Lectures and Dinner/Lunch/Breakfast Talks

Fees are based on the time at the venue plus travel expenses such as mileage, lodging & meals. Each lecture is typically 45 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A, then time for book signings. Some lectures can be simplified into a 20 minute after-meal [breakfast, lunch, dinner] talk.

Audio/visual/laptop equipment needs to be provided by the host. For the PowerPoint options, a PC friendly thumb drive {memory stick} or disk will be furnished. An individual lecture or a series of appearances may be booked. Mr. Macomber’s schedule is typically set well in advance, although there are times when a last minute booking can be made. Please contact Business Manager Nancy Glickman at Robert.Macomber1@gmail.com for details and scheduling.

• Part 1 of 2 Series: THEODORE ROOSEVELT ~  THE CLIMB (PowerPoint) – from tragedies to victory, this span of years was the making of an extraordinary man and is the remarkable story of Roosevelt’s life from his birth in 1858 to his national prominence in 1898

• Part 2 of 2 Series: THEODORE ROOSEVELT ~  THE SUMMIT (PowerPoint) – this presentation covers from 1898 to 1919 during Roosevelt’s history-changing presidency & tumultuous post-presidency, highlighting events which have left his legacy throughout the world to this very day

• GROG! (PowerPoint) – a hilarious look at the most famous drink afloat, with audience drinking participation in 10 naval toasts from the Canadian, U.S. and Royal navies

• SAILOR TALK (PowerPoint) – an intriguing look at the language of the sea, and how much of it has come ashore into everyday conversations [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• SEA SHANTEYS (PowerPoint) – the inside story of various working and relaxing songs of the sea

• SALTY SUPERSTITIONS (PowerPoint) – the strange do’s and don’ts of life at sea

• FROM SAIL TO STEAM (PowerPoint) – how the first ship engines changed life, for better and for worse, at sea and ashore from canvas to coal

• FROM BARRELS TO CONTAINERS – how the move to containerization completely changed the world and the lives of even people far from the ocean

• FLORIDA’S NAVAL CIVIL WAR (PowerPoint) – blockaders, Rebel smugglers, international incidents and amphibious raiders … all a part of the little-known story of the naval war along FL’s coast

• THE SOUTHERNMOST CONFEDERATES – the first two years (1861-1863) of the war in Florida

• THE NOOSE TIGHTENS – the middle years (1863-1864) of the war in Florida, when everything changed

• UNDEFEATED – the tumultuous and bloody final year (1865) of the war in Florida

• JOINT ARMY-NAVY CIVIL WAR OPERATIONS ON THE FLORIDA GULF COAST & THE TWO MEN WHO MADE IT WORK – 2 senior commanders of the FL Union forces worked together to forge a relentless campaign against their Confederate enemy in a combat environment unlike anywhere else in the Civil War

• CONFEDERATE GENERALS IN UNION BLUE ~ 33 YEARS LATER (PowerPoint) – the story of how two of the most famous Confederate generals helped bring America back together 33 years after the Civil War

• VISITING THE CIVIL WAR TODAY – Civil War structures, monuments and locales in SW Florida & the Florida Keys you can visit today [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• THE PATRIOT & THE WIDOW – the touching story of a pro-Union couple on Useppa Island

• DETRITUS OF WAR – Civil War shipwrecks in SW Florida

• THE STRANGE STORY OF THE U.S.S. ANNIE – the interesting tale of the successful career and mysterious disappearance of a U.S. Navy gunboat on Florida’s Gulf coast

• MARCO ISLAND IN THE CIVIL WAR (PowerPoint) – how Marco Island was used as a blockade-runner hideout during the war [Power Point option]

• SANIBEL & CAPTIVA ISLANDS IN THE CIVIL WAR – blockade-runner naval action along beaches now famous for sunsets and sea shells

• THE FORGOTTEN COUSIN – the incredible story of the USN’s Alexander Semmes, cousin of the legendary CSN hero Raphael Semmes, and his war on Florida’s Gulf coast

• THE GREAT ESCAPE (PowerPoint) – the riveting tale of Confederate Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin’s epic escape to freedom through the islands of SW Florida [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• OCEAN OUTPOST OF THE U.S. NAVY – the changing role of Key West in the war

• THE SWORD OF KEY WEST – a heart-warming story of how a Yankee army officer became an unexpected hero in 1863 Key West

• YELLOW JACK, A BIO WEAPON – the disease that crippled the Union squadron in 1864 Florida

• LAST MEN TO DIE – the story of the final Civil War naval confrontation in the Straits of Florida, a month after Lee’s surrender

• KEY WEST IN THE CIVIL WAR OVERVIEW (PowerPoint) – a comprehensive look at Key West’s part in the American Civil War  [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• GUERRE DE COURSE – Confederate ocean raider strategy

• BLOOD MONEY (PowerPoint) – the crucial role of the Caribbean during the war

• BAHAMIAN REBEL SANCTUARY – a focus on Nassau and the Abaco Islands in the Civil War

• HITTING HOME (PowerPoint) – the 1863 Confederate naval raid on New England

• IRON MEN AND WOODEN YACHTS – the first brave yachtsmen who ventured into SW Florida during the 1880s and 1890s [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• TAMING THE INSIDE PASSAGE – how the forerunner of the ICW was started among our islands because of the Spanish-American War

• CUBA AND SOUTHWEST FLORIDA – a fascinating 500-year connection of soldiers, smugglers, and spies amidst our islands [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• THE PRESIDENT & THE DEVILFISH (PowerPoint) – an amusing look at Theodore Roosevelt, one of the most unusual visiting fishermen and conservationists who made a lasting impact on the Pine Island Sound area. Learn about his expedition to the SW FL coast in search of a world record “devilfish.” [NOTE: This can be a 20 minute after-meal option]

• THE SAILOR WHO CHANGED HISTORY (PowerPoint) – learn the real story of master navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus, his four history-making voyages which yielded triumph and treachery, and the mysteries which surround him to this very day

• THE GREAT ARMADAS (PowerPoint) – how treasure fleets brought the incredible riches of the world to Spain for 300 years

• YACHTS THAT WENT TO WAR (PowerPoint) – the story of elegant yachts which were turned into warships during the Spanish-American War

• THE AMERICA’S CUP AND THE CIVIL WAR (PowerPoint) – the remarkable story of a famous racer-turned-combat ship in the American Civil War and in Florida

• THE U.S. NAVY IN THE DARK YEARS – the demise of naval ability for 20 years after the Civil War

• BRAVE MEN IN IRON TUBES – the story of the pioneers in actual submarine warfare from the 1860s to the 1890s

• THE ITALIAN NAVY’S DECIMA MAS (PowerPoint) – the incredible World War II story of the first naval special operations unit in history; the professional predecessor of the famous U.S. Navy SEALs

• CUBA’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM: STORIES FROM THE HONOR SERIES – learn about Cuba’s struggles, from the American Civil War until the turn of the 19th century, as depicted in my Honor Series novels

• FLORIDA AND CUBA ~ 500 YEARS (PowerPoint) – conquistadors, priests, fishermen, gun-runners, revolutionaries, rum smugglers, and freedom fighters … some of the people highlighted in this 500 year bond between Florida & her neighbor to the south

• CONFEDERATE GENERALS IN UNION BLUE ~ 33 YEARS LATER (PowerPoint) – the story of how two of the most famous Confederate generals helped bring America back together 33 years after the Civil War

• FLORIDA’S CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR (PowerPoint) – Learn how this war changed the USA from a continental country into a global power and how close we came to losing this war in Cuba. Marvel at the fascinating personalities who led the way and the related places of interest you can visit today

• Part 1 of 4 Series: CUBA’S 30-YEAR STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN (PowerPoint) – An overview of how patriots on the island and exiles in the United States struggled through three hot wars, interspersed by periods of smoldering intrigue, to form an independent Cuban nation. It is the story of how our two peoples were bound together in a common cause, ultimately leading us into the Spanish-Cuban-American War.

• Part 2 of 4 Series: THE AMERICAN INVASION OF CUBA (PowerPoint) – From the destruction of the USS Maine to the mobilization of America’s military might, the beginning of the Spanish-Cuban-American War did not unfold the way the press, the government, or the military anticipated. And once the ‘Yanquis’ landed on the island, things got worse. This is just the beginning!

• Part 3 of 4 Series: A TEST OF STRENGTH~THE LAND BATTLE FOR SANTIAGO (PowerPoint) – Here’s what really happened in the battles of El Caney, Kettle Hill, and San Juan Heights, which were anything but easy for the U.S. Army. When that exhausting day was over, the Americans faced a horrifying truth: the worst was yet to come.

• Part 4 of 4 Series: A MATTER OF HONOR~THE NAVAL BATTLE OF SANTIAGO (PowerPoint) – This climactic naval battle of the war in Cuba displayed desperate measures of Spanish bravery and American skill. But that great sea fight wasn’t the end, and the little-known final phase of the war nearly became a complete disaster for the Americans. This talk includes an epilogue to the Spanish-Cuban-American War, the consequences of which are still very much with us today.

• OCEAN RAIDERS OF THE PACIFIC (PowerPoint) – 300 years of English, Confederate, and German sailors who caused mayhem in the largest ocean on earth

• PACIFIC TREASURES (PowerPoint) – the tale of the great Spanish treasure armadas which crossed the Pacific for 300 years, battling storms and ocean raiders to bring the riches of the East to Spain

• BLACKBIRDING (PowerPoint) – an eye-opening saga of legalized slavery of Pacific native people by some of the most ruthless men at sea; the terrible scourge of the Pacific from 1860 to 1910

• THE WAR WHICH CHANGED SOUTH AMERICA & THE U.S. NAVY – the story of the War of the Pacific from 1879 to 1883

• GERMANY’S PACIFIC EMPIRE (PowerPoint) – the fascinating story of Germany’s dominance of the central Pacific from the 1870s to World War I

• WAR SCARE IN SAMOA (PowerPoint) – the 1889 confrontation between Germany and the U.S. in the Pacific

• THE LAST TO SUCCUMB (PowerPoint) – a detailed look into the end of the Samoan and Hawaiian Kingdoms from the 1880s to 1890s

• THE MERRIE MONARCH (PowerPoint) – learn about the legacy of Hawaii’s King David Kalākaua and the Hawaiian renaissance from the 1870s to the 1890

• GENTLEMEN WARRIORS (PowerPoint) – fleet actions of World War I in the Pacific

• BATTLE OF PAPEETE (PowerPoint) – the surprising story of an unlikely French hero who defended Papeete, Tahiti against an entire German Squadron in World War I

• THE SEA DEVIL (PowerPoint) – the story of the most famous ocean raider in the Pacific, beloved by even his enemies, kindly regarded as ‘gentleman foe’

• THE RISING SUN SERIES (4 PowerPoints) – an overview of little-known historical backgrounds for tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on Japan’s remarkable rise to becoming a global power

• Part 1 of 4 Series: THE RISING SUN SERIES ~ OPENING UP TO THE WORLD {1854-1894} (PowerPoint) – this series starts with the incredible story of Japan’s joining the world stage and her astonishingly rapid modernization

• Part 2 of 4 Series: THE RISING SUN SERIES ~ ASCENDING OVER ASIA {1894-1895} (PowerPoint) – how Japan’s relationship with China and Korea evolved through commerce and the first Sino-Japanese war, with subsequent humiliation by the Europeans

• Part 3 of 4 Series: THE RISING SUN SERIES ~ TAKING ON EUROPE {1904} (PowerPoint) – how did Japan militarily take on Russia over Korea and destroy Russia’s hopes for exercising power in the Pacific, thus becoming the first non-Caucasian culture to defeat Europeans in 500 years

• Part 4 of 4 Series: THE RISING SUN SERIES ~ JAPAN JOINS THE ALLIES IN WORLD WAR I {1914-1919} (PowerPoint) – an eye-opening story of how Japan aided the Allied effort in the Pacific and the Mediterranean, became a global power to be reckoned with, and came to possess large archipelagos in the central Pacific 20 years before World War II