"... a factual and definitive history of the final epoch of the square rigger. Avoiding the parochial approach of so many previous works which deal with one country; one port or one company, his canvas is veritably international in its scope ... every ship and every voyage cannot be described in detail but we believe that in this work ... the author has struck a balance of facts, events and anecdotes which will appeal to all those with an interest in the subject. The central and recurring theme is the grain haul from Australia, but all other trades are described ... due to the number of ships involved, the initial chapters may have the greater appeal for the specialist but as the book progresses and the square rigged ranks diminish, the whole story of the epoch emerges with its pattern of triumphs, the humdrum and the disasters ... Not only do we learn the histories of the ships concerned but the stories of many of the fleets for which they were originally built. Thus their genealogies are set in the perspective of the whole international sailing operation. This book is interspersed with expert comment on such diverse matters as the French Bounty Schemes ; the loss of the Herzogin Cecilie and Pamir ; the impact of passengers ; the value of square riggers for training ; the ships which Erikson considered but never acquired ; the economics of running the vessels and it includes tales of strange collisions at sea and much else besides ..." -- Jacket.