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| Plot Summary of The Frozen-Water Trade |
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"Weightman's story is one of astounding American ingenuity and steadfast ambition chronicling the founding and growth of the ice industry by Frederic Tudor of Boston in the early 1800's. Born to a well-to-do Boston family, his inheritance was lost by his father's poor investments in land and commodities. Determined to find a use for the fresh water ice that formed on ponds, lakes and rivers of the Northeast, he learned through trial and error the best techniques for harvesting, storing, shipping and selling ice. Initially scoffed at and ridiculed for his outrageous belief that anyone would find value in ice, let alone pay for it, Tudor stuck to his dreams and shipped ice to the West Indies and American southern states. Almost every early partner he worked with let him down by misappropriating his money or neglecting the task of selling the ice. Often finding himself bankrupt, several times he was thrown into debtors prison for outstanding unpaid debt. Somehow Tudor managed to borrow enough to stay in business.
Eventually, as his ideas caught on, ice became an ideal form of ballast for American shipping in the 1800's. He sent ships loaded with New England blocks of ice to major American ports such as Charleston, Key West, and New Orleans. Tudor even had the wild notion to send ice to London and to India. He faced competition from rivals but managed to amass a huge fortune from supplying comfort and convenience in the form of ice long before the days of refrigeration, air conditioning, or artificial ice manufacturing. Ice changed the face of American shipping of perishable goods such as fish, meat and dairy products and allowed the storage of the same goods in homes and businesses for longer periods of time. "
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Frozen-Water Trade |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession:
- businessman
Job/profession/poverty story
Yes
Period of greatest activity?
- 1800's
Subject of Biography
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- long lived adults
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity
- White
Nationality
- American (!)
How sensitive is this person?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other people
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- Deep South
Island?
Yes
Island:
- Caribbean Islands
City?
Yes
City:
- Boston
Century:
- 19th century
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Book makes you feel?
- in awe
Writer's slant towards subject:
- favorable
Story of entire life, or part?
- story of nearly entire life
Pictures/Illustrations?
- A ton 16-20 B&W
How much dialogue in bio?
- little dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Gavin Weightman Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Fletcher
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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