Synopses & Reviews
Four years after the Revolutionary War, America's independence was still in doubt. To survive, the new nation needed money and a vital surge in trade. In the back rooms of Boston, a daring plan was launched by a group of merchants and ship owners: to send two ships on a desperate mission around Cape Horn and into the Pacific Ocean. They wanted to establish new trade with China, settle an outpost on territory claimed by the Spanish, and find the legendary Northwest Passagethe fabled waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The adventure would bring the world to the brink of war.
The man chosen to lead the expedition was John Kendricka master navigator and a charismatic captain of privateers during the Revolution. On the far side of the world, Kendrick would have to rely on his bravery, his charm, and most of all his remarkable resolve to navigate unknown waters, negotiate with cutthroat imperialists from England and Spain, and form alliances with natives hit hard by early encounters with Europeans.
Seventeen years before Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific coast, Kendrick established the first American outpost on what would become Vancouver Island. He then traveled into the cauldron of an intertribal war in the Hawaiian Islands before moving into the far ports of Macao, China, and Kushimoto, Japan, where he narrowly escaped capture by a troop of samurai. Throughout the seven-year journey, Kendrick faced a subordinate officer who wanted to usurp his command, Spanish officials who wanted him captured, and a rival British captain who wanted him dead.
Morning of Fire follows Kendrick through each perilous turn of his adventures aboard the Lady Washington and the Columbia Rediviva. This meticulously researched story uncovers the full scope of a landmark American voyage that came at the volatile close of the eighteenth century, a time when superpowers Spain and Britain clashed over territory and the fledgling United States stood caught in the middle. As Scott Ridley relates Kendrick's fateful struggle to plant the seed of an "empire of liberty" in the Pacific, he shapes a bold and exciting chronicle of a momentous odyssey. Morning of Fire is popular history at its best.
Review
“Compelling.... An edge-of-your-seat adventure about a piece of history you might not know much about.” Cape Cod Times
Review
“A tale of maritime adventure, intrigue and high-stakes diplomacy... Solid.... Important.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“Scott Ridley brings to life a fascinating and largely forgotten episode in the United States early maritime history. A tale of exploration, desperation, and outrageous ambition, Morning of Fire is a terrific and meticulously researched read.” Nathaniel Philbrick, bestselling author of Sea of Glory and In The Heart of the Sea
Review
“Scott Ridleys work on John Kendrick and his voyages to the Northwest, Hawaii, and Canton mark an important contribution to the unfolding story of the relationship between America and China...A great story.” John Pomfret, < i=""> The Washington Post <> , author of < i=""> Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China <>
Synopsis
Morning of Fire by Scott Ridley is the thrilling story of 18th century American explorer and expeditioner John Kedrickas he journeyed forland and trade in the Pacific.Set against the backdrop of one of the most exciting and uncertain times in world history, John Kendrick s odyssey aboard his sailing ship Lady Washington carries him from the shores of New Englandacrossthe unexplored waters of the Pacific Northwest to thecontentious ports of Chinaand the war-ravaged islands of Hawaii, all while avoiding intrigues and traps from the British and the Spanish. Morning of Fire is rivetingAmerican andnavalhistory that brings the era of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson gloriously alive a tale of danger, adventure, and discovery that fans ofNathaniel Philbrickwill not want to miss."
Synopsis
Four years after the end of the American Revolution, the new nation needed cash and a surge in trade to survive. So a group of merchants and ship owners decided to send two ships to the Pacific Ocean, via Cape Horn. The goals of the expedition were to establish new trade with China, settle an outpost on territory claimed by the Spanish, and locate the legendary Northwest Passage.
Scott Ridley recounts the story of this landmark voyage in Morning of Fire. The man chosen to lead the expedition was John Kendrick, who would face not only the hazards of sea travel, but also a subordinate officer who wanted his command, Spanish officials who wanted him captured, and a rival British captain who wanted him dead. This exciting true-life adventure story is popular history at its best.
Scott Ridley is a policy analyst and author who has written for The New Republic, The Nation, Newsday, The Denver Post and many other publications. He is recognized as an authority on the history of the electric utility industry, and co-authored the book Power Struggle: The Hundred Year War Over Electricity. He has four sons and lives with his family in East Harwich, Massachusetts.
"A tale of maritime adventure, intrigue and high-stakes diplomacy. . . . Solid. . . . Important." -- Kirkus Reviews
--John Pomfret,
The Washington Post, author of
Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New ChinaSynopsis
The Forgotten True Story of Americas Daring First Exploration of the Pacific
Just four years after the Revolutionary War and more than a decade before Lewis and Clarks expedition, a remarkable—but now forgotten—plan was hatched along the docks of Boston Harbor. Two ships carrying the flag of the newly formed United States would be dispatched in 1787 on a landmark adventure around South Americas Cape Horn and into the largely uncharted waters of the Pacific Ocean, far past the western edge of the continent. The man chosen to lead the expedition was Captain John Kendrick, a master navigator who had made his name as a charismatic privateer during the Revolution. On the harrowing seven-year voyage that followed, Kendrick would establish the first American outpost in the remote Pacific Northwest, sail into a deadly cauldron of intertribal war in the Hawaiian Islands, wage a single-ship campaign to hold off advances of the British and Spanish empires, and narrowly escape capture by samurai in Japan before meeting his own violent and tragic end thousands of miles from home. Brilliantly brought to life by historian Scott Ridley, Morning of Fire is a startling rediscovery of a thrilling lost chapter of American history.
Synopsis
Morning of Fire by Scott Ridley is the thrilling story of 18th century American explorer and expeditioner John Kedrick as he journeyed for land and trade in the Pacific. Set against the backdrop of one of the most exciting and uncertain times in world history, John Kendricks odyssey aboard his sailing ship Lady Washington carries him from the shores of New England across the unexplored waters of the Pacific Northwest to the contentious ports of China and the war-ravaged islands of Hawaii, all while avoiding intrigues and traps from the British and the Spanish. Morning of Fire is riveting American and naval history that brings the era of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson gloriously alive—a tale of danger, adventure, and discovery that fans of Nathaniel Philbrick will not want to miss.
About the Author
Descended from a long line of New England sailors and shipbuilders, Scott Ridley has written for the New Republic, The Nation, Newsday, the Denver Post, and other publications. He lives with his family in East Harwich, Massachusetts.