Showing titles in Maritime History & Piracy

Are you ready to be engulfed in a world in which man battles with deep emotions of vengeance, the pressures of society, and passive resistance? Herman Melville’s descriptive style of storytelling captivates and thrills listeners as he deftly reveals the undertones and themes of racial conflict, truth, and social injustice.

During the height of the blizzard of 1978, the tanker Global Hope floundered on the shoals off the Massachusetts coast. The Coast Guard dispatched a patrol boat, but was soon in as much trouble as the tanker. Then pilot boat captain Frank Quirk, hearing of the Coast Guard's troubles on his radio, decided to act.

A cento anni di distanza dalla fatale collisione, Massimo Polidoro ricostruisce la vicenda del Titanic in un racconto corale che intreccia le storie di ufficiali e passeggeri, naufraghi e soccorritori, scienziati e avventurieri. Attraverso gli occhi dei protagonisti assisteremo all'intero svolgimento di una storia intramontabile. Saremo accolti a bordo. Visiteremo la nave e i suoi meravigliosi saloni. Incontreremo i personaggi più interessanti. Vivremo le emozioni della traversata.

Historian Jonathan W. White tells the riveting story of Appleton Oaksmith, a swashbuckling sea captain whose life intersected with some of the most important moments, movements, and individuals of the mid-nineteenth century, from the California Gold Rush, filibustering schemes in Nicaragua, Cuban liberation, and the Civil War and Reconstruction. Most importantly, the book depicts the extraordinary lengths the Lincoln Administration went to destroy the illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Using contemporary sources, Nigel Cawthorne turns the spotlight on the reality of pirate life, revealing the truth behind the legends. It gives us an insight into infamous the men and women who plundered ship and shore, including Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and Mary Read. We learn of the hazy distinction between pirates and state-approved privateers who were used to maintain empire, as well as the Port Royal pirate base in Jamaica—known as the "wickedest city in the world".

When Campbell & Clark, Scottish merchants based in India, dispatched an Indian ship hurriedly renamed the Sydney Cove to the colony of NSW in 1797, they were hoping to make their fortune. The ship's 'speculative' cargo included all kinds of products to entice the new colony's inhabitants, including 7,000 gallons of rum intended to be sold to the Rum Corp. But when the ship went down north of Van Diemen's Land, cargo master William Campbell and 16 other crew members decided to walk the 600 miles to Sydney Town to get help and rescue crew and cargo.

In the annals of piracy, few figures are as enigmatic and controversial as Captain William Kidd. His journey from a reputable seaman to one of the most infamous pirates encapsulates the blurred lines and moral ambiguities of 17th-century piracy and privateering. But he also lived through seismic times in the history of England, Scotland, the Caribbean and of the Americas, especially New York. It's an incredible journey, scuppered by those in high places with wealth and power that all began with maritime tradition dating before Julius Caesar.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A “thrilling and superbly crafted” (The Wall Street Journal) account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. One of...

At the outbreak of the War of 1812, America's prospects looked dismal. It was clear that the primary battlefield would be the open ocean but America's war fleet, only 20 ships strong, faced a practiced British navy of more than a thousand men-of-war. Still, through a combination of nautical deftness and sheer bravado, the American navy managed to take the fight to the British and turn the tide of the war.

Delaware's Forgotten Cavalry: A Failure of Command tells the remarkable true story of the First Delaware Cavalry during the American Civil War and the leadership crisis that nearly destroyed the regiment. Drawing from soldiers' diaries, letters, military records, and contemporary newspapers, historian David L. Tabler reveals a forgotten chapter of Civil War history through the eyes of the men who lived it. The story begins in June 1863 when Delaware cavalrymen unexpectedly faced J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate horsemen during the Gettysburg Campaign.

Are you ready to explore the rich history and breathtaking beauty of Nova Scotia? “Exploring Nova Scotia: A Journey Through History and Must-See Destinations” takes you on an unforgettable journey through time, offering a perfect blend of cultural insights and travel inspiration.

No one present at the Battle of Cape Lopez off the coast of West Africa in 1722 could have known that they were on the edge of history. This obscure yet fierce naval battle would have a monumental impact on British colonies and the future of slavery in America.

Descubrimiento AccidentalEn 1972, un niño de doce años en el norte de California recibió diez dólares por limpiar una vieja cabaña. La familia que la había poseído —los Tibbits— ya se había llevado lo que quería. Lo que quedó era basura: polvo, excremento de ratón, herramientas rotas y un viejo baúl cansado en la esquina. Dentro de ese baúl había una sola bolsa de papel marrón. Dentro de esa bolsa había una bomba durmiente. Ken Washburn lanzó la bolsa en su cómoda y se olvidó de ella durante ocho años.

Der unerschrockenste Spion zu Napoleons Zeiten. Zwei Romane in einem Sammelband. "Jagd nach Vergeltung" England, 1803. Thomas Grey, Kapitän der britischen Marine und Spion im Dienste seiner Majestät, hat sich nach einem schweren Schicksalsschlag zurückgezogen und möchte nach Amerika auswandern. Der kürzlich mit den Franzosen geschlossene Frieden verspricht eine gefahrlose Überfahrt. Plötzlich kommt es jedoch zu einem Feuergefecht mit einem französischen Schiff. Grey überlebt und landet in Portugal, wo er auf einen Anwerber des französischen Geheimdienstes trifft.

The Sea Beggar: An Apprentice is the first of a series of a historical novels about Ephraim Bogardus who was a Hudson River mariner. He was a Dutch American who lived in the Hudson Valley and operated Hudson River Sloops. Ephraim Bogardus lived between 1687 and 1770. In this novel Ephraim tells his story of how he learned to be privateer during early days Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713). The term sea beggar or in Dutch watergeuzen means a sea robber and was applied to Dutch privateers. Ephraim Bogardus considered himself to be a watergeuzen or sea beggar.

From internationally bestselling historian Giles Milton comes a gripping tale of exploration, survival, and geopolitical power in the Arctic Circle. The year was 1913. Charismatic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson was obsessed with a frozen speck of land in the Siberian Arctic: Wrangel Island...

A brilliantly sunny day, and then the explosion; on what had been an ordinary weekday, there is suddenly fire, smoke, confusion, bodies, panic... On May 7, 1915, the ocean liner Lusitania was struck by a terrifying new weapon-and became a casualty of a terrible new kind of war. This is a vivid...

With the suspense of a thriller and the emotional depth of human drama, Beneath Waves and Shadows is the untold, meticulously researched story of survival after a 1906 shipwreck in the Pacific Northwest. On a mild January day in 1906, the Valencia steamed out of San Francisco and began the...

Shipwrecks selects the sinkings with the greatest loss of life, the most famous vessels, the richest treasure troves, the most archaeologically significant wreck sites and the most daring rescues. It tells the tales of the fate of the victims, the disastrous mistakes made by ships' captains and navigators, the impossible conditions faced at sea, the courage of those who survived and the audacious attempts to raise what now lies at the bottom of the sea.

Quiet History Behind Moby Dick is not a retelling of the novel, nor a study of its plot or symbols. It is a journey into the unnoticed world that surrounded nineteenth-century seafarers—the ordinary lives, quiet routines, and inner landscapes that existed beyond the drama of storms and legends. This book explores the human reality behind long voyages at sea: the ports sailors waited in, the shores they left behind, and the ships that became their temporary homes.