[Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail, by W. Jeffrey Bolster]

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Growing up in Norwalk, Connecticut, Jeffrey Bolster was captivated by the sea. He watched Jacques Cousteau on television, read of countless sea adventures, and sailed dinghies in Long Island Sound. He entered Trinity College in Connecticut with the intention of studying marine biology, but a freshman course in "The American Maritime Experience" piqued his interest in maritime history. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in History, Bolster bought a one-way air ticket to the Caribbean and signed aboard a rusty three-master as deckhand, later becoming a licensed deck officer. From 1977 to 1986 he sailed the Sea Education Association's Westward out of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and also worked for Southampton College's SeaMester Program. During these years he sailed as mate and captain, and taught Maritime Studies and Nautical Science. He also earned a master's degree from Brown University, and taught in school-ship programs at the Landmark School and Northeastern University. As a licensed Master Mariner, he commanded the Te Vega, the Appledore, and the Harvey Gamage. It was during these years aboard ship in the Caribbean that his interest in black seafaring was sparked.

Bolster left the Sea Education Association in 1986, married, and began Ph.D. studies in History at the Johns Hopkins University. In 1991 he joined the faculty of the University of New Hampshire, where he is Hortense Cavis Shepherd Assistant Professor and director of the graduate studies program of the History Department. He has combined his love of the sea with his interest in history in this, his first book. As he says, "Reading and seafaring are two ways to cross boundaries. They're both ways to go different places."

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