NOW AVAILABLE
Before the Dolphins Guild
A story of Heroic Efforts to Save Two Navy Submarine Crews Trapped Under the Sea in 1915 and 1916
In the early days of submarining, before the Great War, two U.S. submarine disasters riveted the nation as the stories unfolded in local and national newspapers. In Hawaii, the USS F-4 left Honolulu on a routine training run in March 1915 — and disappeared with its crew of 21 men. At Northern California’s Humboldt Bay in December 1916, the USS H-3 crashed onto the sea floor during a treacherous bar crossing attempt and was pinned under roiling surf with its crew of 27. Both rescue attempts would become historic naval events, requiring tremendous courage, innovation, and stamina from all the crews and individuals involved.
NOW AVAILABLE
It's Warm in Siberia
Travel Stories and Photographs from a Solo Journey Across the USSR in 1984
In 1984, Jon Humboldt Gates, having spent two years studying Russian and planning his journey, left his rural home on the California north coast and landed on the shores of the Soviet Far East by ship via Japan. He spent the next eight weeks traveling by rail and automobile through Russia and Ukraine, riding the full length of the Trans-Siberian Railway, driving alone for hundreds of kilometers through Russia and traveling south to the Black Sea. Along the way, he met scores of people from all walks of life, most of whom had never met an American before; an old woman with six white geese on a country road who pleaded with him for peace, a 14-year-old boy from Siberia who shared his love for dogs, a man who invited him to plunge into the icy waters of Lake Baikal, a group of musicians in Kyiv (Kiev in 1984) who became the seed of a transnational music project, and an ice cream flavor Baskin-Robbins had never imagined. He formed deep friendships, some that were lasting, others that were celebrated in the moment.
WORKS BY JON HUMBOLDT GATES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jon Humboldt Gates is the author of five non-fiction books, including his most recent historical work – Before the Dolphins Guild – A Story of Heroic Efforts to Save Two Navy Submarine Crews Trapped Under the Sea in 1915 and 1916 (2022). Other recent works by the author include, Firestorm (2018) – A Personal Narrative from the Epicenter of the Tubbs Firestorm, One of the Most Destructive Wildfires in California History; And, It’s Warm in Siberia – Travel Stories and Photographs from a Solo Journey Across the USSR in 1984 (Second Edition 2023).