At its annual meeting held in Bath, Maine, the North American Society for Oceanic History announced the recipients of its John Lyman Book Awards that recognize outstanding books dealing with the maritime and naval history of North America. The following books published during 2002 received prizes:

Science and Technology: Steven J. Dick, Sky and Ocean Joined: The U.S. Naval Observatory, 1830–2000 (Cambridge University Press); Honorable Mention, William H. Roberts, Civil War Ironclads (Johns Hopkins University Press)

Canadian Naval and Maritime History: John Griffith Armstrong, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy (University of British Columbia Press)

U.S. Naval History: Mitchell B. Lerner, The Pueblo Incident: A Spy Ship and the Failure of American Foreign Policy (University Press of Kansas); Honorable Mention: Robert M. Browning, Jr. Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War (Brassey's)

U.S. Maritime History: Wade G. Dudley, Splintering the Wooden Wall (Naval Institute Press)

Primary Source Materials: Michael J. Crawford, et al., eds. The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, vol. 3 (Naval Historical Center); Honorable Mention: Charles Dana Gibson and E. Kay Gibson, Over Seas: U.S. Army Maritime Operations (Ensign Press).