Overview

The discovery of shipwrecks has unveiled the remarkable stories behind the vessels and the lives of the people that sailed on them. Some, however, are shrouded in mystery, never having been raised from the depths of the sea: Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, now on display in Portsmouth, offers an intriguing array of artefacts while Shackleton's Endurance still lies at the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Shipwreck tells the stories of 21 ships that have met disastrous ends. Stunning images of ships, wrecks, charts, and the characters involved, illustrate the stories behind each shipwreck. In the accompanying narrative, author Sam Willis vividly describes the history of world shipping, the advances in weaponry, armour and navigation, and looks at safety at sea both in the past and the present. He also considers the modern moral and ethical dilemmas of shipwreck hunting and the future of archaeology at sea. Both a striking visual record and a dramatic account of exciting events at sea, Shipwreck offers a compelling overview of more than 2,000 years of maritime history.

Full Product Details

Author:   Sam Willis
Publisher:   Quercus Publishing
Imprint:   Quercus Publishing
ISBN:  

9781847247629

ISBN 10:   1847247628
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   07 May 2009
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Introduction. Ancient and Dark Age Wrecks: The Kyrenia Ship (c.300 BC); The Intan Ship (c.920); The Skuldelev Ships (c.1000). Galleons and Gold: The Mary Rose (19 July 1545); La Trinidad Valencera (26 September 1588); The Vasa (10 August 1628). Broadsides, Pirates and Whales: The Queen Anne's Revenge (May 1718); The Battle of Quiberon Bay (20 November 1759); La Meduse (17 July 1816); The Essex (20 November 1820). Iron, Steam and Steel: The H.L. Hunley (17 February 1864); The Titanic (14 April 1912); The Endurance (21 November 1915). World Wars: The Lusitania (7 May 1915); Scapa Flow (21 June 1919); USS Arizona (7 December 1941); The Wilhelm Gustloff (30 January 1945); USS Indianapolis (30 July 1945). Nuclear Power, Oil and the Atomic Bomb: The Nagato (29 July 1946); The Torrey Canyon (18 March 1967); The Kursk (12 August 2000). Index. Acknowledgements.

Reviews

The stories of these wrecks are fascinating and well told - even poetic. But it is what each tells us of the maritime world, naval history and the nature of warfare at sea that gives this selection its great interest and shows the erudition and intelligence of the author' Dr Oliver Walton, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Author Information

Author Website:   http://www.sam-willis.com/

Sam Willis was awarded a PhD in Naval History for his thesis on Command and Tactics in the 18th-century Navy. He has lectured at Bristol University and at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and consults on maritime painting for Christie's. Sam spent 18 months as a Square Rig Able Seaman, sailing the tall ships used in the Hornblower television series and Channel 4's award-winning film Shackleton, and is a consultant to the BBC's Coast. He is the author of Fighting at Sea in the Eighteenth Century: The Art of Sailing Warfare and the two-volume Fighting Ships series, covering 1750-1950.

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Author Website:   http://www.sam-willis.com/

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