In this publication, the former senior scientific and technical director of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office (“Hydro”), Dr. Charles Bates, takes his readers on a very idiosyncratic tour of Hydro and its activities since 1830. This book is not a history, but rather assorted reflections on an intriguing past combined with episodic personal recollection. While interesting, the author’s treatment of this sweeping period is irregular and frequently uninformed by those archival sources that can take us beyond memory. The value of this book lies in its particular and personal attributes, not in the general perspective it offers on Hydro.

Weir, G. 2006. Review of Hydro to Navoceano: 175 Years of Ocean Survey and Prediction by the U.S. Navy, by C.C. Bates. Oceanography 19(3):150–151, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2006.57.

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