(ISBN 1420829858) 364 pages. Cover price £12.99.
Published by AuthorHouse, it is available from most internet book stores including www. Amazon. com (Co.Uk), Authorhouse.com, Waterstones.Co.UK and Barnesandnoble.com.
John McGarry's long awaited book is finally available. John was a former Crew Purser (1962-1964) of the Reina del Mar. He had intended to write a specific history of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNC) but having found that its creation, subsequent operations and demise were so inextricably linked with West Coast economic, social and political events before, during and after its existence that he decided that it was more appropriate to outline a history of merchant shipping of that region from the Spanish Imperial Era to the year 2000.
Ploughing The South Sea is the resulting work; it also investigates, inter alia, the affects of the 1849 Californian Gold Rush, the Panama Railroad and the 1879 War in the Pacific between Peru, Chile and Bolivia had on the English company, as PSNC was known on the West Coast.
John's book also explores the main reasons for the company's loss of its privileged position in Chile and Peru during the early part of the 20th Century together with the relatively unknown dark history of events leading to the construction of the Panama Canal and its impact on merchant shipping on the West Coast. If anyone has any difficulty obtaining a copy they may contact me, Barry and I will pass on John's email address.The publishers, Authorhouse, have said it is cheaper in the UK to purchase from them, www.Authorhouse.co.uk. The price, including shipping, is £10.50. From www. Authorhouse.com in the USA, the charge is $14.50.