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› Find signed collectible books: '1421: The Year China Discovered the World'
If you're going to make a stir, you might as well do it in style. And Gavin Menzies has caused one, big time. In 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, this retired Royal Navy submarine commander, who only visited China for the first time on his 25th wedding anniversary, claims that the Chinese navigator Zheng He discovered America some 71 years before Columbus. And not content with this, he goes on to suggest that Zheng He learnt how to calculate longitude several centuries before John Harrison supposedly nailed the problem. Unsurprisingly, this has not gone down too well in some areas and the book has been the target of some scepticism.
Although Menzies has unearthed a few unknown primary sources, the bulk of his thesis depends on amalgamating several disparate areas of research into a grand unified theory. So he combines what we do know--principally that the Chinese built huge sailing ships with nine masts and that Asiatic chickens were discovered in South America--into what he considers compelling evidence. Menzies has also turned up some maps from the pre-Columbus era that appear to show the Americas, along with a few shipwrecks and Ming artefacts from along his supposed route.
It all makes for a gripping read, even if the sum doesn't quite add up to the whole. For all the detail, Menzies is some way off providing proof. None of the supposed 28,000 colonists has left any documentary evidence because all records, boats and shipyards associated with his voyage were burnt by imperial order in 1433. This surely begs the question--if we know so much of Zheng He's voyages around the Indian Ocean, how come we know nothing of his trips further east? Nor, conveniently for Menzies, did any of the colonists return home in triumph. They either died en route or skulked home to obscurity after they were disowned by the emperor.
So you either accept Menzies as an act of faith or brush him aside with scepticism. Either way, you'll have a lot of fun in the process as the book is never less than provocative. And even the sceptics will find themselves hoping Menzies has got it right, because there's something intrinsically uplifting about the notion of an amateur historian getting one over the professionals. --John Crace [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Age of Reconnaissance'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The American Line: (1871-1902)'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Atlantic'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Atlantic: The Last Great Race of Princes'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Battleship Bismarck: A Survivor's Story'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Beyond the Capes:Pacific Exploration from Captain Cook to the 'Challenger', 1776-1877: Pacific Exploration from Captain Cook to the 'Challenger', 1776-1877'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Blind Horn's Hate'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Buccaneers of America'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian: The Men and the Mutiny'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Carry On, Mr. Bowditch'
The story of a boy who had the persistence to master navigation in the days when men sailed by "log, lead, and lookout," and who authored The American Practical Navigator, "the sailor's Bible." [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Commerce and Culture'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Commerce and Culture: The Maritime Communities of Colonial Massachusetts, 1690-1750'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Compass: A Story Of Exploration And Innovation'
"The compass' rocky evolution is charted with an enthusiast's passion....A fascinating adventure."Bernadette Murphy, Los Angeles Times
Compass chronicles the misadventures of those who attempted to perfect the magnetic compassso precious to sixteenth-century seamen that, by law, any man found tampering with it had his hand pinned to the mast with a dagger. From the time man first took to the seas until only one thousand years ago, sight and winds were the sailor's only navigational aids. It was not until the development of the compass that maps and charts could be used with any accuracyeven so, it would be hundreds of years and thousands of shipwrecks before the marvelous instrument was perfected. And its history up to modern times is filled with the stories of disasters that befell sailors who misused it. In this page-turning history of man's search for reliable navigation of treacherous sea routes around the globe, Alan Gurney brings to life the instrument Victor Hugo called "the soul of the ship." 20 illustrations. [via]More editions of Compass: A Story Of Exploration And Innovation:

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Custom of the Sea'

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Discovery of the Sea.'

› Find signed collectible books: 'Drake's Voyages: A Re-Assessment of Their Place in Elizabethan Maritime Expansion'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Early Man and the Ocean: A Search for the Beginnings of Navigation and Seaborne Civilizations'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Endurance'
You can't really fail with a book about the Endurance. Although Ernest Shackleton's attempt to make the first Trans-Antarctic crossing barely made it out of base camp, his expedition has gone into the history books as one of the great epics of polar travel. Endurance left England in August 1914 and reached the pack-ice off Antarctica in January the following year. It sank in November, crushed by the weight of the ice, leaving Shackleton and his 27 men stranded in one of the most desolate areas of the world with no hope of rescue. Undaunted, Shackleton led his team to the edge of the ice, dragging three open life-boats that had been salvaged from the Endurance every step of the way. They then sailed to Elephant Island, a remote uninhabited outcrop of rock, where they lived off penguins and seagull. By April 1916, Shackleton realised there was no chance of them being spotted by a passing ship and he and five men set sail in the open-decked 20-foot boat, the James Caird, across 650 miles of the stormiest seas of the southern oceans for South Georgia. After narrowly surviving being shipwrecked on the reefs surrounding the western coast of South Georgia, Shackleton then proceeded to make the first-ever crossing of the mountainous island before reaching the sanctuary of the whaling station at Stromness. And it was Shackleton, in person, who led the rescue mission to Elephant Island to pick up the rest of his men. Miraculously, all 28 men survived.
Alfred Lansing's book, first published in 1957, tells it as it was. He draws heavily on the diaries and other first-person memoirs of those involved, and he writes with both style and pace. As such it is the classic tale of derring-do. What Lansing misses, though, is the social context. He provides little sense of history; in August 1914, when the Endurance left England, World War One was starting. By the time he returned home two years later, thousands of young men of his generation were lying dead on the battlefields of the Somme. The contrast is almost unbearable but Lansing makes nothing of it. Similarly he does not explain how someone like Scott, whose South Pole expedition several years earlier had been an unmitigated disaster of incompetence and bad planning, should go down in British history as one of our all-time heroes, while Shackleton, whose exploits were indeed truly heroic, has lived for so long in Scott's shadow. --John Crace [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A General History of Pyrates'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Her Name, Titanic'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'History of American Sailing Ships'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the Uss Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Isaac's Storm'
On September 8, 1900, a massive hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas. A tidal surge of some four feet in as many seconds inundated the city, while the wind destroyed thousands of buildings. By the time the water and winds subsided, entire streets had disappeared and as many as 10,000 were dead--making this the worst natural disaster in America's history.
In Isaac's Storm, Erik Larson blends science and history to tell the story of Galveston, its people, and the hurricane that devastated them. Drawing on hundreds of personal reminiscences of the storm, Larson follows individuals through the fateful day and the storm's aftermath. There's Louisa Rollfing, who begged her husband, August, not to go into town the morning of the storm; the Ursuline Sisters at St. Mary's orphanage who tied their charges to lengths of clothesline to keep them together; Judson Palmer, who huddled in his bathroom with his family and neighbors, hoping to ride out the storm. At the center of it all is Isaac Cline, employee of the nascent Weather Bureau, and his younger brother--and rival weatherman--Joseph. Larson does an excellent job of piecing together Isaac's life and reveals that Isaac was not the quick-thinking hero he claimed to be after the storm ended. The storm itself, however, is the book's true protagonist--and Larson describes its nuances in horrific detail.
At times the prose is a bit too purple, but Larson is engaging and keeps the book's tempo rising in pace with the wind and waves. Overall, Isaac's Storm recaptures at a time when, standing in the first year of the century, Americans felt like they ruled the world--and that even the weather was no real threat to their supremacy. Nature proved them wrong. --Sunny Delaney [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Jamestown Voyages under the First Charter, 1606-1609: Documents Relating to the Foundation of Jamestown and the History of the Jamestown Colony up to the Departure of Captain John Smith, Last President of the Council in Virginia under the First...'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Kon-Tiki'
Six men on a small raft sail four thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean, from Peru to the Polynesian Islands. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Kon-Tiki'
435pages. poche. Broché. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Left to Die: The Story of the U. S. S. Juneau'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Left to Die: The Tragedy of the Uss Juneau'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Man-Of-War'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Men and Whales'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Men-Of-War: Life in Nelson's Navy'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Mississippi Steamboat Era in Historic Photographs: Natchez to New Orleans 1870-1920'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Moby Dick'
Moby Dick is a vast and dangerous white whale. An enemy for many years after the whale bit off his leg, the crazed Captain Ahab is obsessed with his quarry. Together with his extraordinary crew, Ahab braves the oceans of the world to hunt the fearsome Moby Dick. Geraldine McCaughrean is one of the most distinguished living children's authors. She has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Novel Award (twice), and The Guardian Children's Fiction Award. Geraldine's most recent best-selling novel "The Kite Rider" was published to universal acclaim in March 2001. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Moby Dick Or, the Whale'
Including hyperlinked explanatory notes within the ebook-optimized text, introductions by leading authorities, and a wealth of other valuable material, Oxford World's Classics ebooks continue the series century-long commitment to scholarship across a broad spectrum of literature from around the globe.
Moby Dick: This classic story of high adventure, manic obsession and metaphysical speculation was Melville's masterpiece. This edition includes passages from Melville's correspondence with Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which the two discuss the philosophical depths of the novel's plot and imagery. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Moby-Dick, Or, The White Whale'
Avec Moby Dick, Melville a donné naissance à un livre-culte et inscrit dans la mémoire des hommes un nouveau mythe : celui de la baleine blanche. Fort de son expérience de marin, qui a nourri ses romans précédents et lui a assuré le succès, l'écrivain américain, alors en pleine maturité, raconte la folle quête du capitaine Achab et sa dernière rencontre avec le grand cachalot. Véritable encyclopédie de la mer, nouvelle Bible aux accents prophétiques, parabole chargée de thèmes universels, Moby Dick n'en reste pas moins construit avec une savante maîtrise, maintenant un suspense lent, qui s'accélère peu à peu jusqu'à l'apocalypse finale. L'écriture de Melville, infiniment libre et audacieuse, tour à tour balancée, puis hachée au rythme des houles, des vents et des passions humaines, est d'une richesse exceptionnelle. Il faut remonter à Shakespeare pour trouver l'exemple d'une langue aussi inventive, d'une poésie aussi grandiose. --Scarbo [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Mr Bligh's Bad Language: Passion, Power and Theatre on the Bounty'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Night Lives On : The Untold Stories and Secrets Behind the Sinking of the "Unsinkable" Ship - Titanic!'
You might say that Walter Lord provoked the whole Titanic mania by interviewing dozens of survivors and fashioning their reminiscences into the classic non-fiction novel A Night to Remember, which was made into a 1958 film that heavily influenced James Cameron's 1998 epic. Some of the dialogue is more vivid than the 1998 film--when a kid sees the deadly iceberg, he says excitedly, "Oh, Muddie, look at the beautiful North Pole with no Santa Claus on it."
But much has been discovered since Lord's original book made waves--such as the shipwreck itself, and a wealth of scientific inquiry. So he wrote this semisequel, which tackles each of the remaining mysteries about the unnecessary calamity in a methodical, but quite readable, fashion. How come the wireless operators blew it so fatally? Maybe they would have had better operators if they paid them more than $5 a week--as Lord notes, it would have taken a wireless operator 18 years to earn one transatlantic ticket. How come the Californian just sat there in nearby waters and neglected to save anyone on the frantically signaling and flare-firing Titanic? Lord quotes a man on the nonsinking ship admitting to "a certain amount of slackness," which he uses for a sardonic chapter title.
Some of the characters are more sympathetic, such as Renee Harris, who used the money she won suing the Titanic owners for her husband's death to bankroll neophyte playwright Moss Hart's first show. Lord says that Hart's memoir, Act One, depicts Harris reacting to an opening-night flop with optimism. After you've survived the Titanic, what's to worry?
Walter Lord has gotten better reviews, and he needn't fret about his reputation. The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Barbara Tuchman, author of A Distant Mirror, had this reaction to Night Lives On: "Stunning ... his detection and discoveries make a first-class historical reconstruction and a model in the research and writing of that difficult art." --Tim Appelo [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Peter Simple'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Phantom Islands of the Atlantic: The Legends of Seven Lands That Never Were'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Pirates of the New England Coast, 1630-1730'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Pirates of the West Indies'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Rascals in Paradise'
The fascinating stories of adventurous men who sailed the South Seas
Some craved power, some craved peace, others merely surrendered to fate.
Sam Comstock -- A sailor crazed by the South Sea Islands and driven to lead the ruthless mutiny. He envisioned himself a magnificent ruler -- but his dream became a nightmare.
Will Mariner -- A golden-haired youth whose ship was captured by hostile natives. He was the sole survivor and his charm turned his captor into slaves.
Captain Bligh -- Was he the infamous captain of the Bounty, the monster legend had made him? Here is the true story of Captain Bligh.
Rascals In Paradise
They searched for adventure in the most dazzling places on earth. [via]

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Requiem Shark'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Rounding The Horn: Being the Story of Williwaws and Windjammers, Drake, Darwin, Murdered Missionaries and Naked Natives - A Deck's Eye View of Cape Horn'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain, 660-1649'
"Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves...." The dominance of the British Royal Navy in maritime history is legendary, but this has not always been the case. Various attempts to build and sustain a national standing Navy were attempted by a number of rulers, from Edward the Confessor in the 11th century to Henry V in the 15th century. It wasn't until the Tudor reign (1485 to 1603), however, that a permanent, effective Navy emerged. Until this time the shores of Britain had been susceptible to attack and invasion.
N.A.M. Rodger's compendium on the history of the Royal Navy (the first of a four volume set) reminds us that "the successful navies have been those which rested on long years of steady investment in the infrastructure ... of a seagoing fleet." Emphasizing the important role the Tudors played in building the financial foundation for the Navy, Rodger focuses on the role of Elizabeth I's administration and the amount of money shipbuilding absorbed during her reign. He also traces the evolution of professionalism in the Navy, demonstrating how the rank of naval officer became socially respectable, even though it was not exclusively open to just nobles--indeed, Francis Drake came from an impoverished background--setting a standard that would see the British Navy dominate the oceans for many years.
A fellow in the British National Maritime Museum, Rodger's unique understanding of this history comes across well as he explores a number of themes, ranging from policy and strategy to ship and weapon design. He gathers this information from Anglo-Saxon, Danish, French, Irish, and Spanish sources, carefully weaving these materials into an immense tapestry of incredible depth and scope. In years to come The Safeguard of the Sea promises to be the definitive account of British Naval History long after Britannia has stopped ruling the waves. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Samuel Pepys: The Man in the Making, 1633-1669'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Samuel Pepys: The Saviour of the Navy, 1683-1689'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Samuel Pepys: The Years of Peril, 1669-1683'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Sea Hunters : True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks'
A steamboat goes up in flames...and down to the bottom of the sea. A locomotive plunges into a creek...and vanished into mystery. A German U-boat sends an American troop transport, and eight hundred on board, to a watery grave, on Christmas eve.
Clive Cussler and his crack team of NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency, a nonprofit organization that searches for historic shipwrecks) volunteers have found the remains of these and other tragic wrecks. Here for the first time are the dramatic, true accounts of the twelve most remarkable underwater discoveries made by Cussler and his team. As suspenseful and satisfying as the best of his Dirk Pitt novels, The Sea Hunters is a unique story of true commitment and courage. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Search for Speed Under Sail, 1700-1855'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shackleton's Boat Journey'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything to Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War II'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Ships and Seamen of the American Revolution'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shipwrecks in the Americas'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sir Francis Drake'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Slow Boats Home'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Stealth at Sea: The History of the Submarine'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor'
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Two Years Before the Mast'
The narrative of the author's journey from Boston around the Cape Horn and landing at a port in the western coast of the United States. [via]
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› Find signed collectible books: 'When China Ruled the Seas : The Treasure Fleet of the Dragon Throne 1403-1433'
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