This comprehensive lexicon provides definitions of nautical terms, historical entries describing the people and political events that shaped the per-iod, and detailed explanations of the scientific, medical, and biblical references that appear in the novels.

John B. Hattendorf is a professor of maritime history at the United States Naval War College. J. Worth Estes, Ph.D., is a professor of pharmacology at Boston University and a specialist in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century maritime medicine.Visit the Heart of Oak Web site at www.heartofoak.com

"A gem of a book." (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)