pre WW2 Clipper ships

[ssgross]

(The history of) The American Sailing Navy

I might also then suggest "Six Frigates", the story of the origins of the US navy.
Other than the fabulous account of how our Navy was built, including the political context and forces of the time...I found Thomas Jefferson a peculiar fellow in the buildup to 1812. Not to get too political and violate any of our rules, but I found it hard to swallow that the man who authored the Declaration of Independence would/could resort to the confiscation of all liberty of commerce abroad has his first reaction to the crisis. The contradiction being what it was lead me on a reading streak of original sources - the man really was a living paradox! As a lesser known example, his vision of the simplistic agrarian utopia for America sharply contradicted with his desire to obtain every scientific and industrial novelty which modern technology could produce. His anti-liberty actions when in a crisis being his first instinct arguably laid the foundation of today's version of the party he founded. Happy to discuss objectively in our other forum here. My only point here being that corruption, power, and everything else that plagues modern politics from any side is not new at all. Read the book. It all existed in plain(er?) sight even then - lest we forget.