SAMUEL CUNARD: Pioneer of the Atlantic Steamship

Right book, wrong place. Commissioned in observance of Canada's centennial, this, is a detailed account of the family and mercantile fortunes of Samuel Cunard which will undoubtedly fascinate, inhabitants of his native Nova Scotia and interest sea-conscious Britons; American youngsters will find it too removed and undramatic to be of much interest. Cunard was a born businessman whose many enterprises made him a success before he seized on the potentiality of steamships for safe, steady trans-Atlantic transport; as a well-balanced biography this, gives equal space to family entanglements, local economics and later-acclaim, and only incidental attention to the specific circumstances of the early crossings. A thorough, intelligent treatment, but no hook or line for kids.