About this item
In the late 19th century, an intrepid, reckless group of men ruled the ocean. Known as "wreckers," they earned their living by rescuing and raising sunken ships, even in the face of monstrous waves and fierce weather. To some, they were heroes, helping to rescue both passengers and ships with courage and skill. To others they were ruthless pirates, who exploited these ship wrecks purely for their treasure. In Taking the Sea, Dennis M. Powers uncovers a fascinating, yet largely unknown, period in our history. Here he traces the journey of these legendary men through the story of Captain Thomas P. H. Whitelaw, the most important ship salvager of his day. From their early beginnings when greedy villagers would lure ships to the rocky coasts of Europe to their heyday during the era of the fast but vulnerable American clipper ships and their founding of the city of Key West, Powers offers a compelling portrait of the wrecker captains and the dangerous lives they and their men led.
About the Author
Whether fishing for salmon, white-water kayaking, or wilderness hiking, my passion is with the outdoors. My love for the sea dates back to waterskiing in the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey (when growing up) and sailing in regattas. When I headed to the West Coast after my education, I bodysurfed from the California coast to Hawaii.
Early on, my librarian mother would bring home her favorite books for me to read, and I found new worlds of adventures and different civilizations. From selling shirts to hauling lumber, I worked at different jobs to earn my education. I received a BA from the University of Colorado, a J.D. from the University of Denver Law School (J.D.) , and then an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. While working for large corporations in the financial fields, I dreamed about adventure and writing books. I finally took the plunge by moving to Santa Barbara, California, and later forming a law practice'all to have the time to write. I started writing poetry, newspaper and magazine articles, fiction, and nonfiction works, earning my keep during the day while writing at night.
Deciding that teaching would give me more time to write, I joined the faculty in 1995 at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, and taught business law. My first books were in the financial and legal fields, as I learned the publishing world. In 1999, the publisher selected my non-fiction work, THE OFFICE ROMANCE, to be that year's lead book and I headed out on a national book tour.
But my love has always been with the sea, and I continued researching maritime subjects. In 2005, my book THE RAGING SEA, about the 1964 devastating tsunami that crashed down the U.S. West Coast, was published. My next book TREASURE SHIP came out one year later, which describes the search and final locating, over 125-years later, of a long-lost, gold-bearing, steamship. SENTINEL OF THE SEAS, which is about the most dangerous, expensive, and remote lighthouse built in this country, came about in 2007. Next, TAKING THE Sea--or a book about the old-time wreckers, or salvagers, using the experiences of one of the most talked about, Captain T.P.H. Whitelaw--was brought out. In 2010, I was very pleased that my book, TALES OF THE SEVEN SEAS: THE ESCAPADES OF CAPTAIN DYNAMITE JOHNNY O'BRIEN--was published. This book reaches through the life of a very charismatic sea captain of old to show what traveling was really like over the oceans of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For more on these books, see WWW.DENNISPOWERSBOOKS.COM.
Now, all of these maritime books are available on Kindle in e-book form. Plus, THE RAGING SEA, TREASURE SHIP, AND SENTINEL OF THE SEAS are not only available in mobile form, but are expanded, second editions.
My interest in the sea is more than about the ocean's awesome power, effects, and maritime history. It is about common folks like all of us who are force
