Best of
Maritime

1987

The Discovery of the Titanic


Robert D. Ballard - 1987
    Ballard's quest to find the Titanic. Including rare archival photos and charts, this volume recounts the Titanic's tragic last night and describes the drama of the expedition that finally found and explored her. Plus Dr. Ballard reveals the ship's location and lays to rest many of its mysteries. 48-page color insert.

Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition


Owen Beattie - 1987
    Indeed, the expeditions of both Back (1837) and Ross (1849) were forced to retreat because of the rapacious illness that stalked their ships. The authors make the case that this illness was due to the crews’ overwhelming reliance on a new technology: tinned foods. This not only exposed the seamen to lead, an insidious poison, but also left them vulnerable to scurvy.The revised "Frozen in Time" will also update the research outlined in the original edition, and will introduce independent confirmation of Dr. Beattie’s lead hypothesis, along with corroboration of his discovery of physical evidence for both scurvy and cannibalism. In addition, the book includes a new introduction written by Margaret Atwood, who has long been fascinated by the role of the Franklin Expedition in Canada’s literary conscience.Includes never before seen photographs from the exhumations on Beechey Island and rarely seen historical illustrations.

The 100-Gun Ship Victory


John McKay - 1987
    An example of the ultimate sailing warship--the three-decker First Rate--Victory was the most popular and successful 100-gun ship of the period, the flagship of half a dozen famous admirals. First published in 1987 in the Anatomy of the Ship series and now updated, this volume provides the most detailed description and illustrations of the Victory available anywhere. A pictorial section contains numerous clear photographs emphasizing close-up and on-board views of ship equipment and spaces. Three hundred perspective and three-view drawings, with fully descriptive keys, illustrate every detail of the ship, including hull construction, masts and yards, armament, rigging, decoration and fittings. These accurate and totally comprehensive drawings offer ship buffs, historians, and model makers a full view of the ship and her position in the development of the First Rate.

U.S. Small Combatants, Including PT-Boats, Subchasers, and the Brown-Water Navy: An Illustrated Design History


Norman Friedman - 1987
    Navy, examines the influence of foreign designs, and provides technical information on each vessel.

The Sea Remembers: Shipwrecks And Archaeology: From Homer's Greece To The Rediscovery Of The Titanic


Peter Throckmorton - 1987
    Focusing on shipwrecks and archaeology, this book includes detailed illustrations of a number of famous lost ships, including the Titanic.

The C. S. S. Florida: Her Building and Operations


Frank Lawrence Owsley Jr. - 1987
    Devices of a lesser navy, these surface cruisers prowled the coastal seas to engage and interrupt vital commerce of their better-equipped, more powerful adversary. The C.S.S. Florida, in just two cruises before her capture, inflicted significant damage to Union cargo and ships, estimated at more than USD 4,000,000. The Florida struggled from the beginning. It had to be financed by a break-away government and built by a neutral Britain, remain supplied by small, out-of-the-way ports of call, and continue on the high seas as a threat to American shipping. Union warships hunting for the Florida caused repeated damage, but the wit and courage of her captains, John Maffitt and Charles Morris, kept her supplied and sound enough to severely weaken American coastal trade. In fact, the U.S. merchant marine fleet was so compromised by its losses to the Confederate raiders and the ensuing high cost of war risk insurance that it never fully recovered its place of prominence. In terms of damage to the economy of the United States, the cruisers were more effective than any other military investment made by the Confederacy. First published in 1965, this new printing offers a popular book in paperback format for the first time.