Winner, John Lyman Award, North American Society for Oceanic HistoryWinner, Heritage Book Award, Maryland Historic TrustFirst Place, Professional Scholarly Books, 25th Annual New York Book Show Harvested for food, harnessed for power, and home to more than 3,600 species of plants, fish, and animals, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have long been essential to the sustainability and survival of the region’s populations. Historian William S. Dudley explores that history in an engaging and comprehensive account of Maryland’s storied maritime heritage. Dudley paints a vivid picture of Maryland’s maritime past in its broadest scope, exploring the complex and nuanced interactions of humans, land, and water through descriptions of shipbuilding, steam technology, agricultural pollution, commercial and passenger transportation, naval campaigns, watermen, crabbing, and oystering. He also discusses the evolution of recreational boating―yachting, cruising, and racing―and the role of underwater archaeology in uncovering the bay's shipwrecks. These interactions become chapters in the larger story of Maryland’s waterways, a story that Dudley tells through insightful prose and stunning illustrations. This rich history of Maryland's waterways reveals how human enterprise has affected―and been affected by―the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. An important resource for any maritime collection, especially those with special interests in Maryland and her contributions to history and the economy. ―Cindy Vallar, Pirates and Privateers This book will make a very nice addition to your maritime library. ― The Lone Star A poetic dedication to the state and its maritime traditions . . . Including superbly reproduced color and black-and-white images, this book will hold appeal for many. ― Choice Maritime Maryland is not merely a coffee-table book, although it would grace any coffee table. It is an absorbing, interesting study that is fact-filled but not fact-driven. The text is well-written, consistently paced, and easy to read. The book has a pleasing design. It is adequately illustrated but not cluttered with pictures . . . It is a clearly written, perceptive and well-rounded study of a people and their relationship with the water. ―Dennis Knepper, Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society An enjoyable and an enlightening read. ―Claire P. Dappert, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology An absorbing, interesting study that is fact-filled, well-written, consistently paced, and easy to read. ―Dennis Knepper, MAHSNews The Free State of Maryland played a notable part throughout the War of 1812, but it also has a rich history aside from that pivotal era, and is nowhere better defined than in this new, stellar work. ― Sea Classics A fine piece of scholarship . . . deserves to be welcomed by students of both maritime history and current issues in cultural resource and environmental management. And it deserves an audience far beyond the state of Maryland. ―John A. Tilley, Nautical Research Journal Readable overview that serves as a good introduction to a vital part of this state's history and commerce . . . an important resource for any maritime collection. ―Cindy Vallar, Pirates and Privateers This book has recently been presented with two awards. At its annual conference held in Norfolk, Virginia, on May 13, the North American Society for Oceanic History announced that Maritime Maryland: A History had won its annual John Lyman Award as the best book on U.S. Maritime History.published in 2010.  On May 20, the Maryland Historical Trust presented author William S. Dudley and  Maritme Maryland: A History with its Outstanding Heritage Book Award for 2011. Historian William S. Dudley was the director of the Naval Historical Center from 1995 to 2004. The original editor of The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History , he is the author of Maritime Maryland: A History and the coauthor of The Naval War of 1812: America's Second War of Independence . Used Book in Good Condition