Barons of the Sea and Their Race to Build the World’s Fastest Clipper Ship

The South Street Seaport Museum announces Barons of the Sea and Their Race to Build the World’s Fastest Clipper Ship Book Talk with Steven Ujifusa on Wednesday, July 18 at 6:30 pm at the Melville Gallery, 213 Water Street, NYC. Doors open at 6:15 PM. Book signing to follow the talk. Books on sale at the event. Tickets are $10 (free for members) and can be purchased at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/10282872.

In the grand tradition of David McCullough and Ron Chernow, the sweeping story of the nineteenth-century American dynasties who battled for dominance of the tea and opium trades. But the journey by sea to New York from Canton could take six agonizing months, and so the most pressing technological challenge of the day became ensuring one’s goods arrived first to market, so they might fetch the highest price.

About the Author
Steven Ujifusa’s first book, A Man and His Ship, tells the story of William Francis Gibbs, the naval architect who created the ocean liner the SS United States; The Wall Street Journal named it one of the best nonfiction titles of 2012. Steven has given presentations across the country and on the high seas and has appeared as a guest on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR. A recipient of a MacDowell Colony fellowship and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia’s Literary Award, he lives with his wife, a pediatric emergency room physician, in Philadelphia.