Morning of Fire: America's Epic First Journey into the Pacific

Morning of Fire by Scott Ridley is the thrilling story of 18th century American explorer and expedition commander John Kendrick as he sought to establish the first American outposts in the Pacific. Set against the backdrop of one of the most exciting and uncertain times in world history, Kendrick's odyssey aboard his ship Columbia Rediviva and brigantine Lady Washington carries him from the shores of New England across the unexplored waters of the Pacific Northwest to the war-ravaged islands of Hawaii, the treacherous port of Macao/Canton and the closed nation of Japan. All the while, he and his crew evade capture and the intrigues of the British and the Spanish. Morning of Fire fills an early gap in our understanding of Western nations vying for control of the Pacific. It is riveting American and naval history that brings the lives of native people and era of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson virbantly alive—with a tale of danger, adventure, tragedy and discovery that fans of Nathaniel Philbrick will not want to miss. Read more