Cape Cod National Seashore to Host Morning of Fire - Daring American Odyssey in the Pacific of John Kendrick

Date: September 19, 2011
Contact: Sue Haley, South District Interpreter, 508-255-3421

Four years after the Revolutionary War, America's independence was still in doubt. To survive, the new nation needed money and a vital surge in trade. In the back rooms of Boston, a daring plan was launched by a group of merchants and ship owners: to send two ships on a desperate mission around Cape Horn and up the Pacific Coast and beyond.

Thus is the setting for this meticulously researched adventure story "Morning of Fire: John Kendrick's Daring American Odyssey in the Pacific"by Cape Cod authorScott Ridley. Come listen to Ridley's presentation about this unique tale on Sunday, October 2, at 2:00 PM, at the Seashore's Salt Pond Visitor Center Auditorium in Eastham, followed by a book signing.

Ridley's story uncovers the full scope of a landmark American voyage that came at the volatile close of the eighteenth century, a time when superpowers Spain and Britain clashed over territory and the fledgling United States stood caught in the middle. As Ridley relates Kendrick's fateful struggle to plant the seed of an "empire of liberty" in the Pacific, he shapes a bold and exciting chronicle of a momentous odyssey.

Scott Ridley is also the co-author of the book Power Struggle: The Hundred-Year War over Electricity, and is a policy analyst who has written for the New Republic, The Nation, Newsday, The Denver Post, and a host of other publications. Descended from a long line of New England sailors and shipbuilders, Scott Ridley has studied and collected books and artifacts on maritime life for forty years. He lives with his family in East Harwich, Massachusetts.

If you go: Salt Pond Visitor Center is located at the intersection of Route 6 and Nauset Road in Eastham and is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5 PM.The center includes a lobby with expansive views of Salt Pond, Nauset Marsh, and the Atlantic; a museum featuring the park's natural and cultural stories; staff to assist with trip planning, and a store with books, maps, puzzles, games, t-shirts, and 50th anniversary commemorative items. There are short films shown throughout the day. The Buttonbush and Nauset Marsh Trails, and the Nauset Bike Trail are located nearby. For more information on Cape Cod National Seashore programs, check the park's website, www.nps.gov/caco.

###