Showing titles in Maritime History & Piracy

John Valliant's essay about the sinking of the Fantome, a Caribbean pleasure cruiser, during Hurricane Mitch in 1998, and the subsequent lawsuit. The disaster was the Atlantic’s worst sailing accident in over forty years.

Yet another brilliant entry in Kenemore’s zombie canon - Cap’n Hook meets the undead. Set in the Caribbean of the eighteenth century, the epicenter of piracy, voodoo, and the dark arts, The Code of the Zombie Pirate reveals all the secrets to selecting, customizing, and managing a motley crew of pirates-cum-zombies.

The war of 1812–1815 was a bloody confrontation that tore through the American frontier, the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, and parts of the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The conflict saw British, American, and First Nations forces clash, and in the process, shape the future of North American history. Carl Benn explains what led to America's decision to take up arms against Great Britain and assesses the three terrible years of fighting that followed on land and sea, where battles such as Lake Erie and Lake Champlain launched American naval traditions.

A total of 305,000 enslaved Africans arrived in the New World aboard American vessels over a span of two hundred years as American merchants and mariners sailed to Africa and to the Caribbean to acquire and sell captives. Using exhaustive archival research, including many collections that have never been used before, historian Sean M. Kelley argues that slave trading needs to be seen as integral to the larger story of American slavery.

Admiral Stavridis, a leader in military, international affairs, and national security circles, shares his love of the sea and some of the sources of that affection. The Sailor's Bookshelf offers synopses of fifty books that illustrate the history, importance, lore, and lifestyle of the oceans and of those who "go down to the sea in ships." Divided into four main categories, Admiral Stavridis's choices will appeal to "old salts" and to those who have never known the sights of the ever-changing seascape, nor breathed the tonic of an ocean breeze. 

From the author of In the Hurricane's Eye and Valiant Ambition, the riveting and critically acclaimed bestseller and a major motion picture starring Chris Hemsworth, directed by Ron Howard. Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson star in a film based on this National...

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.

Captain Thuridur, born in Iceland in 1777, lived a life that was both controversial and unconventional. Her first time fishing, on the open unprotected rowboats of her time, was at age eleven. Soon after, she audaciously began wearing trousers. She later became an acclaimed fishing captain brilliant at weather-reading and seacraft and consistently brought in the largest catches. In the Arctic seas where drownings occurred with terrifying regularity, she never lost a single crewmember. Author Margaret Willson reveals Captain Thuridur's fascinating story.

In this timely and very listenable new work, Walvin focuses not on abolitionism or the brutality and suffering of slavery but on resistance, the resistance of the enslaved themselves - from sabotage and absconding to full-blown uprisings - and its impact in overthrowing slavery. He also looks at the whole Atlantic world, including the Spanish Empire and Brazil.   

From a brilliant Brookings Institution expert, an “important” (The Wall Street Journal) and “penetrating historical and political study” (Nature) of the critical role that oceans play in the daily struggle for global power, in the bestselling tradition of Robert Kaplan’s The Revenge of...

"Listen to this if you want to hear a narrator at the top of his game recount a fascinating--and at times disturbing--true story of adventure, disaster, discovery, cannibalism, and more. Will Damron makes Levy's fascinating account of the Greely (Polar) Expedition come to life...This is a...

Set against the backdrop of an expanding nation, Brilliant Beacons traces the evolution of America's lighthouse system, highlighting the political, military, and technological battles fought to illuminate the nation's hardscrabble coastlines.

The Atlantic has borne witness to major historic events that have drastically shaped humanity with each crossing of its path. In this broad and readable book, Jeremy Black takes the reader through its evolution to becoming one of the most important oceans in the world. Black discusses the...

Beneath the Waves: A Global History of Diving is the ultimate deep dive into humankind’s relationship with the ocean—from ancient pearl divers to modern saturation missions and scuba exploration. Blending compelling storytelling, first-hand accounts, and over 2,000 years of history, Oliver Greyson takes listeners on a sweeping, global journey beneath the surface of our world’s waters.

Captain William Kidd stands as one of the most notorious "pirate" outlaws ever, but his legend is tainted by a bed of lies. Having captivated imaginations for more than three hundred years and inspired many stories about pirates, troubling questions remain. Was he really a criminal or is the truth more inconvenient: that he was a buccaneer's worst nightmare, a revered pirate hunter turned fall guy for scheming politicians?

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...

Triumphs and disasters in the deep sea This is a journey through time and water, to the bottom of the ocean and the future of our planet. We do not see the ocean when we look at the water that blankets more than two thirds of our planet. We only see the entrance to it. Beyond that entrance is a...

Have you ever wondered about the grandeur and tragedy that fell upon the most majestic ship of the early 20th century? If you’re thinking about the Titanic, you’re right, but beyond the well-known tale of the Titanic, lies the story of her sister ships, the Olympic and the Britannic, whose journeys are often overlooked and nearly forgotten. Immerse yourself in the history of these vessels, and let Boro transport you to a time when ambition ran deep in the hearts of men. This book begins with the vision and the historical context that led to the inception of the Olympic-class ocean liners.

In 1827 the Royal Navy purchased a Baltimore clipper and renamed her the Black Joke. Assigned to the Preventative Squadron, she patrolled the west coast of Africa and freed 3,692 captives from enslavement. Beloved by seafarers and celebrated by the public, the Black Joke would become the most famous weapon in the campaign for abolition. But in her previous life as the Henriqueta, the Black Joke had been a slave ship. Through the experiences of slavers and abolitionists, captives and crew, Stephen Taylor charts the vessel's extraordinary double life.

Beacon Manor, the grand generational estate she now owns, has long been in silence. But a storm is brewing—one that echoes a tragic night in 1870 when a ship vanished off the coast and a legacy of lies was lost to the sea. As Sam begins to sift through the artifacts and letters left behind, she’s pulled into a mystery that spans centuries, threatens her sense of identity, and reveals a bloodline tied to betrayal, resilience, and unspoken truths.