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and Information / April 2006 / BPC professor’s book signing set for April 18
BPC professor's book signing set for April
18
A reception and book signing for Dr. Kevin McCranie,
assistant professor of history at Brewton-Parker College, will be Tuesday,
April 18, announced Dr. Lee Cheek, chair of Brewton-Parker's Social and Behavioral
Sciences Division.
McCranie's new book, Admiral Lord Keith and the
Naval War Against Napoleon, published by the University Press of Florida, will
be available for purchase at the signing in the Morgan Gallery of the Fountain-New
Library from 2-3 p.m. on the BPC campus.
"Publishing a scholarly tome with a university
press is a great accomplishment, and we look forward to everyone's participation
in this event as we recognize Dr. McCranie," Cheek said.
The book is expanded from McCranie's doctoral
dissertation, which he began in 1997, and he earned his doctorate from Florida
State University in 2001.
Lord Keith, a Scottish admiral who rose to prominence
serving His Majesty from 1761 to 1815, ended his career by overseeing Napoleon's
surrender in 1815.
Born George Keith Elphinstone, Keith at one time
or another held nearly every important command in the British navy, and his
story illustrates the navy's history during the Age of Fighting Sail.
McCranie's book is the first modern biography
of Keith, who learned the art of commanding single ships and small squadrons
during the American Revolution. Keith eventually commanded four major fleets:
the Eastern Seas, the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the Channel.
Though he never led a fleet into battle, Keith supported joint operations with the British army and its allies while simultaneously maintaining command of the sea and ensuring the free passage of commerce.
A skilled administrator, who at times controlled
more than 200 ships over thousands of square miles of ocean, Keith successfully
navigated the political and social waters as well. Drawing on more than 100,000
private and public records, McCranie documents Keith's dealings with the British
government, the Royal Family, the Admiralty, the French government, the French
navy, the British navy and Britain's allies.
Citing letters Keith wrote to his wife, his sister, his oldest daughter and his father, to whom he described his first impressions of the navy, McCranie offers a personal portrait and narrative of a career-conscious officer who worried about what others thought of him.
"This book will appeal to historians of the
Royal Navy, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, as well as enthusiasts
of the Age of Fighting Sail," McCranie said.
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