'… a wide-ranging look at the culture of the common seaman and its connections to mainstream culture ashore through an extensive examination of print, literary, and material culture of the period, with particular emphasis on the mariner's own voice in logbooks, journals, and personal narratives. … In examining successively the language, writing, yarning, singing, reading, and artistry of the seaman, Gilje achieves both a portrait of the American sailor and a history of nationalism in the early Republic.' Kathryn Mudgett, Early American Literature
Introduction; 1. To swear like a sailor; 2. The language of Jack Tar; 3. The logbook of memory; 4. Spinning yarns; 5. Songs of the sailorman; 6. The pirates' own book; 7. Tar-stained images; Epilogue. The sea chest.