TY - BOOK ID - 78678339 TI - Preserving maritime America PY - 2019 SN - 1613767064 9781613767061 9781625344625 1625344627 9781625344632 1625344635 PB - Amherst DB - UniCat KW - Maritime museums KW - Boats and boating KW - Marine museums KW - Nautical museums KW - Navigation KW - Seafaring life KW - Shipping KW - Ships KW - Museums KW - Naval museums KW - History. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:78678339 AB - "The United States has long been dependent on the seas, but Americans know little about their maritime history. While Britain and other countries have established national museums to nurture their seagoing traditions, America has left that responsibility to private institutions. In this first-of-its-kind history, James M. Lindgren focuses on a half-dozen of these great museums, ranging from Salem's East India Marine Society, founded in 1799, to San Francisco's Maritime Museum and New York's South Street Seaport Museum, which were established in recent decades. Begun by activists with unique agendas--whether overseas empire, economic redevelopment, or cultural preservation--these museums have displayed the nation's complex interrelationship with the sea. Yet they all faced chronic shortfalls, as policymakers, corporations, and everyday citizens failed to appreciate the oceans' formative environment. Preserving Maritime America shows how these institutions shifted course to remain solvent and relevant and demonstrates how their stories tell of the nation's rise and decline as a commercial maritime power"-- ER -