ago." --John Burnham, editor, Sailing World
"Reliance was exotic, fast, a marvel of engineering and frightening. Only a master designer/builder could make such a yacht work, in fact, excel. Christopher Pastore has meticulously researched this astounding American triumph. I learned something new on every page!" --Gary Jobson, tactician, ESPN's sailing commentator, and author of Winning America's Cup
"After conducting exhaustive research in America and Britain, Christopher Pastore has made the Reliance story even more remarkable and strange than I ever thought. One of the very few sailboats that deserve the label 'icon,' Reliance was the largest boat to sail for the America's Cup, and (until recently) the largest racing sloop ever built. Paid for by secretive millionaires, created by the mysterious Nat Herreshoff, and commanded by the diminutive and ruthless Charlie Barr, this was the highest-tech, the most fragile, and the best boat of her day - America's only hope to hold off Sir Thomas Lipton in his fanatical desire to win the Cup. How Reliance fulfilled that hope despite many obstacles is the stuff of Pastore's wonderful new book. " --John Rousmaniere, author of In a Class by Herself: The Yawl Bolero and the Passion for Craftsmanship; Sleek; Fastnet, Force 10; The Annapolis Book of Seamanship; The Golden Pastime
"An excellent, close-up view of the world of big yachts as sailing moved into the twentieth century." --Olin Stephens, eight-time America's Cup-winning naval architect and author of All This, and Sailing Too
"Readers will know from the start that Reliance will win the race, but they will want to be onboard all the way."--Booklist
“A fascinating read.”--Latitudes & Attitudes
