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Skip Finley is a former broadcasting executive who was responsible for over 40 U.S. radio stations and experienced success in all areas of radio. Attempting retirement since age 50, he keeps returning to communications, currently in marketing at the Vineyard Gazette Media Group on Martha's Vineyard, where he summered since 1955, deciding to become a writer. For five years Finley wrote the weekly Oak Bluffs Town Column and is a contributor to several publications in the areas of whaling and history.
Whaling Captains of Color: America's First Meritocracy is an
examination of a fascinating quirk in America's history of race
relations…. It follows its cast of characters to their lives after
the whaling industry had ended, continuing to illuminate an
important chapter in American history."—--Vineyard Gazette
"Whaling Captains of Color by Skip Finley is a fascinating
exploration of the lives of multicultural whalemen, mostly unknown
to us until now, during the eighteenth and nineteenth century in
America....Skip Finley thoughtfully honors and illustrates how the
men of color in this book shaped commercial whaling, one of
America's earliest global industries. I highly recommend this
book."—Alicia Carney, Nantucket Book Festival—"Finley follows the
history of more than fifty black and native Americans who became
whale ship captains, ship owners, and chandlers (running businesses
supplying whaling ships). Revealed is a fascinating tale of the
rise and fall of family whaling and shipping dominions run by men
of color. This is placed against the backdrop of both American
society and whaling during the period. Whaling Captains of Color
examines both an industry critical to America's industrialization,
the people that worked in it, and the dynamics that created a
color-blind meritocracy in a color-conscious era."—Ricochet
"In Whaling Captains of Color, Island writer Skip Finley has
produced an extraordinary work that will change your perspective on
the highly romanticized whaling era in American history, and the
role of people of color in a trade that brought whalers fortunes
and death."—Martha's Vineyard Times—"Not so long ago, many people
of color in the United States did not have many options for
employment. When they did find it, they faced an uphill battle in
advancing up the ladder. However, in the book, Whaling Captains of
Color: America's First Meritocracy, Skip Finley reveals that the
whaling industry was one place where a man of color could move up
through the ranks and become Master (captain) of a ship. Finley
shows how Native Americans, American Blacks, and Cape Verdeans
worked on this whaling vessels and became masters of them. Not only
does he relate their individual stories but he mixes it with what
the whaling industry was and life aboard a whaling vessel. These
men did face racism, but on a whaling vessel where life was hard
and death always near, whether or not a man could do his job well
overcame whatever racism the crew may have felt. This book does a
good job of relating the accomplishments of these men of color and
their role in making whaling a successful endeavor. I recommend
this book for anyone interested in whaling or the achievements of
people of color."—Ghost Reader
"This book is the result of extensive research into the whaling
trade and the lives of some of its captains…. In writing this book,
the author knew he needed to tell the story of whaling to any
potential readers who might otherwise be unfamiliar with the
industry. He does an admirable job and provides wonderful portraits
of the many brave men who reached the pinnacle of their careers
because of their knowledge and skills. Although planned as an
excellent sea story, by being published during the Black Lives
Matter movement, Whaling Captains of Color will be read by many
people enthralled to discover that so many black men were in
command of their ships and their destinies.—Pirates and
Privateers
"Much more than a prodigious work of scholarship, Whaling Captains
of Color is also an entertaining read that puts the focus where it
properly belongs: on the multicultural essence of a fishery that
spanned the globe. Highly recommended."—Nathaniel Philbrick, author
of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
"Skip Finley provides a fascinating portrait of the turbulent and
fraught world of the men of color who not only were whalemen, but
also became leaders in one of America's most iconic industries.
Whaling Captains of Color is a most welcome and long overdue
addition to the literature, and one which will hopefully spur
others to dig deeper into this important aspect of whaling
history."—Eric Jay Dolin, author of Leviathan: The History of
Whaling in America
"In this engaging new volume, Skip Finley has written a
comprehensive account of the over fifty sailors of color who rose
to captain America's great whaling ships. Meticulously researched,
Whaling Captains of Color provides an overview of the 200 years of
industrial whaling, a profession in which a relative meritocracy
existed. In addition, Finley provides a critically important
analysis of the social and legal conditions on land which
encouraged so many people of color to brave the dangers of the
sea."—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University
Professor, Harvard University
"The story of people of color in the whaling industry is a
fascinating and hitherto unexplored subject enough, but Skip
Finley's brilliant survey of the black captains and crew of the New
England whale fisheries takes it one step further. His swift and
sure narrative is excitingly told, bringing a fresh and vibrant
focus to a vital part of American, and indeed global,
history."—Philip Hoare, author of The Whale
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