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BEACH.(U.S.N), Capt EDWARD L: : The Wreck of the Memphis

LONDON.JARROLDS PUBLISHERS (LONDON) LTD.,1967.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[True 1st edn was US,8vo HB+dw/dj HOLT RINEHART WINSTON,(NY),a year earlier,in 1966.] VG+/VG+.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,glossy laminated,3-colour block (blue,b/w) pictorial illustrated upper panel of dw/dj (an anchored battle cruiser in heavy seas),with black lettering; author's contemporary b/w portrait photographic illustrated rear panel; with some minimal creasing+rubbing to edges and corners - some light chipping to laminate too.A small (approx 3/4") closed tear towards rear,top spine/ backstrip's gutter edge.Top edges inevitably,but lightly dust-soiled with minimal,sporadic spotting/foxing - along with minimal ageing/toning,fore-edges generally brighter and cleaner with a few grub marks - nothing excessive though; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly unread? Bright,clean, sharp-cornered,publisher's original, plain dark blue cloth bds with bright,crisp, blocked silver gilt letters to spine/ backstrip and near immaculate blue+black map (Santo Domingo Harbour) illustrated endpapers.Bottom edges of boards slightly rubbed with light,reciprocal commensurate fraying.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,3-312pp [paginated] includes author foreword,18 chapters,4pp contemporary b/w photographs (8 in total) in 1 block,between pp120/1, acknowledgements and an alphabetical index of personnel associated with the disaster and in the rescue attempts - and wives+ widows etc.Plus [unpaginated) half-title+ title pages,a dedication,contents list/ table,and an illustrations list with b/w diagram of USS Memphis,as a frntis,to it's verso.Described hard,but fairly and honestly - nowhere as bad as it reads or sounds! One of the largest battle cruisers ever built by the United States Navy,the Memphis (originally U.S.S. Tennessee in 1904),was utterly wrecked in one of the worst catastrophes ever recorded in naval history.Now,in the swift,vivid prose which distinguished his best-selling book 'Run Silent,Run Deep',Captain Beach tells the full story of the Memphis,of the man (his father) who commanded her,and of the court-martial which shattered a brilliant naval career. On 29 August 1916,the Memphis was anchored off the shoals of Santo Domingo harbour in roughly 50 feet of water.Soon after 3.00 p.m. the ship began to roll,and a short time later a huge wave appeared to the southeast - a wave which raced towards the harbour at 40 miles an hour and which grew until its tops were 80 to 100 feet above the normal level. What happened then - the desperate attempts to raise steam,the violent destruction of the cruiser,the 200 men injured,the 43 killed - is told in objective,minute-by-minute detail by an author who has lived with the tragedy all his life.Captain Beach writes: 'The survivors - their numbers now greatly depleted - meet once a year on the anniversary of the disaster,and it is from them,as well as from Father's old papers and official Navy documents,that I have been able to reconstruct the story of that day.' Edward L. Beach was born in New York in 1918 and entered the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis at the age of 17.During WW2 he served in submarines in the Central Pacific,commanding the U.S.S. Piper in 1945. From 1953-57 he was Naval Aide to the President of the United States,after which he was given command of the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Triton which he took on the first submerged circumnavigation of the world in 1960.Until his retirement from active service at the end of 1966 he was working at the Pentagon.He is also the author of 'Submarine!',the already mentioned 'Run Silent,Run Deep',which was made into a Hollywood film,and of 'Around the World Submerged',the story of U.S.S. Triton's voyage. Please contact seller,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch, especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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