All sailors know about the story of America winning the race around the Isle of Wight, but few know what happened to one of the greatest yachts in the history of the sport. David Gendell tells a beautifully crafted story about the fascinating, sad fate of this engineless vessel that sailed for nearly 100 years.
--Tom Whidden, America's Cup winning tactician, 1980, 1987, 1988
From the "near fetishized research" that attends the building and infant career of the schooner America--eponymous queen of the America's Cup--author Dave Gendell has turned his gaze and ours to the surprising hole in our knowledge about her last days on the Annapolis waterfront. With rich page-turning prose that reads like a novel, Gendell gives us a work of creative nonfiction that evokes not just one yacht but two fully conceived and populated worlds with ninety years between them. Together with its ample notes and sources, the book will satisfy history geeks through a northeast winter, or armchair readers through a good long gale. Last Days is a story for the ages--an essential addition to America's yachting heritage.
--Tim Murphy, Cruising World editor-at-large and author, Adventurous Use of the Sea: Formidable Stories of a Century of Sailing from the Cruising Club of America
In The Last Days of the Schooner America, David Gendell provides a captivating view into the history of an iconic sailing yacht and the people and places that kept her in our national consciousness for over a century. In his meticulously researched account that reads like a novel, he lets the waning years of the schooner America highlight the important contributions of the Annapolis Yacht Yard, the Naval Academy, and the people of Annapolis during the World War II era. The book kept this Naval Academy history major enthralled!
--Rear Admiral Robb Chadwick, USN (Ret.), 87th Commandant of Midshipmen, United States Naval Academy
There is no doubt that David Gendell tells a good story, and his account of the legendary schooner America is one of his best: true and detailed, well-sourced, and fun to read. Of special interest is the story of what happened to that vessel at a small yacht yard across Spa Creek from Annapolis, Maryland. Gendell's rigorous, careful research into public and private papers, his interviews with men and women who worked in the Annapolis Yacht Yard during the war, and his own sailing experience enable him to fill the book with the suspense, the excitement, and the determination of those men and women who made Annapolis a center of the war effort.
--Jane Wilson McWilliams, author,
Annapolis, City on the Severn: A HistoryThe story of the schooner America's upset win at Cowes is familiar to all racing sailors. The silver cup her owners and crew first won in that race continues to represent the pinnacle of our sport. Although we continue to compete for the cup, the schooner's story after she won the race has not been widely told--until now. The Last Days of the Schooner America is a fast-paced, eye-opening read. The research and descriptions are amazing. An inspiring home-front World War II story runs through the book and is expertly woven into the schooner's final years. A must read for all who love sailing and history.
--Terry Hutchinson, skipper, New York Yacht Club's American Magic campaign for the 37th America's Cup
The Last Days of the Schooner America is an extraordinary story brilliantly told by David Gendell. While most sailors know of America's famous upset victory in what would become the America's Cup, few of us know that the beautiful and legendarily fast schooner was also an eyewitness to the country's maritime history. America stirred sailors across generations, from blockade-running rogues during the Civil War, to the President of the United States who sought to preserve her during the frantic early days of WWII. Meticulously researched and filled with insights from an author who is also a seasoned sailor, you will find yourself turning pages and hoping for a miracle at the end.
--John Kretschmer, author of Flirting with Mermaids, Sailing a Serious Ocean, and At the Mercy of the Sea
After two decades of research and interviewing those involved, David Gendell has produced a well-written and compelling chronicle of the most famous schooner in history, focusing on the never-before-told story of her final days ashore in his native Annapolis and the tragically unsuccessful effort by committed believers to restore the iconic vessel during World War II.
--Bill Bleyer, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History and The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound
