Although part of US cultural and economic history, the role of long-distance sea trade in developing the nation's character and global outlook in the early national period has not been discussed until now. The book is informative and entertaining, a rare combination. Highly recommended. Choice Often gripping and always engaging. True Yankees makes a very real and highly insightful contribution ... Read moreto our understanding of early America's place within the Pacific world. Journal of Pacific History An excellent book contributing valuable information on America's early story. Anyone interested in the birth of our nation and how we entered into the world of commerce will find this a detailed resource. Pirates and Privateers An insightful, well-documented, and immensely significant work for the field of early American history. True Yankees is an excellent and highly important study. Naval Historical Foundation A valuable contribution to our understanding of America's early encounters with the world. American Studies Educational, interesting, cleverly organized, and easy to read. Morrison presents an aspect of American seafaring and trading history that is commonly overlooked, yet still very significant. The Northern Mariner Morrison discerns the beginnings of an American identity in an earlier period of American history by focusing more on the sea than the land through the maritime expansion outwards of the post-Revolutionary and ante-bellum early United States republic. What helps to give the book pace and human engagement is the way in which it is largely based around the lives and travels of a number of key individuals representing different periods and dimensions of what it meant to be what the book's title terms a 'true Yankee.' Bulletin of the Pacific Circle Morrison's book is important and impressive. Its point is accurate and significant. It is a work of skillful research, analysis and vision, as well as one that tells an under-appreciated story. Sea History Show Less