Index
Bookstore
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The American Saudade Book Store
Read Widely. Question Deeply. Think Independently.
The American Saudade Book Store will be built as an extension of ASI’s educational mission—a carefully developed collection of books exploring the sea, history, culture, migration, navigation, engineering, exploration, colonialism, the Merchant Marine, naval service, and the experiences of people whose lives have been shaped by the Atlantic.
The store will begin with a limited collection and grow over time. Some books will be practical. Others will be historical, literary, cultural, technical, political, biographical, or controversial. Together, they will help readers move beyond simplified narratives and examine subjects through the broader prism of 360-DEEP™.
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Open Inquiry—Without Censorship
ASI supports the freedom to read, investigate, question, compare, and reach informed conclusions. The Book Store will not exclude a serious work merely because it challenges a popular interpretation, criticizes a government or institution, presents an uncomfortable history, or disagrees with another book in the collection.
Whenever possible, ASI will present competing interpretations side by side. A book praising an age of exploration may be paired with another examining conquest, enslavement, colonialism, environmental change, or the experiences of the people encountered. A political or historical figure may be examined through supporters, critics, primary documents, and later scholarship.
The presence of a book in the store does not mean that ASI endorses every argument it contains. It means that the work may contribute to study, research, comparison, or informed discussion.
Open inquiry does not eliminate responsible curation. ASI may decline material that is fraudulent, unlawfully reproduced, deliberately deceptive, unrelated to the mission, or presented primarily to harass or dehumanize others. Age recommendations and content notices may be used where appropriate.
Curation is not the suppression of ideas. Its purpose is to build a serious, relevant, and useful collection.
More Than a Book Store
Each listing should eventually include more than a purchase button. Where resources permit, it may also provide:
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A description of the book
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Information about the author
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Subjects and historical periods covered
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Why ASI selected it
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Related books offering other perspectives
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Discussion questions
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Related 360-DEEP™ material
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Lectures, interviews, and videos
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E-Library resources
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Educator or student recommendations
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Notices regarding updated or superseded technical information
Treat technical books on navigation, weather, vessel systems, medicine, law, or safety as educational resources—not substitutes for current regulations, professional instruction, manufacturer documentation, official charts, or qualified advice.
Books Across the Atlantic World
The collection will reflect the extraordinary range of ASI’s mission.
Readers will find books about the Portuguese voyages, the settlement and development of Cape Verde, the Azores and Madeira, Atlantic trade routes, colonization, slavery, migration, whaling, fishing, shipbuilding, the U.S. Merchant Marine, naval history, submarines, sailing, navigation, ocean science, vessel restoration, and life at sea.
The store will also carry novels, poetry, memoirs, photography, oral histories, family publications, children’s books, and works in Portuguese, Kriolu, and other relevant languages.
Independent Authors and Community Publications
ASI welcomes inquiries from authors, historians, educators, photographers, mariners, veterans, and community organizations whose publications relate to the mission.
Special consideration may be given to:
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Cape Verdean and Portuguese authors
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Diaspora writers
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Current and former mariners
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Family and community historians
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Independent researchers
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Small museums and historical societies
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Maritime educators
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Veteran authors
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Local and regional publishers
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Bilingual and translated works
Submission does not guarantee inclusion. ASI will review relevance, authorship, publication rights, presentation, sourcing, and educational value before listing or selling a title.
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In the future, ASI Publishing may help preserve manuscripts, oral histories, family collections, voyage reports, educational guides, and important works that might otherwise remain unpublished.
Books That Support the Mission
Revenue from the Book Store will support American Saudade, Inc.'s charitable and educational work, including maritime-history preservation, public programming, the E-Library, educational media, interviews, archival projects, and the continued development of S/V American Saudade as a floating classroom.
A purchase can therefore accomplish two things: put a worthwhile book in a reader's hands and help ASI put knowledge in the public's hands.
Help Us Build the Collection
This collection will never be finished.
Readers, teachers, historians, mariners, librarians, and community members are invited to recommend books, identify missing perspectives, suggest authors for interviews, and bring independent or out-of-print publications to ASI’s attention.
If a book taught you something important, challenged your thinking, preserved part of your family history, or helped you better understand the sea and the people who crossed it, we would like to know about it.
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Read the history. Question the narrative. Compare the evidence. Continue the inquiry.
ACTA NON VERBA—Deeds, Not Words.
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