For centuries, America has been shaped by how it uses its oceans, rivers, and lakes. This intriguing book features texts by the curators of 13 maritime museums nationwide—from the Mystic Seaport Museum to the Galveston Historical Foundation—with accounts of whaling on the Atlantic Ocean, boating on the Mississippi, Prohibition-era rumrunning on the St. Lawrence River, oystering on the Chesapeake Bay, and submarine launching in the Great Lakes. Demonstrating how this nautical tradition has influenced countless artists, these essays are paired with 232 images, which include dozens of vintage photographs and contemporary views of paintings, restored vessels, ship models, some truly extravagant prows, and the often-historic museums themselves.