{"product_id":"gordon-bennett-the-first-race-atlantic","title":"Gordon Bennett \u0026 The First Race\/atlantic","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 1866 transatlantic yacht race was a match that saw three yachts battle their way across the Atlantic in the dead of winter in pursuit of a $90,000 prize. Six men died in the brutal and close-fought contest, and the event changed the perception of yachting from a slightly effete gentlemen’s pursuit into something altogether more rugged and adventurous. The race also symbolized the beginning of America’s ‘gilded age’, with its associated obscene wealth and largesse (the $90,000 prize put up by the three contestants is about $15 million in today’s money), as well as the thawing of relations between the US and UK. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe narrative focuses on the victorious yacht \u003ci\u003eHenrietta \u003c\/i\u003eand her owner James Gordon Bennett. Bennett was the son of the multimillionaire proprietor of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Herald\u003c\/i\u003e, and a notorious playboy. His infamous stunts included driving his carriage through the streets of New York naked, tipping a railway porter $30,000, and turning up at his own engagement party blind drunk and mistaking the fire for a urinal, which led to the coining of the phrase ‘Gordon Bennett!’. However, Bennett was also a serious yachtsman and had served with distinction during the civil war aboard \u003ci\u003eHenrietta\u003c\/i\u003e, and he was the only owner to be aboard his own boat during the race. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Other characters include Bennett’s captain Samuel Samuels (legendary clipper skipper, ex-convict and occasional vaudeville actor), financier Leonard Jerome, aboard \u003ci\u003eHenrietta \u003c\/i\u003eas race invigilator (he also happened to be grandfather to Winston Churchill) and Stephen Fisk, a journalist so desperate to cover the race that he evaded a summons to appear as a witness in court and instead smuggled himself aboard \u003ci\u003eHenrietta \u003c\/i\u003ein a crate of champagne.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Using the framework of the race to discuss the various historical themes, there’s ample drama, and the diverse and eccentric range of characters ensure that this is a book laced with plenty of human interest, scandal and adventure.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57360242377086,"sku":"NW9781472941022","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781472941022.jpg?v=1778530560","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/en-usa\/products\/gordon-bennett-the-first-race-atlantic","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}