The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History presents the first such narrative of the earth's tenth largest body of water. In this beautifully written and illustrated volume, John S. Sledge explores the people, ships, and cities that have made the Gulf's human history and culture so rich. Many famous figures who sailed the Gulf's viridian waters are highlighted, including Ponce de Leon, Robert Cavelier de La Salle, Francis Drake, Jean Laffite, Tyrone Power, Richard Henry Dana, Libbie Custer, Elizabeth Agassiz, Ernest Hemingway, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as Charles Dwight Sigsbee, at the helm of the doomed Maine. But Sledge also introduces a fascinating and diverse array of people connected to maritime life in the Gulf, including Mesoamerican pyramid builders, Spanish conquistadores, French pirates, Creole women, Cajun fishermen, African American stevedores, British jack-tars, and Greek sponge divers.Gulf events of global historical importance are detailed, such as the only defeat of armed and armored steamships by wooden sailing vessels, the first accurate deep-sea survey and bathymetric map of any ocean basin, the development of shipping containers by a former truck driver frustrated with antiquated loading practices, and the worst environmental disaster in American annals. Occasionally shifting focus ashore, Sledge explains how people representing a gumbo of ethnicities built some of the world's most exotic cities--Havana, way station for conquistadores and treasure-filled galleons; New Orleans, the Big Easy, famous for its beautiful French Quarter, Mardi Gras, and relaxed morals; and oft-besieged Veracruz, Mexico's oldest city, founded in 1519 by Hernan Cortes. Throughout history the residents of these cities and their neighbors along the littoral have struggled with challenges both natural and human-induced--devastating hurricanes, frightening epidemics, catastrophic oil spills, and conflicts ranging from dockside brawls to pirate raids, foreign invasion, civil war, and revolution. In the modern era the Gulf has become critical to energy Production, fisheries, tourism, and international trade, even as it is threatened by pollution and climate change. The Gulf of Mexico: A Maritime History is a work of verve and sweep that illuminates both the risks of life on the water and the riches that come from its bounty.

This title focuses on a classic southern port city seen through its architecture. In ""The Pillared City"", John S. Sledge presents a richly illustrated overview of the Greek Revival period in Mobile, Alabama (1825-70), when high style and vernacular columned buildings were erected on the city's streets. Using a wealth of resources such as deeds and diaries, Sledge reveals the architectural accomplishments that helped Mobile emerge from its position as a rustic backwater to become a prominent international seaport. Sledge explains how these buildings reflect coastal and national trends and details the surprisingly advanced construction techniques required of the architects and builders. Sledge offers more than an architectural history, incorporating stories such as how the triple blows of bankruptcy, yellow fever, and fire nearly obliterated Mobile in 1839. The eventful histories behind prominent landmarks such as Barton Academy, Government Street Presbyterian Church, Christ Episcopal Church, Oakleigh, Stewartfield, Georgia Cottage, and the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion are detailed, as are the lives of historical figures like Henry Hitchcock, James and Charles Dakin, James Gallier, Signor Vito Viti, John Trenier Sr., and Augusta Jane Evans. Featuring sixty contemporary black-and-white photographs by Sheila Hagler and a rich array of historical images, ""The Pillared City"" captures the grace and allure of Mobile's antebellum style.