Arthur Donovan

In most American history and political circles the United States is described as a maritime power, as opposed to a continental power, best represented in the 20th century by Germany and the Soviet Union. However, that rating, at least from the perspective of seapower theorist and advocate Alfred Thayer Mahan, is questionable, a point of view proposed by the two authors of "The Abandoned Ocean". Of the authors, Andrew Gibson has the stronger background, having served as a merchant marine officer during World War II, as an executive in different shipping firms, and as Maritime Administrator and Assistant Secretary of Commerce during the Nixon Administration. Arthur Donovan provides the historical backdrop for the book, serving as a professor of history at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point, New York.

"The Abandoned Ocean" was originally published in 2000, although my paperback edition was published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2001. The 362-page book is divided into three parts with a total of 15 chapters, arranged chronologically. Part I, Free Trade and American Enterprise, covers the beginnings of America's merchant marine from the colonial era to the beginning of World War I. Part I establishes the reasoning behind much of the Federal regulatory structure in maritime policy that exists to this very day. Part II, War-Impelled Industries, carries the story through the two world wars and the beginning of the post-World War II period. This part speaks to the command economy that directly benefited shipbuilders and shipowners to a very remarkable extent. Part III completes the authors' analysis to the end of the 1990's, an era that saw the rise of powerful seamen and longshoremen unions and the implications of the rise. The book concludes with endnotes, a bibliography, and an index. There is also a small section of photographs.

As can be divined by the title, "The Abandoned Ocean" focuses on the long and arduous fall of America's commercial shipping industry. After a spectacular six-decade rise during the era of wooden sailing ships, the American Civil War set in motion a decline that has been broken only by the relatively brief interventions of two world wars. Although capable of vast technological and organizational innovation, the shipping industry showed itself to be equally incapable of adapting to marketing conditions, incoroproating that technical innovation, and keeping industry costs competitive on the world scene. In addition, the American form of government proved unable to recognize when its regulatory powers required change as well, which accelerated the industry's decline. Both executive and legislative branches of government were vulnerable to the efforts of lobbyists employed by shipbuilders, shipowners, ships crews, and longshoremen. The end result is an industry shrunken to the point of irrelevance and kept afloat only by the retention of regulations imposed nearly a century and a half ago.

This is a particularly sad tale, especially as American seafaring traditions are so strong. It is a tale told by two authors well-positioned to make this analysis, and it is a story that more Americans should understand better. "The Abandoned Ocean" is well-written and flows logically from chapter to chapter. Gibson's experiences in the Nixon Administration is particularly helpful in understanding the difficulties maritime policy makers face even when the occupant of the White House is a strong supporter However, as the authors make clear at several points in the book, maritime affairs is hardly ever in the public eye unless disaster strikes. Such disinterest paves the way for the lobbyists and special interests they represent. Hence the predicament in which our supposedly maritime nation finds itself.… (mer)