In 1801 he was made commander of the expedition of his life, the first close circumnavigation of Terra Australis.Famous for his meticulous charts and superb navigational skills, Flinders was a bloody good sailor. He battled treacherous conditions in a boat hardly seaworthy, faced the loss of a number of his crewmen and, following a shipwreck on a reef off the Queensland coast, navigated the ship's cutter over 1000 kilometres back to Sydney to get help.Rob Mundle brings Matthew Flinders fascinating story to life from the heroism and drama of shipwreck, imprisonment and long voyages in appalling conditions, to the heartbreak of being separated from his beloved wife for most of their married life. This is a gripping adventure biography, in the style of BLIGH: MASTER MARINER.

    Left fatherless at age eight, with a penniless mother and five siblings, Pellew fought his way from the very bottom of the navy to fleet command. Victories and eye-catching feats won him a public following. Yet he had a gift for antagonizing his better-born peers, and he made powerful enemies. Redemption came with his last command, when he set off to do battle with the Barbary States and free thousands of European slaves. Opinion held this to be an impossible mission, and Pellew himself, leading from the front in the style of his contemporary Nelson, did not expect to survive. Pellew’s humanity, fondness for subordinates, and blind love for his family, and the warmth and intimacy of his letters, make him a hugely engaging figure. Stephen Taylor gives him at last the biography he deserves.

    

    It examines the building of the ship, life onboard during its maiden voyage, tragic decisions made that fateful night, the discovery of the wreck, and the many controversies that have emerged in the century since the sinking. Information includes:Theories behind the reason for the sinking (does the blame lie with the watertight doors, bad rivets, or crew negligence?), and when and where the ship split in two. A detailed look at how the lack of lifeboats -- and the chaos that resulted in lifeboats launching before they reached capacity -- resulted in lives lost. A Titanic "Who's Who" identifying notable passengers, including those who were famous before the tragedy and those who gained fame because of it. Current thinking about reports of shots being fired onboard, the details of Captain Smith's death, Murdoch's possible suicide, and the band's last song. Findings from the Titanic hearings on both sides of the Atlantic. A recounting of Robert Ballard's discovery of the wreck in 1985 and the ongoing debate over whether to salvage the wreck or let the ship remain as a memorial to those who perished. A glimpse of the most fascinating artifacts salvaged from the wreckage. The Titanic in pop culture: from Broadway to one of the most highest grossing movies in history (being re-released in 3D in 2012 to commemorate the 100th anniversary).

    She was flagship to Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, when he was killed on her quarter deck by a sniper’s bullet in Britain’s hour of victory. Maritime historian and former HMS Victory Keeper and Curator Peter Goodwin tells the story of Nelson’s flagship, giving fascinating insights into how she was built, her anatomy and weaponry, and how a ship of the line in the Georgian navy was sailed, fought and maintained.

    "Featuring pop-ups, flaps, foldouts, illustrations, photographs, documents, and plans"--Cover.

    The stories featured include the wreck of the Batavia in the Abrolhos in 1629 and the psychopathic events that subsequently unfolded with more than 100 people murdered; Eliza Fraser cast away among the aboriginal population on Fraser Island, Queensland in 1836; the wrecks on the subantarctic islands near New Zealand that left people stranded for years before discovery; and the tragic wreck of the Loch Ard, a harrowing tale tragically ending with only two survivors.

    Riveting firsthand accounts enliven this official sea-level view of the conflict that proved American naval prowess a force to be reckoned with. Explore historic documents, letters, ephemera, and artifacts, including fascinating finds from the Navy's most recent underwater excavation of the war's lost ships. Featuring a colorful, diverse cast of characters--from sailors, spies, and ship's surgeons to commodores, Navy wives, and privateersmen--and incorporating hundreds of photographs, period illustrations, and contemporary and original maps, The War of 1812 and the Rise of the U.S. Navy is a sweeping panorama of a defining moment in U.S. history and a must-read for maritime aficionados and general history buffs alike.

    Read a succinct account of the sinking of the Titanic in just one hour.The sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago in 1912, and the subsequent deaths of over 1,500 passengers, sent shock waves around the world. Never before or since has a maritime disaster in a time of peace had such an impact.TITANIC: HISTORY IN AN HOUR is an entertaining and well researched account of the events leading up to the sinking of this ‘unsinkable’ ship, providing an fascinating commentary on the pressures of the White Star Line, the importance of class to Titanic’s unfortunate passengers and the legacy of the disaster in Britain and America. TITANIC:HISTORY IN AN HOUR is a gripping and accessible account.Love your history? Find out about the world with History in an Hour…

    Japanese fisherman Shima and his younger brother, out on a routine fishing expedition, are wrecked on an uninhabited island by a freak typhoon. Their rescue by a passing American whaling ship proves a short-lived miracle when, barred from reentering Japan, the ship heads for the whaling grounds of the South Pacific.Shima becomes an unwilling passenger in a strange floating world filled with foreign faces, a new language, and a hostile chief mate. But when the reclusive captain suddenly falls ill, Shima and third mate Daniel Ellis stumble upon a secret from his past that brings together their previously isolated worlds. Inspired by the true story of John Manjiro, one of the first Japanese in America and later interpreter to the shogun, "The Sea-God at Sunrise" is a tale of friendship and forgiveness across two cultures at the height of America's Golden Age of Whaling.

    In the centuries since, Witsen’s rather convoluted text has also become a valuable source for insights into historical shipbuilding methods and philosophies during the “Golden Age” of Dutch maritime trade. However, as André Wegener Sleeswyk’s foreword notes, Witsen’s work is difficult to access not only for its seventeenth-century Dutch language but also for the vagaries of its author’s presentation.Fortunately for scholars and students of nautical archaeology and shipbuilding, this important but chaotic work has now been reorganized and elucidated by A. J. Hoving and translated into English by Alan Lemmers. In Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age, Hoving, master model builder for the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, sorts out the steps in Witsen’s method for building a seventeenth-century pinas by following them and building a model of the vessel. Experimenting with techniques and materials, conducting research in other publications of the time, and rewriting as needed to clarify and correct some vital omissions in the sequence, Hoving makes Witsen’s work easier to use and understand.Nicolaes Witsen and Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age is an indispensable guide to Witsen’s work and the world of his topic: the almost forgotten basics of a craftsmanship that has been credited with the flourishing of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century.To view a sample of Ab Hoving’s ship model drawings, please visit: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/AbHo...

    Provided by the author:Written to suit ages 10-14, or for younger readers with adults on hand, or curious older people, this is about simple methods for examining the wild things that are found in every garden, park, piece of rough ground, or even in or under a flower pot.There is reliable information on the different taxonomic groups and advice on how to catch and examine them, and how to keep them.As the title implies, the focus is on Australian life and conditions, but most of the methods are immediately applicable all over the globe.

    In the spring of 1744, at the age of fifteen, Jacques and his father leave France for Louisbourg, the French capital of Île Royale, where Jacques is to learn the military arts – a far cry from his books and music and the comforts of his mother’s home.In the Acadian forests that surround the French fortress of Louisbourg, a young Mi’kmaw man named Two-feathers watches the strange comings and goings of soldiers and citizens. Two-feathers is hoping to find his father who, he has been told, is an important man among the French – they have never met. From his discreet camp outside the walls of the fortress, Two-feathers watches, believing that he will know his father when he sees him. At night, he moves silently about the city, including the Governor’s apartments, where he befriends a beautiful young French woman.Jacques’ life in Louisbourg is a curious mixture of military duties and his visits to the Governor’s apartments where he teaches the daughter of a visiting merchant to play the violoncello.The two young men follow very different paths – one formally educated and refined, the other curious and skilful – both seeking to understand their father. Their paths and their worlds collide during the violent siege by British forces in 1745.

    They were written by various authors, including the camouflage artists themselves.

    'To Auckland by the Ganges' is an engrossing and vivid account of life aboard an emigrant ship during a mid-19th century journey to New Zealand.