Washington, DC — The War of 1812 and the Rise of the U.S. Navy (National Geographic Books; on sale March 27, 2012; hardcover; $30) is the U.S. Navy's official commemorative book of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. It presents a sweeping panorama of a defining moment in the American story and is a must-read for maritime aficionados and general history buffs. The book depicts the first true global conflict of a young and expanding nation and was produced by the Naval History and Heritage Command as an authoritative history of the naval War of 1812.

Renowned historian Douglas Brinkley states in his foreword that this is the most "intellectually engaging" book he has encountered on the War of 1812. With its spectacular illustrations — from privateer recruiting posters to prints depicting famous naval duels to frigate ship models chiseled out of bone by prisoners of war — "every page brings the War of 1812 vividly to life," he writes. The book, broken into chapters covering the periods 1812 to 1815, shares fresh historical recollections, personal reminiscences of the war and detailed histories through vibrant images and intimate stories.

The preface is provided by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, and the afterword is written by Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations.

The U.S. Navy's commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the Star-Spangled Banner will comprise a series of public events in historically significant locations in partnership with OpSail. Highlights include visits by U.S. and foreign warships and tall ships, as well as air shows. Dates and locations:

• New Orleans: April 17-23
• Fort Lauderdale, Fla: April 25-30
• New York City: May 23-30
• Portland, Maine: Dates TBD
• Norfolk, Va: June 2-12
• Baltimore: June 13-19
• Boston: June 29-July 6
• New London, Conn: July 7-9

About the Authors

David A. Taylor is the author of the award-winning books "Soul of a People: The WPA Writers' Project Uncovers Depression America," "Ginseng, the Divine Root" and "Success: Stories," a fiction collection. His work has appeared in such publications as Smithsonian, The Washington Post, Village Voice, The American Scholar and Outside. Taylor has written and co-produced documentary films for PBS, the National Geographic Society, Discovery Channel and the Smithsonian Channel, including "Soul of a People," which was nominated for a 2010 Writers Guild award.

Mark Collins Jenkins, a former archivist at the National Geographic Society, has written on a wide range of historical topics. His books include "The Civil War: A Virtual History," "Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend," "The Book of Marvels: An Explorer's Miscellany," "Odysseys and Photographs: Four National Geographic Field Men" and "Worlds to Explore: Classic Tales of Travel and Adventure from National Geographic."

Douglas Brinkley is professor of history at Rice University and the author of a number of award-winning and bestselling books, including "The Mississippi and the Making of a Nation" (with Stephen Ambrose), "The World War II Memorial," "The Great Deluge" and "The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America." Six of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year. He is a regular commentator for CBS News and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair magazine.

America’s Privateer: Lynx and the War of 1812, J. Dennis Robinson. Lynx Educational Foundation, 184 pages, with 190 color photos, paintings and maps, oversize hardcover, $34.95.

One of the great things about tall ships is that you can’t go wrong with a good picture. Virtually all large sailing vessels are photogenic to a fault, particularly when all the sails are run out, and the boat is almost sliding across the water. Lynx is no exception. The new coffee-table book, America’s Privateer: Lynx and the War of 1812, published by the Newport Beach, Calif.-based Lynx Educational Foundation, takes maximum advantage of this camera-loving vessel, while author J. Dennis Robinson engages the reader with an interesting, if sometimes over-the-top story.

Launched in 2001, Lynx is a replica of type of highly-maneuverable topsail schooner with distinctive raking masts and a unique purpose: prey on British merchant vessels and warships on behalf of the U.S. government. The modern Lynx was inspired by a similar ship of the same name built near Baltimore during the War of 1812, and although her career lasted less than a year, her story, particularly her design, inspired maritime historian Howard Chapelle, which included a drawing of her in his landmark book, The Search for Speed Under Sail. Businessman and history buff Woodson K. Woods saw the drawing and decided he wanted a boat just like it.

The original Lynx sailed with a “letter of marque,” a license to attack enemy ships. During the War of 1812, the U.S. issued these licenses—a common practice among nations at the time—to expand the number of ships that could engage a powerful adversary, in this case, the Royal Navy. Investors would build a ship specifically designed for “privateering” in hopes of taking cargo or ships and selling them for a huge profit. Although patriotism certainly played a role in these “cruizes of opportunity,” a single prize could make a man (the investors at least) rich. Robinson makes a convincing case that privateers are an under-appreciated aspect of the War of 1812. But that doesn’t make the investors, captains, and crews admirable people. Privateers weren’t pirates, in the sense that they operated within the law. But their methods and ultimate motivation were hardly much different.

Woods’ much nobler motivation for building the modern Lynx was educational; he envisioned a platform on which young people could discover the nation’s maritime history, specifically the history of the War of 1812. He asked designer Melbourne Smith, who also designed the brig Niagara and the schooner Californian, to create Lynx. Robinson takes great pains to show how Lynx was constructed by amazing craftsmen and women at Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine. The story of towing the 99-ton Lynx across a bridge to its launch site is harrowing. And Robinson manages to reveal a little bit of Woods’ character, beyond his love of country. “[Woods] ‘blessed’ the project by tying red bunting in every corner of the boat shop to ward off witches and evil spirits,” Robinson writes.

A prolific writer of local history and editor of SeacoastNH.com, Robinson sometimes falls in the trap of many maritime writers: too much “salty talk” and an almost hagiographic treatment of life on the water. Although I have never gone to sea, it’s clear enough to me that even in the 21st century, it’s a dangerous, unpredictable, and sometimes ruinous way to make a living. That was certainly the case for the original Lynx. But America’s Privateer is valuable because its gorgeous layout, stunning imagery (some photos by Woods), and intelligent description of the historic and modern Lynx are sure to spark conversations wherever it’s found.

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Collision at Sea: The True Story of the Collision and Sinking of USCG Lightship Relief LV-78/WAL-505, by J.F. “Jay” McCarthy. Infinity Publishing, 84 pages, softcover, $11.95.

One of the great hidden treasures of small historical societies and associations is the books produced by members to record small, though important events. The books don’t sell in the millions of copies, and the authors don’t get on Oprah. But they often tell long-forgotten stories in a unique way. Collision at Sea is one such book. Written by a former lightship sailor, Jay McCarthy, this slim, but rich and likeable volume relates the last hours of the Lightship Relief LV-78/WAL-505 and the nightmare experienced by its nine-man crew.

In the predawn hours of June 24, 1960, most of the men were asleep as Relief performed her duties as a temporary stand-in on the Ambrose station at the entrance to New York Harbor. The lightship Ambrose herself was in port for maintenance, but Relief was more than capable of guiding the cargo ships and passenger liners that constantly transited one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. The crew of one of those cargo vessels, the Green Bay, would make a series of tragic errors that would destroy Relief.

As a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard’s lightship service, McCarthy is unique qualified to tell the story, and he doggedly pursues it, tracking down most of the survivors of the collision and getting their version of events, while fleshing out the official version. McCarthy also adds telling details of their lives aboard Relief with personal photos and recollections, adding some background of the lightship service to give the tragedy context. And he offers his own view of what happened to Relief, which now lies on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

McCarthy also reminds us that many of these lightship veterans, who lived a life that has now passed into history, are themselves passing and with them, their stories. That’s the real value of this book and hundreds of books like it published by small historical societies or written by men and women of associations such as the USCG Lightship Sailors Association. McCarthy performs an incredible service to future generations by gathering stories that might otherwise be missed, ensuring that someone will remember the tales long after their actors are gone.

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Maritime Heritage Minnesota, a non-profit that investigates maritime archaeological sites in the upper Midwest and elsewhere, has published a book about its work in North Carolina. Authored by MHM principal Ann Merriman, North Carolina Schooners 1815-1911: A History of Shipping, Civil War Confiscations, Archaeological Sites, and the S. R. Fowle and Son Company of Washington, NC, was published to coincide with the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

The book tells the story of North Carolina mariners and the confiscations of schooners as Civil War prizes, many of which were used as sunken obstructions in the rivers and sounds. Other schooners were taken for Confederate service during the war. Some of these vessels are now nautical archaeological schooner sites, including the Cypress Landing Shipwreck of Chocowinity Bay, the schooner Isabella Ellis in the Roanoke River, and the schooner M. C. Etheridge/Black Warrior in the Pasquotank River.

The book grew out of Merriman's master thesis that focused on the shipping enrollments and registries for the ports of Elizabeth City, Edenton, Plymouth, Washington, Ocracoke, New Bern, and Beaufort. The book has been expanded to include Wilmington as well. the shipping firm of S. R. Fowle and Son is investigated through three surviving shipping ledgers and the stories of their schooners. The book is illustrated with color charts, modern color photographs, and period photographs and drawings.

The book is available for Amazon Kindle and mobile devices running the free Kindle app. The price is $4.99.

Maritime Heritage Minnesota is planning another book for publication later this year on the CSS Curlew, a Confederate gunboat sunk during the Battle of Roanoke Island in 1862.