Archive for Items Categorized 'Maritime', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

USS Arizona (BB-39), From Keel Laying to Pearl Harbor Memorial  

by David Doyle

One of the most powerful warships in the world when commissioned in 1917, Arizona was already slated for replacement when its sinking at Pearl Harbor made it an indelible part of US history.

The Boats of Summer: New York Harbor and Hudson River Day Passenger and Excursion Vessels 

by Richard V. Elliott

In the early days, summer life in NYC meant catching a steamer upriver, perhaps returning by train. Two splendid books representing decades of research look at 63 of the over 1000 vessels that provided such a service, ending in the 1970s when diesels had already taken the place of steam.

Razzle Dazzle, United States Navy Ship Camouflage in World War I

byJames H. Bruns

You may look at a bedazzled ship and wonder, What’s the Point? Doesn’t it draw more attention now? Unlike straight-up camo, it’s not about blending in but obscuring the target’s distance and shape as well as speed and heading.

Sailing the Sweetwater Seas

Wooden Boats and Ships on the Great Lakes, 1817–1940

by George D. Jepson

No railroad lines to speak of, no roads worth the name, the automobile is a long way off. How do we get around? More importantly, how does a young nation, just coming out of the War of 1812, move goods around?

The Last of the Cape Horners

Firsthand Accounts from the Final Days of the Commercial Tall Ships

Edited by Spencer Apollonio

Both the ships and those that sailed on them around the fabled southern tip of South America are known as Cape Horners. While most were put out of business by the opening of the Panama Canal, the last hung on into the 1950s.

Crusader, John Cobb’s Ill-Fated Quest for Speed on Water 

by Steve Holter

For what do you need 5000 lb of thrust? For breaking records. In a jet-powered boat. Air is relatively smooth, water is not. Will it all go right? The author is, among other things, a crash investigator—so probably not.

SS United States: An Operational Guide to America’s Flagship

by Rindfleisch, Bauer, Daywalt

Built for speed this superliner claimed a Blue Ribband on her maiden voyage in 1952—and the record still stands! Unusual: she was built right out of the gate with conversion to troop carrier in mind if such a need arose. Unusual: she is still afloat, albeit derelict. Unusual: this book.

The Royal Navy in Action, Art from Dreadnought to Vengeance

by John Fairley

Warships in action are something fierce to behold, and even paintings reproduced at a size so much smaller than the often majestic originals stir the soul. Throw in some well crafted prose and you have a book you won’t want to put down.

P&O: Across the Oceans, Across the Years

by Ruth Artmonsky and Susie Cox 

After 175 years of plying the seas, there’s a story to be had. From paddle steamers hauling mail to today’s cruise ships, P&O made the world a smaller place. This fantastically well illustrated book will absorb you.

Shipwrecked and Rescued, Cars and Crew

by Larry Jorgensen

Winter 1926. A cargo freighter sinks. Thousands of others have sunk in the Great Lakes but what makes this story different is that not only the crew was rescued but the cargo—over 240 new cars, one of which lived to see its odo roll past 200,000 miles.

War at Sea: A Naval Atlas 1939–1945

by Marcus Faulkner

Every time you watch a movie or read a book about WWII naval engagements, this book should be in reach. Without it you’d have no real sense for space, distance, scale, and even time because movement on the open sea does not exactly happen at warp speed.

Great French Passenger Ships

by William H. Miller

From the grand ships of the storied lines to mail boats bound for Africa this little book offers a good, basic, nicely illustrated introduction to the topic.

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