Here’s a photo looking over the Caribbean from Eagle Beach, Aruba. Those sailboats are racing along while the tanker sits at anchor.
Mean time, that handsome couple takes their morning stroll. Just one of the things that makes Aruba a fine destination.
Bon dia.
The cover design for my novel, Universal Coverage, has been finalized. Here is a look at the front:
A few cover blurbs came in at the last minute, which kept the designers working over time. I think it was worth it. I like the look, the message it sends, and the way it stands out among other books. Look for it online or at a bookstore near you on 15 December 2009. You can pre-order if you like, too.
In the my latest novel, Universal Coverage, an entrepreneurial-minded doctor named Steven Jossy converts a cruise ship into a floating hospital. This is not exactly a new idea. The U.S. Navy has had hospital ships for many years. However, could you imagine striking out and re-establishing your life aboard a permanent location in the ocean? Well, some creative people have envisioned just that.
Seasteading is the term they have coined, and I think appropriately so. The concept is that the ocean is a new frontier, a place to form new societies. Given the current political climate around the world, it might be a good idea. The engineering challenges are not as great as they might have been years ago. After all, there are mega-cruise ships trolling the ocean, carrying up to three or even four thousand passengers plus an equal amount of crew. Six to ten thousand people is a small community, but it could certainly be a pleasant one. Furthermore, it is possible for these smaller groups to be linked to others in loose or firm alliances. The legal ramifications are quite intriguing.
For more about seasteading, check out the website www.seasteading.org. It will make you think. That’s a good thing.
The Sloops of the Hudson River is a fascinating work about these sailing craft that once plied the waters from New York City to Albany and beyond. The book is written by Paul E. Fontenoy and published by the Mystic Seaport Museum.
Those of you not interested in sailing vessels may want to pass. However, if you have a passing interest in how New York and its environs developed, you are well advised to consider this book. In the first place, Mr. Fontenoy tackles the details with a bit of flair, adding in personal contemporary accounts to bring life to a subject that would otherwise be too many facts and figures. Similarly, he has fold-out designs of various sloops which give the reader an opportunity to see their design from every angle. He goes all the way to produce financial records from various businesses to demonstrate the rise and fall of the traffic these vessels conducted.
After a bit of pondering, I propose that the development of trade, and in particular the efforts these owners and sailors invested into their operations, are demonstrable evidence to the evolution of the American Character. Here are people making their living on their own, without supreme guidance or central planning. They profited or failed much of their own accord, learning lessons from both experiences along the way. When their achievements of a more basic age are compared against those of today’s sophistication, I dare say modern progress seems a bit lacking.
If nothing else, those sailing types among my readers will enjoy the book for its technical excellence and readability. Enjoy it.
The Bent Page 
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