America's Cup Sailing Gear & Equipment - High-Performance Boats, Sails & Accessories for Competitive Racing | Perfect for Regattas, Yacht Clubs & Professional Sailors

Richard Simpson is a prolific author of smallish books on Rhode Island and the America's Cup. Seventeen by my count, sixteen since 1989.This is his second book I've read. The other: Herreshoff Yachts; Seven Generations of Industrialists, Inventors and Ingenuity in Bristol is better than this book, it was more thorough but did not cover ground not better covered before. This, Simpson's latest is worse. I cannot recommend it.The errors of fact had me laughing. The organization and the attempt to do something different and then to do it so poorly weighs on this book. With 3 preliminary sections, 16 chapters, and 3 post sections in 128 pages these are short chapters-little is covered well and none in depth. The section on Hall Spars and Goetz custom yachts are the highlights. Perhaps focusing on Bristol's continued role in the America's Cup would have been a better focus.The first chapter entitled "The Yacht America" is three pages long with a 1967 picture of its replica with defender Intrepid in the foreground. What gives? There is a wonderful book titled America's Victory. This book could very well have created a well done vignette that started the book off on some aspect not already covered and at least used a period photograph to support the idea.In a book of this size it requires focus, on the boats, the people, the matches, the manufactories, on something--but this one is all over the map and covers nothing well. It's a shame because by all accounts Mr. Simpson is a fine man in the Bristol tradition.