"A welcomed guidebook for anyone interested in historic ships and their preservation." J. Revell Carr, President, Mystic Seaport Museum "Jim Delgado and Candace Clifford have produced a work that makes rewarding reading as well as provides an invaluable source of information on maritime heritage. Their adventurous exploration of this heritage will interest more people in saving our historic ships." Peter Stanford, President, National Maritime Historical Society Our maritime heritage is perhaps best represented by ships—ships that brought our ancestors to the New World, that fought in battles to protect our shores, that moved people and goods from one coast to another and along the continent’s great waterways, and that opened up commerce in foreign lands. Yet, for all their great importance, ships are among the most fragile of historic resources. They are especially subject to neglect and require extraordinary care to preserve them. And they cannot be as easily put to new uses as old buildings, requiring, therefore, a special dedication if they are preserved. Great American Ships for the first time celebrates this part of our national maritime heritage. Here are cataloged more than 225 ships on view to the public from Maine to Hawaii—including riverboats, battleships, ocean liners, fishing craft, yachts, and submarines.