This chronicle of coastal shipping in the western United States forms an important but hitherto neglected part of the history of transportation in America. From the beginning the seaways were a vital link among the developing West Coast settlements, and even after the completion of a north-south rail line sturdy steamers continued to serve as the major carriers of freight and passengers along the Pacific Coast and as the chief economic and cultural contact of this region with the rest of America.

Here, Giles T. Brown surveys this transportation system at the height of its activity and in particular he traces the history of the Admiral Line which dominated West Coast shipping during the early decades of the twentieth century—and whose decline mirrored that of the industry.