Book picks similar to
Cruise of the Conrad by Alan Villiers
sailing
general-non-fiction
maritime
nautical
Red Lead: The legendary Australian ship's cat who survived the sinking of HMAS Perth and the Thai-Burma Railway
Roland Perry - 2020
The Checklist Manifesto: Summary of Gawande's Instruction on How to Get Things Right
Concise Summaries - 2014
This is not the full 200+ page book. This concise summary of Gawande’s manifesto will convey everything you need to know about how and why checklists are so effective and how to successfully compose your own checklists. These checklists will improve your level of success in any field or activity you are trying to achieve excellence in. Put yourself head and shoulders above the competition with this simple, intuitive tool. Not convinced that a checklist is sophisticated enough for your particular goal? Gawande presents case studies showing the effectiveness of the checklist in a range of complex environments from surgery to aviation, engineering to emergency response, venture capitalism to disease control. Imagine if you could substantially eradicate your own human fallibility with such a simple tool! By engaging with the simple concepts in this short guide you will be able to devise and implement the checklists that will ensure your peak performance in every area of your life.
With the Battle Cruisers
Filson Young - 2015
In the years before the First World War, Filson Young had become friends with several notable Royal Navy leaders, including Lord Fisher and Admiral Beatty. Following the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, Young began to miss his friends and resolved to join them and share in their experiences. Even though volunteer officers were ridiculed, Young wrote to his friends and managed to engineer a Lieutenant’s gazette in the R.N.V.R. Buoyed by the success of the Scarborough raid, Admiral Hipper of the Imperial German Navy sought a repeat of the exercise, this time against the fishing fleet on the Dogger Bank. Young was there to witness it. First published in 1921, With the Battle Cruisers is a very personal, focused study of naval life during wartime as it unfolded for Young. Filson Young (1876-1938) was an Irish writer, journalist, war correspondent and essayist. He was noted for publishing a book about the sinking of the Titanic little over a month after the tragedy in 1912. Between November 1914 and May 1915 he served as a Lieutenant R.N.V.R.; With the Battle Cruisers was one of two books he wrote about his naval service.
How Many Camels Are There in Holland?
Phyllida Law - 2013
When her Uncle Arthur dies, actress Phyllida Law returns to the tiny Scottish village of Ardentinny to look after her ma, Mego. Mego's always been deliciously dotty. She once put a new packet of tights in the fridge (and the bacon in her sock drawer). But Mego's older now and becoming ever more muddled. So Phyllida devotes herself to looking after Mego, but not without the help of friends, local villagers, and her two daughters, actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson: pulling together, they maintain order in the cottage, find Delia on the telly and keep Mego's spirits up-with a G&T if all else fails. Somehow, Phyllida even manages to slip away on acting jaunts in Glasgow and Italy. Running through Phyllida's account of Mego's final months are the anecdotes, memories and legends that form the fabric of every family. Phyllida's account captures the warmth and tenderness of two generations of daughters brought together to care for their much-loved mother and grandmother.(Waterstones.com)
Life in Nelson's Navy
Brian Lavery - 2008
What was it really like to be at sea in the Navy with Nelson? Were the sailors excited about the Battle of Trafalgar, or suffering scurvey? How did life compare between those of a high range, and those who served them? What were conditions like below the decks, living among the rats and the filth? How did you cope if you suffered from sea sickness? This book takes you back in time to see, hear, smell and taste what life was really like for these brave sailors at sea.
The Great War at Sea: 1914 - 1918
Richard Hough - 1983
And it witnessed the greatest naval battle of all time.In 'The Great War At Sea: 1914-1918', the historian Richard Hough tells the story of those naval battles and how they shaped the eventual outcome of the war. It is a history as much of men as of ships; men like Sir John Jellicoe, 'Jacky' Fisher, and Winston Churchill, who together succeeded in jolting the Royal Navy out of its nineteenth-century complacency. The narrative follows the race to war, including the construction of the Dreadnought, the biggest, fastest, most heavily gunned battleship in the world; and against the backdrop of feuds, scheming, and personality clashes at the Admiralty, examines the triumphs and tragedies of the great battles and campaigns. Could the appalling losses have been avoided during the Dardanelles? Was there 'something wrong with our bloody ships' as David Beatty said at Jutland? Why was the Battle of Jutland inconclusive?'A truly excellent history, technical enough for the specialist, handy and well-found for laymen, and since the Silent Service could normally be relied on for its quota of personality clashes and blazing rows, human interest is well-served. So too is drama.' Christopher Wordsworth, The Observer'An admirable book which everyone interested in the history of the war should read' - The Glasgow HeraldRichard Alexander Hough was a British author and historian specializing in maritime history.Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher.
The Coffeeist Manifesto: No More Bad Coffee!
Steven D. Ward - 2012
For years I stumbled around in a daze drinking stale, bitter coffee and grumbling “beans… beans…”. Thank Goodness I finally woke up to the world of coffee. By Immersing myself in the coffee world via reading every book I could find, visiting trade fairs, every high-end cafe I could find, and barista competitions, I realized that, while there is a huge amount of information out there free on the Internet and in artisan coffee shops, there was no single resource that connects all the dots and spells it all out for confused novice coffee drinkers.Until now.Fact: Making a great cup of coffee requires focus and commitment. This means that to make a billion dollar for-profit coffee franchise, you MUST find ways to cut corners and short change your customers.Fact: There are some GREAT coffee shops out there that care about coffee and customers and are worth every penny they charge, but they can be hard to identify, making it easy to just settle for familiar chain coffee.Fact: Making very good coffee is NOT THAT HARD. With a minimal investment in time and education you can make the best cup of coffee you’ve ever had in your life in the comfort of your own home. This book shows exactly why billion dollar for-profit coffee chains are inherently unable to produce coffee of the quality you can make in the kitchen.The Coffeeist Manifesto is half self-defense manual and half how-to instructional. By the end of it, any coffee beginner will have a foundational understanding of the coffee industry and know how to identify the good coffee shops from the bad ones. But most importantly, you’ll know how to beat them at their own game by making coffee at home that blows the cafes out of the water.Complete Table of Contents:PrefaceHow to Read This BookPart I -Coffee TheoryCoffeeists of the World, Unite!HistoryBarista's DilemmaCoffee MythsFour Keys to Killer CoffeeHome RoastingPart II - Brew MethodsCold BrewCoffee PotPress PotAeropressPour OverVacuum PotPart III - EspressoMoka PotMyPressi TwistEspresso VariationsPart IV - The Truth About Coffee ShopsCoffee Shop AppreciationThe RulesDecoding the MenuPart V - Going Beyond the BasicsThe Politics of CoffeeFrom Coffeeist to AficionadoAppendix - Green Coffee Extract
Fastnet, Force 10: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing
John Rousmaniere - 1980
A Force 10, sixty-knot storm swept across the North Atlantic with a speed that confounded forecasters, slamming into the fleet with epic fury. For twenty hours, 2,500 men and women were smashed by forty-foot breaking waves, while rescue helicopters and lifeboats struggled to save them. By the time the race was over, fifteen people had died, twenty-four crews had abandoned ship, five yachts had sunk, 136 sailors had been rescued, and only 85 boats had finished the race. John Rousmaniere was there, and he tells the tragic story of the greatest disaster in the history of yachting as only one who has sailed through the teeth of a killer storm can. With a new introduction by the author.
Flying Free
Nigel Farage - 2010
A fun-loving iconoclast whose motto is ‘work hard and play harder’, Farage’s charismatic leadership and determination to battle the forces of anti-libertarianism have made him a Robin Hood figure to many, and propelled his party, UKIP, into a position of real power in the country.Never one for a quiet life, this edition includes the story of Nigel’s extraordinary escape from death in a plane crash on the eve of the 2010 general election (the light aircraft he was flying in got caught up in a UKIP banner it was towing and crashed shortly after take-off, badly injuring Farage and his pilot), his recovery and return to the leadership of UKIP in November 2010.Featuring sometimes hilarious and often terrifying encounters with a stellar supporting cast, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy, José Manuel Barroso, and UKIP’s short-lived, silver-gilt mascot, Robert Kilroy-Silk – and told with Farage’s customary wit and humour – Flying Free is a candid, colourful life story by a fascinating and controversial character. It also shows that one fearless, determined individual can still make a difference.
The Great Train Robbery: Crime of the Century
Nick Russell-Pavier - 2013
In the early hours of Thursday, August 8, 1963, at Sears Crossing near Cheddington in Buckinghamshire, £2.6 million (£45 million today) in unmarked £5, £1 and 10-shilling notes was stolen from the Glasgow to London mail train in a violent and daring raid which took forty-six minutes. Quickly dubbed "the Crime of the Century," it has captured the imagination of the public and the world's media for fifty years, taking its place in British folklore. Ronnie Biggs, Bruce Reynolds, and Buster Edwards became household names, and their accounts have fed the myths and legends of The Great Train Robbery. But what really happened? This definitive account dismantles the myths and strips away the sensational headlines to reveal a flawed, darker, and more complex story. The crime, the police investigation, the trial, two escapes from high-security prisons, and an establishment under siege are all laid bare in astonishing detail for an epic tale of crime and punishment. Fifty years later, here is the story set out in full for the first time—a true-life crime thriller, and also a vivid slice of British social history.
City of Angeles
Marlayna Glynn - 2012
The author unflinchingly begets a self from the unlikeliest beginnings, and now delivers a sequel illustrating both heaven and hell on her continuing flight for self discovery."An amazing story of a young girl who comes of age with only snippets of guidance from the adults around her. This is a well written book with explicit prose of Marlayna's continued journey looking for love and acceptance. She tells this very personal story vividly. There were moments I had to stop reading to absorb the "life shattering" events Marlayna experienced that would have crushed many and other moments in the book that I laughed out loud." - Eileen Cahill Moalli
From Harvard to Hell...and Back: A Doctor's Journey through Addiction to Recovery
Sylvester Sviokla III - 2013
The House: The dramatic story of the Sydney Opera House and the people who made it
Helen Pitt - 2018
When it did, the lives of everyone involved in its construction were utterly changed: some for the better, many for the worse.Helen Pitt tells the stories of the people behind the magnificent white sails of the Sydney Opera House. From the famous conductor and state premier who conceived the project; to the two architects whose lives were so tragically intertwined; to the workers and engineers; to the people of Sydney, who were alternately beguiled and horrified as the drama unfolded over two decades.With access to diaries, letters, and classified records, as well as her own interviews with people involved in the project, Helen Pitt reveals the intimate back story of the building that turned Sydney into an international city. It is a tale worthy of Shakespeare himself.'A drama-filled page turner' - Ita Buttrose AO OBE'Helen Pitt tells us so much about the building of the Sydney Opera House we've never heard before' - Bob Carr, former Premier of NSW'Australia in the seventies: mullets, platform shoes and, miraculously, the Opera House. At least we got one of them right. A great read.' - Amanda Keller, WSFM breakfast presenter
N by E
Rockwell Kent - 1930
Little wonder, for readers are immediately drawn to Kent's vivid descriptions of the experience; we share "the feeling of wind and wet and cold, of lifting seas and steep descents, of rolling over as the wind gusts hit," and the sound "of wind in the shrouds, of hard spray flung on a drum-tight canvas, of rushing water at the scuppers, of the gale shearing a tormented sea."When the ship sinks in a storm-swept fjord within 50 miles of its destination, the story turns to the stranding and subsequent rescue of the three-man crew, salvage of the vessel, and life among native Greenlanders. Magnificently illustrated by Kent's wood-block prints and narrated in his poetic and highly entertaining style, this tale of the perils of killer nor'easters, treacherous icebergs, and impenetrable fog -- and the joys of sperm whales breaching or dawn unmasking a longed-for landfall -- is a rare treat for old salts and landlubbers alike.
Whole Notes
Eddie Ayres - 2021
Because music consoles and restores us. Through music, whether we are listening or playing, we know ourselves more intimately, more honestly, and more clearly with every note. And with every note, music offers us a hand to the beyond.Through music, we can say what we didn't even know we felt.This book is an ode to music, and a celebration of humanity's greatest creation. It is not a call to arms, but a call to instruments.In music, Ed Ayres finds answers to the big questions life throws at us. Using personal anecdotes - including those relating to his transition from Emma to Ed - and observations from teaching and learning music, Ed finds hope in our desire to become whole, with some simple music lessons along the way.PRAISE'Whole Notes may appear to be about music, but really, it's simply about how to be kind and how to listen without judgement. Which is the best definition of love, no?' Jessie Tu, Sydney Morning Herald'A truly beguiling account' Geraldine Doogue'An almost divine presence' Rick Morton