Product Description
The harrowing story of the ill-fated Endurance, now in paperback.

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and 27 men sailed from England in an attempt to become the first team of explorers to cross Antarctica from one side to the other. Five months later and still 100 miles from land, their ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. The expedition survived another five months camping on ice floes, followed by a perilous journey through stormy seas to remote and unvisited Elephant Island. In a dramatic climax to this amazing survival story, Shackleton and five others navigated 800 miles of treacherous open ocean in a 20-foot boat to fetch a rescue ship.

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World vividly re-creates one of the most extraordinary adventure stories in history. Jennifer Armstrong narrates this unbelievable story with vigor, an eye for detail, and an appreciation of the marvelous leadership of Shackleton, who brought home every one of his men alive.
Amazon.com Review
The harrowing survival story of English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton andthe ill-fated Endurance has intrigued people since the 1914expedition--spurring astounding books such as Endurance: Shackleton's IncredibleVoyage and TheEndurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition. AsShackleton and 27 sailors attempted to cross the frozen Antarctic continentfrom one side to the other, they were trapped in an ice pack, lost theirship to the icy depths, survived an Antarctic winter, escaped attacks fromsea lions, and traversed 600 treacherous miles to the uninhabited ElephantIsland. Leaving 22 men behind, Shackleton and five others sailed 800 milesacross the southern Atlantic Ocean in a 20-foot open boat to tiny SouthGeorge Island, where they hiked across unmapped mountains to a whalingstation. In 1916, 19 months after the Endurance became icebound,Shackleton led a rescue party back to retrieve his men. Remarkably, everycrew member survived.

Jennifer Armstrong, the award-winning author of Black-Eyed Susan and The Dreams of MairheMehan, brings the unbelievable journey to life with deliciousdetails: how a handsome young stowaway was discovered too late to cast himoff; how the ship itself would become frost-white, looking like "anotherspecies of sparkling white iceberg as it nosed its way through the pack;"and how the ice-pack-dwelling Emperor penguins seemed to enjoy the banjomusic of crew member Leonard Hussey. The true-to-life story is as thrillingas they come, and Armstrong's lively, crystal-clear writing style is justas compelling. More than 40 photographs of the expedition populate thisinspiring nonfiction adventure story that young readers will devour fromcover to cover. (Ages 10 to 14) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

Riveting...
There aren't many books worth raving about, and the ones that get all of the attention are usually fiction. This is an extraordinary book that tells the tale of an incredible adventure. When I read this book the first time, I did not put it down until I reached the last page.

This book tells, in graphic detail that a 6th grader can handle, the story of Shackleton and his attempt to cross Antarctica. It is packed with statistics and facts that a number junkie will become addicted to. The story is so amazing, it is difficult to believe that it is true...

Basic line: Shackleton recruits numerous adventuring men to cross Antarctica. Disaster strikes, things go tragically wrong. Determination to survive becomes the most prominent theme. Everybody lives (surprisingly.) I am not into "plot spoilers," so if you want to know the juicy stuff, pick up a copy. You will not be disappointed...but you will find the story incredulous.

Great Price
This was a required reading for my middle school child and it was much cheaper on Amazon than it was at the local bookstore.

Great leadership story
I thought this was a well written story that helps individuals realize strategies for overcoming obstacles.

A beautiful book with a haunting quality about the 1914 Shackleton Expedition -- and the triumph of the human spirit !
A perfect book for a middle school to high school student looking for something to read over the summer. And, adult readers will enjoy it too, for the layout and design, for the haunting quality of the photographs and the nicely-paced, narrative style of writing.

To late 19th and early 20th century explorers, trying to cross Antarctica, exploring the deepest jungles of Africa or traveling along the water trails of the Amazon tributaries, or excavating the tombs of the pharaohs or the Aztec and Incan Empires was akin to how we view space travel today. It was mysterious and the stuff of heroes. Realizing this, the author does a wonderful job of making the events of the Ernest Shackleton Expedition as interesting, relevant and exciting as contemporary accounts of the Apollo 13 mission.

Page by page, the story is riveting and dramatic. And, in the end, readers can't help but be truly, and deeply impressed by the courage and resiliency of these brave men.

Highly recommended for public, school and college libraries of all kinds.

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University

The best book I read last summer
I picked this book up at my son's school book fair.While it is designated as a young adult book, I was not sure of the reading level, so I decided to read the book myself.The reading level is reasonable for a teenager or possibly younger child, but there is no reason why this shouldn't be an adult book!The book includes many - if not most - of the Frank Hurley photos.It also provides a "real life" perspective, from the diaries of the crew, of the expedition.I have since read several other books of the Endurance expedition, but none as engaging and thrilling as this one.It was impossible to put down! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

kid's love it
My grandson lives in Australia and I sent him several Geronimo Stilton books and he loves them...I did not read it tho'.

GS Book
Great stories my son is just learning to read and loves these books. short chapters with colorful words.

Book Review by Odera
If you like books about animals that talk and do crazy stuff, this book is for you.You'll be surprised about what happens.All this mouse wants is a nice cool vacation, but he ends up getting the vacation of a lifetime!
This book is amazing!There is a lot of mischief and a lot of funny things.This book is for 2nd-4th graders.After 5th grade, it gets kind of boring for you.Geronimo Stilton finds something you might want.He loves adventures.You will find many, many surprises in this book.Will he ever get off this nightmare trip?Read the book to find out!

Book Review by Odera
If you like books about animals that talk and do crazy stuff, this book is for you.You'll be surprised about what happens.All this mouse wants is a nice cool vacation.But he ends up getting the vacation of a lifetime.This book is amazing!There is a lot of mischief and funny things.
This book is good for 2nd-4th graders.After you get in fifth grade it gets kind of boring for you. Geronimo finds something you might want.He loves adventures a lot.You will find many, many surprises in this book.
Will he ever get off his nightmare trip?Read the book and find out!

Looks great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have collected all 15 Geronimo stilton books. This one looks great!!!!!!!!!!Thats 32 more books to go, then the seris is all over.... but before then, collect them all, thier whisker licking good, and thats a promise.


Sencirly,
Doug Laman ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
A look at the most spectacular shipwrecks and most incredible survivals in history recreates scenes of high courage and panic as it describes, among others, the three greatest killer storms in modern times. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Shipwrecks
Quite a comprehensive review of Great Lakes Shipwrecks, a topic I ventured into because of my ancestry from Milwaukee's 1860 U S Harbormaster Martin Dooley, who died in the USM Lady Elgin shipwreck of Sept 8, 1860, near Chicago.
[...]
The reference to Corktown in Old Milwaukee, might actually refer to a part of Old Detroit, and the reference to a "shillalah brandishing mob..." avenging the Lady Elgin....seems more like a Republican torch-bearing Wide Awake demonstration.
William Henry Bishop, of Saint John Cathedral, like several other authors, minced few words in claiming that the Augusta had "run down and sank the steamer Lady Elgin", and as a result it was considered unsafe for the Augusta (later re-named Colonel Cook) to dock in Milwaukee, for many years.
The illustrations of Reynold Weidenaar, show a greatly exagerated tsunami-like wave buffeting a ship, similar to an exagerated painting of the Lady Elgin.

fascinating reading
I have read this book 3 times, and have given it many times as gifts, always appreciated. Sad stories but true, being from Michigan, it is all the more interesting

Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals
This is one of those "gift shop" books you can pick up anywhere along the coasts of the Great Lakes, especially museums.It was originally written in 1960 but then was updated to include the most famous of all Great Lakes wrecks, the Edmund Fitzgerald.

This is a collection of stories about those mariners who met their doom, or their greatest moment while sailing th Great Lakes.People from other parts of the country cannot fully appreciate the uniqueness of the Great Lakes and the tales of sailing vessels and storms.It's somewhat peculiar that the very first ship ever floated by white men on the lakes, the "Griffin," never completed its maiden voyage.It sunk.

There are certain times of the year when the lakes are more dangerious than others; November is the worst month for wrecks.But wrecks can and did happen almost any time of year, even when skies were clear.An explosion, a miscalculation, or any other mistake could prove fatal.Given the tendency of each lake to have its own personality and unique challenges to mariners, there is never such a thing as a garrantied safe journey.True, ships are more sophisticated today, but it may well be only a matter of time before the next big boat goes down.

Good Used Item
Haven't read the book yet.I purchased it for my Dad for his birthday and had it mailed to him.He told me he received the book in good condition (as described) and was looking forward to reading it.It will make a nice addition to the books in his fishing cabin in the UP Michigan.

My dad's last book.
This was my father's last book. Growing up I remember seeing oars, and other debris from the Carl D. Bradley shipwreck around the house. The significance of them really never dawned on me. Then later when the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwrecked, that was later added to the book. When the song about it was written and sung by Gordon Lightfoot, he actually came over to our house and sang the song for my mom and dad as heplayed my grandmothers piano. I could just barely see the pride and joy he was feeling watching this. I had no idea how fortunate I was at the time to experience that. And I was never really able to appreciate what a great writer he was until I matured more as an adult.

My father was a writer, and a very good one at that. I had a lot to live up to if I was going to even attempt to write a book. It meant a lot to me to write the best possible book that I could in order to make him proud, and pass on as much helpful information as possible. I self published it in 2009. It has many of my life experiences woven into it. It surprised me how much of your life you share when you write a book. Some of it is very personal, and you don't know the person on the other side. So I have a new found appreciation of what writers must go through. It gives you a whole new perspective when you're the writer and not the reader!

SL Ratigan ... Read more

Product Description

“A remarkable book, in which a very wide spectrum of human behavior is on show---from colossal gullibility on the one hand, to extraordinary ingenuity and determination on the other.” —The Daily Telegraph (UK)
    
     Treasure Hunt is the story of an obsession. Rumors of Spanish treasure, or gold and silver at the bottom of the sea, have been a part of maritime lore for centuries. In 1687, Captain William Phips brought back to port an incredible cargo---nearly forty tons of silver and gold---the treasure of the Spanish galleon Concepción, wrecked over forty years before on a coral reef in the middle of the ocean. The unimaginable had become real, and the great treasure-hunting boom had begun.
     Soon after Phips’s success, there were numerous expeditions that meant to emulate his stunning achievement. During that same time there was also a boom in the invention of crude and often very dangerous diving equipment. Many of these new projects were promoted on the infant stock market, where gambling and treasure hunting became closely connected with the birth of modern capitalism.
     By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, treasure hunting had become a professional occupation, with a new breed of diver emerging. Much of their time was spent salvaging the wrecks of English and Dutch East-Indiamen carrying treasure to ?nance business in Asia. Ever since, men have been prepared to risk life and fortune in the search for underwater riches.
     The author of numerous books of maritime history, including The Pirate Wars and The Sack of Panamá, world-renowned historian Peter Earle returns with an extraordinary and little-known history---of outstanding bravery, of exceptional recklessness, and above all, of the unquenchable lust for treasure.

Customer Reviews (1)

Another Gift from Earle
I have now read four books by Earle and each has been a pleasure.He combines a fluid and fast-moving writing style with an underlying academic rigor as reflected in his extensive use of original sources; all of which leaves a reader with a great sense of confidence in the end product. In this case, he has also chosen a subject with a fascinating cast of characters, and stories of stock-jobbing which help round out the picture of the high flyers who were involved in these dangerous endeavors.As with some of his other books, sources include archives outside England from ehich he gleans valuable additional perspectives ... Read more

Product Description
Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849 is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by William O. S. Gilly is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of William O. S. Gilly then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a factual account, written in the pace of fiction, of hundreds of dramatic losses heroic rescues and violent adventures at the stormy meeting place of northern and southern winds and waters—the Graveyard of the Atlantic off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fascinating read for the maritime buff or OBX vacationer
I've been vacationing in North Carolina's Outer Banks for over 17 years, and this book gave me a whole new perspective on the history of a place I hold dear. These stories of the tragic losses of lives and property, combined with the successful and often gallant heroics of the dedicated men of the Outer Banks Life Saving stations are truly fascinating and inspiring. Imagine launching a wooden lifeboat from the beach during a hurricane and rowing it some 10 miles out through 15 foot breakers and hurricane winds! Graveyard of the Atlantic is a great read for historians, maritime buffs, and OBX vacationers alike. It'll make you think twice about the shadowy remnants of the Oriental (1862), whose iron smoke stacks are still visible in the surf off Pea Island 150 years after she sank--or the Laura Barnes, whose ribs are the only things still resting on Coquina Beach.

A DIFFERENT ERA
Written, I believe, in the fifties, 'Graveyard of the Atlantic', begins in the late 1500's and ends after World War II.We can clearly see the advance of safety and technology here, especially in the last century.At the end the author tells us that the age of NC shipwrecks is over, and indeed any such accidents today would be the stuff of CNN rather than a local affair.

I was surprised to learn that coastal communities were actually dependent on shipwrecks until at least the 19th century.Wrecks were so frequent that many were fully employed at the job of rescuing and salvaging.It was certainly a different era.Most readers will enjoy this book.I particulary liked the chapters on the World Wars, when German submarines sank ships just off shore

Great reading for kids
I've been reading the many short stories to my Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. The stories are riveting and very engaging. They illicit tons of questions and comments from the children and parents alike. When we visit the coast of the Carolinas this summer, my scouts will have plenty of education to put the experience in perspective.

An interesting summary
I was pleased to discover that this book has been reprinted.It is a well researched listing of shipwrecks along a particular secion of the U.S. Atlantic coast.Accounts are of varying length.In some cases the author gives extensive details, e.g., he devotes a chapter to the Steam Packet Pulaski, but in other cases the accounts are very brief, perhaps a long paragraph or a page.The author does provide a chronological listing at the end of the book, a detailed index, and descriptive drawings of the various types of ships along with a map of the area (which I hope was preserved in the latest edition).

Great local history of shipwrecks of the Atlantic Coast
I first picked up this book when I was 14 at a local bookstore in Wilmington, N.C. Ever since then I have been enchanted with stories of shipwrecks and the drama involved in them. This book describes theparticularly dangerous coast of North Carolina where the warm gulf streammeets the cold artic currents, resulting in very dangerous sand bars andstorms. This has resulted in hundreds of wrecks along this particular partof North America. The author describes some of the most climatic sinkingssuch as the USS Huron, the SS Metropolis, the steam packet Pulaski. He alsochronicles the birth and growth of the US Life Saving Service and some ofthe most exciting rescues in history. Overall this is a fine and engrossingbook, written by an author intimately connected with his topic ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Young Reader's Introduction to Shipwrecks!
Dorling Kindersley's 'Eyewitness Books' are some of the most marvelous books published for younger readers. Their combination of concise yet informative text, appealing artwork and full-color photographs make them enormously appealing. Covering a wide variety of subjects, I'd recommend any of them to parents of readers in the 9-12 age bracket. Case in point: SHIPWRECK by Richard Platt.

Platt and DK offer up a smorgasbord of information on shipwrecks in this 2005 release. After short sections on hazards of the sea, Platt spotlights some ancient wrecks from around the world along with tales of the Spanish Armada debacle, warship disasters, oil tanker sinkings and the ultimate shipwreck, the Titanic. Then he discusses various related topics: navigation on the sea; shipboard technology over the years; air/sea rescues; diving on wrecks; preservation and reconstruction of wrecks raised from the seabed and so on.

Young readers - actually, all readers - will find the close-up photos of great interest; the jagged remnants of a long-lost Roman cargo ship; centuries-old, barnacle-encrusted art treasures and coins; broken bottle fragments from Grecian times; early hard hat diving suits; reconstructed models of the Titanic wreck, etc.

In short, SHIPWRECK is a fine introduction to the subject sure to appeal to young, inquisitive minds. Recommended.

Anticipation...
i WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS BOOK.I am a Titanic buff and have quite a few of those books in my classroom library.I bought this book to add to my classroom library.I was not disappointed, nor do I think the kids will be. ... Read more

Product Description
Isaku is a nine-year-old boy living in a remote, desperately poor fishing village on the coast of Japan. His people catch barely enough fish to live on, and so must distill salt to sell to neighboring villages. But this industry serves another, more sinister purpose: the fires of the salt cauldrons lure passing ships toward the shore and onto rocky shoals. When a ship runs aground, the villagers slaughter the crew and loot the cargo for rice, wine, and rich delicacies. One day a ship founders on the rocks. But Isaku learns that its cargo is far deadlier than could ever be imagined. Shipwrecks, the first novel by the great Japanese writer Yoshimura to be translated into English, is a stunningly powerful, Gothic tale of fate and retribution.
Amazon.com Review
Although Akira Yoshimura is one of Japan's most prolific andcelebrated authors, his work is little known outside of his native country.Shipwrecks, one of the first of his 20 novels to be translated intoEnglish, tells the tale of Isaku, a 9-year-old boy who is forced to scroungeto provide for his desperately poor family. For the people of the medievalJapanese village in which Isaku lives, the only relief from near starvationcomes in the guise of the shipwrecks of the title. To lure merchant shipsoff course, the villagers light huge bonfires. But even their success turnsto disaster when the wreckage of one such ship includes not only rice, butsmallpox. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Coming of age in time of moral ambiguity
Shipwrecks is an entrancing tale of a boy coming of age in a village that is constantly on the brink of survival. The survival of the village hinges on two things: in lean times, family members sell themselves into slavery (bond) for periods of 3 to 10 years, often losing their lives while they are away; and the ability of villagers to lure ships onto the reef, so they can kill the crews and loot the ships for vitally needed food and supplies. You might think that the villagers are evil, but as you become immersed in their story there is a logic to what they do. Moreover, they are deeply religious people with a host of strong traditions. In one annual ritual they pray for shipwrecks to occur. They do understand how their actions would be seen by the outside world (the nearest village being a difficult three day walk away) and take pains to conceal their actions. But because their entire livelihood depends upon the occasional shipwreck, the survival of their village is the defining factor in their morality.

A deeper reading of this book might be to view it as a metaphor for just about any culture in any time. To what extent is our culture's sense of morality, along with its rituals and forms of government, predicated on survival of our particular "village" at the cost of pillaging the riches of others? As I read Yoshimura's fine book I saw many parallels between the village and various empires throughout history. I wonder if other readers see the same thing?

Living and dying in a small Japanese village
This book is short, to the point, and an excellent read! It concerns people who eke out a barely adequate living in a tiny village on a small rocky coast in medieval Japan. The people work very hard just to survive, but they depend on the occasional shipwreck (which they help cause) to supplement their own food supplies.

We read in fascination and horror how the shipwrecks are caused, and the total lack of remorse shown by the villagers, even the youngest among them, one of whom is the protagonist. When a shipwreck comes that causes consequences that are unexpected, the novel really soars, and we watch as the village suffers for it actions. It's not a pretty book by any means, but one well worth reading.

Meh
I have to disagree with all the high ratings for this book. While the imagery is amazingly well written, the book is about 4-5 times longer than it needs to be. Nothing of great importance or anything that moves the story forward happens for the first 2/3 of the book. I have no idea why we needed to see Isaku age over so long a time, and so much of this book was overflated, overstated, and just not necessary.

I wonder if something is lost in the translation of the text from Japanese... Again, the story idea is great, the author's ability to create imagery is excellent, but it just lacks focus. Tightened up a bit by an good screenwriter, it could make an excellent film.

Beyond 5 stars
This exotic tale defies categorization, with its mythical quality and poetic simplicity.

The setting is an isolated coastal village in medieval Japan. Just as their ancestors did, the villagers weave cloth from linden tree bark, fish for squid and saury, and trade salt and fish for grain in the nearest village on the other side of the mountains.

To stave off starvation, the villagers often sell family members into indentured servitude. Only one thing can raise their lives above the level of mere subsistence: the wreck of a merchant ship on the reef just beyond their beach.

So desirable is this disaster, the ancestors long ago found a way to lure unwary ships to their shores, and the villagers continue this unholy tradition.

We follow the story by observing a young village boy as he learns the skills and duties of adulthood in this desolate place. The beauty of Nature and the seasons form a poignant backdrop to the struggle for survival.

Crime does not go unpunished in this story. At the same time, the distinction between right and wrong is anything but clear. This is definitely a book to share with a philosophical friend.

Like a painting, not a story


As the other reviews have summarized, this novel is about Isaku, whose village lures ships to the rocky shore where they are wrecked so that the poor village can plunder the cargo. This is an incredibly interesting setup that the writer fails to take advantage of.

The first rule of novel writing is to have a main character who overcomes something (an antagonist, himself, nature, etc.) by making a decision.

With this setup, there are many opportunities to build a story. The simplest version of this story would be that as Isaku grows up, he begins to understand the moral dilemma - what they're doing is wrong, but if he doesn't, he/his family/his village will die. There's many possible variations.

But Yoshimura uses none of them. As Isaku watches, they keep doing what they've always none, and the last time it turns out badly and they basically all die.I guess the point is that God has made the decision.

So Isaku watches. He does what he's told. Sometimes they're starving, sometimes they have food. Sometimes his mother is angry, sometimes she's happy.Sometimes things are going well, and then they all die. But Isaku is just and observer and doesn't make any decisions. He doesn't even make a decision not to make a decision.

An interesting discussion topic that's probably worth a master's degree in Japanese literature if not a Ph.D. is that the idea that a novel has to be about an individual's choice is rooted in Western thinking, especially American thinking, where we are brought up taught to make our individual choices, but Japanese are brought up in collectivist system where decisions are made as a group and responsibility shared.Does that mean that works in a novel (or movie) to an American and to a Japanese are different?

I was wondering about that as I read Shipwrecks, but I've tentatively concluded that the answer is no, that successful novels and movies are focused on the individual, even if they are part of a group or representative of a group. I've watched enough Japanese TV dramas to realize that the stories are the same - wife has to decide what to do about a cheating husband, boy has to decide how to win the girl he loves, father has to find a way to get promoted, even if the settings and situations and the way they solve their dilemmas are unique to Japan.

So, what we have with Shipwrecks is interesting history, interesting setting, and a great set-up, but the story leaves you asking "so what?" But if you like a story where in the end, god suddenly comes in and kills everyone for their sins, you'll probably enjoy it.
... Read more

Product Description
"Flayhart delivers a gripping chronicle of mishap and mayhem . . . filled with danger and heroism and rich with detail."—Sea Power

A colorful and deadly history of ocean liner disasters from the mid-nineteenth century to the present., Disaster at Sea is a chronicle of the most frightening episodes in the maritime history of the North Atlantic. From 1850 to the present day, the Atlantic has been home to hundreds of ocean liners and cruise ships, each more lavish than the last...all of them symbols of wealth and luxury. Perhaps this is why readers have always been fascinated by the lives of these ships—and their deaths. Many of us know the stories of the Titanic and the Lusitania. Both tragedies caused tremendous loss of life, even as they made the ships immortal. But there are many little-known accounts of extraordinary survivals at sea, such as the Inman and International liner City of Chicago that jammed her bow into an Irish peninsula in 1892 but stayed afloat long enough for all to be rescued, or the City of Richmond that survived a dangerous fire in 1891, and a year earlier the City of Paris, whose starboard engine exploded at full speed in the mid-Atlantic and yet miraculously still made port. Often such tales are forgotten even if the ship sank: In 1898 the Holland-America liner Veendam hit a submerged wreck and sank at sea, but all lives were saved—so this vessel's dramatic story seemed less important in maritime history than incidents involving human loss. As recently as 2000, the Sea Breeze I sank off the East Coast of the United States while on a positioning voyage, but all her crew members were rescued in a heroic effort by U.S. Coast Guard helicopters. These stories and many others are dramatic, and acclaimed maritime scholar William Flayhart has spent much of the last forty years in search of material from which to create colorful narratives.

Author of The American Line: 1871–1902 and coauthor of Majesty at Sea and the first edition of QE2, Flayhart retells classic ocean liner disaster stories while bringing to light never-before-published but compelling episodes in man's ongoing battle with the sea. 26 illustrations. Originally published in hardcover under the title Perils of the Atlantic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great book
It's a great read for those of you that like shipwrecks and hearing the stories; of course the Titanic and Lusitania are in here, but the rest I hadn't heard about. Again, it's a great read that I enjoyed.

Riveting!
I seldom go in for non-fiction literary works. However, Dr. William Flayhart III was one of my professors when I attended Delaware State University. His classes were always interesting and he had the uncanny ability of making history seem alive.

One day I was talking to some people about professors who had caught my interest and imagination when I attend college, and Dr. Flayhart came up in the conversation. I told the people I was talking to that I had heard he had written some books, so I did a search on Amazon. The Amazon search listed several books written by Dr. Flayhart.I decided to purchase a couple to see if they were as interesting as the history classes I had taken with Dr. Flayhart in the early 70s.

I have to tell you that I have read this book and at times have found it hard to put down. Each chapter is about a different disaster and Dr. Flayhart has managed to capture the details and at times made me feel as if I were on the ships he writes about. Even though the book is rich in detail, it is woven through each chapter to make it part of the story, so you never get the feeling that Dr. Flayhart is just reciting a list of ship specifications, loss of life, or shipping loses.

I highly recommend this book. I think that if you are interested in disasters at sea that involve steam ships making the North Atlantic crossing, you will find this book a real prize.

A page-turner!!
It's hard to put this book down!! As a writer of history, William Flayhart is magnetic.His style is compelling and informative.He offers a wealth of researched information to help us understand how these disasters happened, and keeps us involved as we read.I have read several accounts of the Titanic disaster, but found that Flayhart put forth information I had not read before.I will be anxious to read more of his work.

Can't put it down
This book contains 21 infamous ship wrecks in the Atlantic from 1850 to the present.Its well written and hard to put down.Stories come alive and I sometimes feel like I'm on one of these ships sailing from Liverpool to New York. Its amazing to see how most of these shipwrecks could have been prevented if crews were not so careless. Kudos to the author. ... Read more

Product Description
Six kids. One fate.Nick, J.J., Will, Lyssa, Charla, and Ian.They didn't want to be on the boat in the first place. They didn¹t want to be stuck at sea with a bunch of strangers. But when you¹re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there¹s no easy way out. And when a terrifying storm hits, there¹s no way to fully prepare. It¹s all about survival.Amazon.com Review
Being on a sailboat in the warm waters of the Pacific with a bunch of kids the same age could sound like a vacation dream come true. However, when this month-long trip is part of a strict program called Charting a New Course, and each participant--or inmate--is there for disciplinary problems, things don't look quite as rosy. And then, of course, when a big storm strikes, and the captain and first mate disappear, and the boat seems to be sinking... the whole idea becomes less and less appealing. Still, for Luke, Will, Lyssa, J.J., Ian, and Charla, this is the way the cards have been dealt, and whatever problems they may have with each other, however much they don't want to be there, it's time to start working together to save their own lives.

The first book of Gordon Korman's exciting new trilogy introduces readers to the six troubled kids who will become unwitting partners in their desperate bid for survival. A steely captain and a gruff first mate who calls every boy "Archie" and every girl "Veronica" keep order and attempt to turn their charges into young sailors--an effort that may pay off more than any of them ever anticipate. A hint of menace permeates Shipwreck, along with humor, angst, and mystery. Readers won't want to miss the continuation of the riveting saga in books 2 and 3, Survival and Escape. (Ages 9 to 13) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Castaway For Kids
Take six kids, throw them into the "Charting A New Course" program for troubled youth aboard the Phoenix and the journey begins.Most of them don't want to be there and most of them don't really like each other very much.But, when a brutal storm hits, the kids become castaways forced to worked together to survive.This first book in Gordon Korman's series is well-plotted and uses an appealing mix of kids--rich and poor, boys and girls, shy and outgoing.Perfect for third and fourth graders who want an adventure read!
--Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

Not as good as the next two, but this is a really good series.
There are three books in the Island series and I have to admit the first one is my least favorite.They get so much better as the story unfolds in the other two books.I would definately get all three though and you need to read them in order.Very exciting for a 10 year old.We read these together and we both wanted to read longer than our normal 30 minutes.

Better reading for all
It seems in this day and age that books for tweens and YAs are better written than adult fare! This series is a real page turner and I'm 62! The YA books come in all genres and more attention is paid to the writing (the author studied up on island living just for this series) as no one has to figure out where to put the overly gory and excessive use of graphic sex and four-letter words. This is a great mystery/action/adventure story. A real page-turner. I highly recommend this series!

Not for a 3rd grader
My son is in third grade and read this for a book report.He pointed out several cuss words while reading this. I just wish the author had left out those words. Why take a good kids book and use that language?

Great Read-Aloud Book for Reading Class
I teach freshmen in high school.Every day we have a thirty-minute reading time.I read this book to the class aloud, and they enjoyed it.The story is well-told, with good characters.The story takes a while to develop (perhaps because the author wrote it with a trilogy or series in mind), but once it gets going, it is compelling reading.We are now reading the second book.Good high-interest book for apathetic readers. ... Read more

Product Description

On the evening of February 2, 1864, Confederate Commander John Taylor Wood led 250 sailors in two launches and twelve boats to capture the USS Underwriter, a side-wheel steam gunboat anchored on the Neuse River near New Bern, North Carolina. During the ensuing fifteen-minute battle, nine Union crewmen lost their lives, twenty were wounded, and twenty-six fell into enemy hands. Six Confederates were captured and several wounded as they stripped the vessel, set it ablaze, and blew it up while under fire from Union-held Fort Anderson. The thrilling story of USS Underwriter is one of many involving the numerous shipwrecks that occupy the waters of Civil War history. Many years in the making, W. Craig Gaines's Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks is the definitive account of more than 2,000 of these American Civil War-period sunken ships. From Alabama's USS Althea, a Union steam tug lost while removing a Confederate torpedo in the Blakely River, to Wisconsin's Berlin City, a Union side-wheel steamer stranded in Oshkosh, Gaines provides detailed information about each vessel, including its final location, type, dimensions, tonnage, crew size, armament, origin, registry (Union, Confederate, United States, or other country), casualties, circumstances of loss, salvage operations, and the sources of his findings. Organized alphabetically by geographical location (state, country, or body of water), the book also includes a number of maps providing the approximate locations of many of the wrecks--ranging from the Americas to Europe, the Arctic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Also noted are more than forty shipwrecks whose locations are in question.

Since the 1960s, the underwater access afforded by SCUBA gear has allowed divers, historians, treasure hunters, and archaeologists to discover and explore many of the American Civil War-related shipwrecks. In a remarkable feat of historical detective work, Gaines scoured countless sources--from government and official records to sports diver and treasure-hunting magazines--andcross-indexes his compilation by each vessel's various names and nicknames throughout its career.

An essential reference work for Civil War scholars and buffs, archaeologists, divers, and aficionados of naval history, Encyclopedia of Civil War Shipwrecks revives and preserves for posterity the little-known stories of these intriguing historical artifacts. ... Read more

Product Description
During a marine biology lesson at Mouseford Academy, the Thea Sisters learn about a mysterious shipwreck off Whale Island. According to legend, a very rare diamond called Jasmine's Heart was on the ship when it sank. When biology teacher Professor Van Kraken disappears, the Thea Sisters have to dive into the deep ocean to find him and the jewel. And just when they think their adventures are over, the Thea Sisters receive an invitation to travel to China to find another missing treasure. It's an adventure these five world-traveling mice will never forget!

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Customer Reviews (1)

Kid Falls for Geronimo!
My 8 year old son loves the G.S. adventures and now loves the new twist w/ the Thea Stilton novels.G.S. got my child to actually like reading!

-AW ... Read more

Product Description
An exploration of two strikingly different shipwrecks

For those who know how to interpret its secrets, a sunken ship has many tales to tell. The stories of the lives of those aboard its last voyage are revealed in the objects scattered around the shipwreck. Then there are the stories of the many ocean creatures that have found a home inside the broken hull.

Two shipwrecks, separated by two thousand miles and two centuries, share a common history of life, death, and rebirth. The first is the Henrietta Marve, a slave trader that sunk off Florida in 1700. The second, an elegant steamer with crew members from a thriving middle-class black community in Maine. Each of their stories starts with underwater exploration, one a search for fabled gold, the other for families lost at sea. Find out what underwater explorers discovered in these sunken cities beneath the sea. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Shipwrecks: Exploring Sunken Cities Beneath the Sea
//Shipwrecks -- Exploring Sunken Cities Beneath the Sea// takes on two topics at the same time: the fate of ships sunk in the oceans and the living, breathing cities down in the waters. Mary Cerullo, the author, presents the information in two opposing contexts: the shipwrecks happened in warm waters at the Gulf of Mexico and in the cold Atlantic Ocean; the ships involved were a slave-trading ship and an elegant overnight steamer; the ocean cities discussed consisted of a tropical paradise and a dull but practical habitat. With the juxtaposition of these elements, what results is a set of information that is interesting and enjoyable to remember. The facts are not boring (they don't sound textbook-like) and the context is not one-dimensional. The ideas and facts presented deal with marine science, fisheries, archaeology, history, engineering, social science and even piracy! It's one work from which many discussions with a child can be started.

Reviewed by Donabel Beltran

The reader will be mesmerized by the shipwrecks and will also learn how they became magnets "for marine creatures!"
Captain Thomas Chamberlain and his crew most likely became more and more fearful and hurricane force winds buffeted the "Henrietta Marie."The ship went down "thirty-five miles west of the Florida Keys" in 1700 and was not discovered until 1972 on the sandy ocean floor In "about twenty-five feet of murky water."Corey Malcom directed the search and his divers used everything from ping pong paddles to move the sand to a magnetometer, a "survey tool" used to find iron objects.Creatures of the deep had made their home in and around the ship, but the crew began to find some interesting things.They found "almost one hundred pairs" of shackles.Just what kind of a ship was this and what kinds of secrets were hidden on the bottom of the ocean floor?

Almost two centuries later another ship dubbed the "Portland" ran into a similar situation. On November 16, 1898, a storm named "The Portland Gale" after this luxury ship, an "overnight boat," began to batter it mercilessly.It was later theorized that the ship suffered a slow and terrifying death.One hundred ninety-two passengers and crew perished. Only forty bodies were recovered, but the most mystifying things were the "watches [that] washed ashore."They all said 9:30, but was this in the morning or at night?The ship was not located until 1978, but how did they find it and what would they discover because "fishes are the crew of the `Portland' now?"

The reader will be mesmerized by the shipwrecks and will also learn how they became magnets "for marine creatures."Everyone loves a treasure hunt and this book was exciting from the first page to the last.We not only learn about these mysterious ships, but also about a "living ocean community, where marine animals have made their home in a sanctuary that suddenly appeared in the vastness of the ocean."Learning about the marine life was almost as interesting for me as the shipwrecks.Each ship attracted a different type of life.There are numerous informative sidebars, photographs and reproductions of historical ephemera.In the back of the book is an index, a glossary and additional suggestions of things the reader can do.This was one fun book that you won't regret adding to your library! ... Read more

Product Description
This book contains the history, manifest, salvage andrecoveries of six major well known shipwrecks in the Florida keys.Four of the shipwrecks are 1733 Spanish treasure galleons, one is aBritish warship that sank in 1695, and the last is an American warshipthat sank in 1822. Each shipwreck is precisely located with charts andphotographs of land bearings taken from the site. A number of colorphotgraphs include treasures recovered. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Shipwrecks of the Florida Keys
Great Author, and a very easy read. If you have ever been to the Keys, this book will help you learn more about the lives of the people long ago, who first encountered them, THE HARD WAY. Very interesting! ... Read more

Product Description
Over 2,100 shipwrecks from the 16th century to the present; the most comprehensive listing now available. Arranged primarily by geographical sections of the state. Within sections, wrecks are arranged chronologically. Extensive and heavily illustrated appendices offer a wealth of information on topics of interest to divers and researchers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Unlimited fodder for the dreamers mind...
This book is fantastic and I do believe a great starting point for those just getting interest in shipwrecks and underwater treasure hunting in general.

The main format of the book is structured as a reference listing. I have little to no interest in tall tales, semi-fiction or baseless lore that's more a byprouct of the authors embillishments and imagination than a matter of historical fact; needless to say, books on shipwrecks are apt to drift off into this sort of thing. 'Shipwrecks of Florida' performs beautifully, in this regard... The reference section offers just the facts, well presented relevant while being kept as succinct as possible.

A meaningful portion of the book is indeed dedicated to "Shipwreck Narratives", however, again. These are all fact based, usually first hand accounts of survivors or witnesses and rooted in historical record, rather than contemporary, creative fabrication. Good stuff.

There are also to-the-point entries on artifact conservation, wreckers rights, wreck identification, etc.
I don't throw around five star ratings unless something really deserves it. This does. Five stars, no brainer. If you're looking to assemble a library on Shipwrecks, this is a must.

The only thing 'sad' here is that treasure hunting in Florida is no longer the free 'pursuit of happiness' thing it once was. High-minded people with the best of intentions in-tow pretty much killed the dream in the late 1980's and now, the State controls the entire show, stem to stern. For-profit salvors- the very people who invented most of the underwater location sciences and recovery equipment, the people who did the grunt work involved with locating most of the wrecks and recovered all of that history before it was buried beneath sand on the ocean floor- are held how liable to the flights-of-fancy of college professors and academics who believe it's better to leave something on the ocean floor and preserve an 'everything belongs to everyone' type delusional mentality, rather than let the most motivated people bring it to the surface and possibly enjoy some the reward for themselves.

Anyway, enough lamentations on the broader philosophies here. This is a good book. There's still treasure salvage to be done, the dream hasn't been killed entirely and this book will keep your mind well occupied with thoughts of going down and getting it.

excellent resource book
a fine book for anyone looking into a shipwreck in florida or seeking information about shipwrecks ---will laid out and easy to use.

A true classic and an invaluable reference book
Shipwrecks of Florida : a comprehensive listing is great reading and a fantastic reference book. Anyone interested in underwater archaeology or shipwreck recovery should read this book and keep it as part of theirlibrary. I have been involved in the field of shipwreck recovery for elevenyears, and I also manage the popular web site TreasureExpeditions.com. Ifeel that this will help to qualify my review of this book.Let mestart by saying that I have had the opportunity to meet and work withSteven Singer. Steve is a person of high integrity and knowledge, all ofwhich are displayed in the writing of this book. He has created aninvaluable reference book that not only has probably one of the largestcollection of shipwreck locations, but also covers other valuable topicssuch as; Research, Search and salvage, Wreck identification, Artifactconservation and Rights to wrecks. I have an extensive collection ofmaterial on underwater archaeology and shipwreck recovery, yet I have foundthis book to be invaluable to me. This book stands out as one of the trueclassics in the field of shipwreck recovery and underwater archaeology.Brad "Goldfinder" Johnson ... Read more

Product Description
By happy coincidence, the Sea Rat meets up with another pirate ship, the Bone Rattler. The Bone Rattler isn’t any old pirate ship, either—it’s the ship Aaron and Vicky sailed on before coming to Pirate School! Captain Stinky Beard decides to let the kids sail off with the Bone Rattler for a few days to test their pirating skills and search for treasure. But when the ship gets stuck in dangerous Shipwreck Pass, it’s up to the pirate kids to save the day. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of our favorites from the Pirate School series
My 7 year-old son and I really enjoyed this book! The Pirate School series is about a group of 9 year-old kids who are training to be pirates, sailing on a ship together and encountering adventure and mishap along the way. Not great literature, but fun for young readers in the 5 to 9 year-old age group.

This particular book begins with the pirate kids learning how to take good care of their ship by fixing broken boards and ripped sails. Of course, being kids, they don't really appreciate the value of this lesson until they find themselves vacationing on another ship that is poorly cared for, run down... and suddenly sinking! My son enjoyed the creative way in which the pirate kids end up saving their sinking ship, and I appreciated the subtle reminder that it's important to take care of your stuff! Overall, another great installment in this fun series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A first rate insight into Shipwrecks & Archaeology.
From the ships of Homer's Greece right up to the rediscovery of the Titanic, Peter Throckmorton was able to explain underwater archaeology in an interesting and readable way - even for those who feel the content of any book on such a subject would be right over their head.

This man knew his subject, taught that subject and, sadly, lost his life investigating that subject. Thankfully, he has left us all with a quality book in which this somewhat awkward subject is explained for all to enjoy.

This is a large coffee-table book of 240 pages packed with information.The photographs - both ancient and modern, and the graphics are of the highest standard and there is no diver on earth who will not learn something from within these pages.

Altogether a truly excellent product.

NM

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Product Description

“A rip-snortin’ story of shipwreck, intrigue, horror, courage, risk, luck and will . . . gripping.”—Publishers Weekly

The English were latecomers to America, and their initial attempts to establish an overseas empire met with dismal failure. In 1609, another disaster set the final course of this dramatic history, when the Sea Venture, the ship dispatched by London investors to rescue the starving settlers at Jamestown, collided with a ferocious hurricane and was shipwrecked off the coast of Bermuda. This riveting historical narrative describes how the 150 castaways were seduced by the island’s unexpected pleasures for almost a year and were later riven by mutinies when ordered to continue on to Virginia. Ultimately they built boats with their own hands and arrived safely in Jamestown to face the daunting task of rebuilding America’s first permanent colony.

Customer Reviews (6)

This tells all the missing Story
This book reads like a thriller novel, but it's all well-documented and tied together. Glover and Smith have produced an outstanding account of the Virginia Company's efforts to raise a colony in Virginia, centered around the rescue mission launched in 1609. This book brings together all the stories and events that led up to the Sea Venture's mission, with the leaders and crews attempts to reach Virginia following their survival through a fierce early-season 5 day Atlantic Ocean Hurricane. The characters involved in the Virginia Company's efforts jump off the page. The authors have managed to avoid hyperbole while bringing the amazing story of the Sea Venture's role in turning the course of history out in all it's detail. I loved this book, and wish I had obtained a copy while it was in hardcover edition.

Shedding Some Light
Far too often, our country's most significant historical moments are misinterpreted, misrepresented, or both. In other cases, the basic facts are just simply not very well known. Such is the case with the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown, Virginia. Most people associate the founding of Jamestown with Pocahontas, John Smith, and conflicts with Native Americans. All of those are part of the story, but it doesn't paint a clear picture of the actual founding of the colony and why it is so important to American History. The Shipwreck that Saved Jamestown attempts to do just that.

The book centers on the Sea Venture, an English vessel sent by the Virginia Company to stock the fledgling colony with food, supplies, and new settlers. On its way across the Atlantic, it encounters a massive hurricane and winds up shipwrecked off the coast of Bermuda. The book is worth it simply for that part of the story (which is far more interesting and extensive than I mention here), but the real value of this book is the succinct, easy to read history of Jamestown that the authors present as a lead up to this event.

The book vividly describes the struggles that Great Britain faced in trying to establish a permanent settlement in the New World. Numerous failures and setbacks beleaguered London as it aimed to ease Spain's stronghold on North America. We get a colorful portrait of the real John Smith, which is far different from the caricature that we get from most history textbooks.We also learn of the hardships that the early colonists faced, both on the voyages across the Atlantic and once they arrived in Jamestown. Most of this information is nothing new to scholars and history buffs, but it does help to de-romanticize the events for the average reader.

This book is great if you want to brush up your knowledge on the subject. Most readers should find that it flows very well and utilizes a good mix of facts and anecdotes to make it an easy and enjoyable read.

Stunning Story
Most of us remember the story of Jamestown from high school history and maybe even from a visit to the Jamestown site. But I never knew more than that the English settlers had a hard winter! The authors have documented and put together a clearly written . . . and disturbing . . .story about how really difficult it was to gain a foothold in the New World. As usual those in charge were driven by greed and poor planning so that hundreds died unnecessarily. But then again, without the funds and big egos of the "leaders", we might all now be citizens of Spain. Reading about the horrors the colonists endured, especially the cannibalism, caused me to have nightmares! But the saving of the souls on the Venture, which eventually saved the whole colony, was thrilling. This is stuff movies are made of. I'd give the book five stars except that there is some redundancy, especially the final chapter that seemed to just reminding me what they had already said. Don't read it if real life makes you nervous. Do read it if you want the whole story of our country's feeble beginning.

Mutiny, Perseverance, Deliverance
Most of what we heard in school about the Jamestown colony stems from thewritings of Capt. John Smith. Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith listened to another voice in writing their fluid, intelligent narrative about Jamestown -- William Strachey.The little known poet "struggled to make his voice heard but lost out to Smith's larger name and greater ambition."

They retell the story of the Virginia Company's colony against a backdrop of royal endeavors such as King James sending privateers to raid Spanish ships, seeking the Northwest Passage, conquering Ireland, and the trafficking of African slaves.

This is not the first time these colonist's stories have been told, but there's nothing stale about this book.As every student knows the Jamestown colony did not fair well.Among many woes, a fire nearly destroyed the fort, John Smith recalled, "Some people faced January's bitter colds and such severe frosts with little than the clothes on their backs."

As Ms. Glover's book makes clear, the colonists had wasted much time prospecting for gold instead of farming.Those with a working memory from elementary school history may recall, most of the colonist's health was in grave danger.Many were sick and dying from drinking bad water and living in a marshy area.

The Virginia Company, in response to John Smith's rude letter, dispatched a third re-supply effort in 1609.The flagship of the nine-ship fleet was the state-of-the-art Sea Venture -- England's first dedicated emigrant ship.On board the fleet are Christopher Newport: Vice Admiral of the fleet, Sir George Somers: Admiral of the company, Sir Thomas Gates: next Governor of Virgina, and most important to the authors, William Strachey: A down-on-his-luck poet, seeking a fresh start in Virginia.

The tense description of a hurricane buffeting the fleet generates the first real excitement."As the ship tossed wildly in the ocean, cries and shrieks issued from the passengers who looked one upon the other with troubled hearts and panting bosoms."The Sea Venture was wrecked on a reef surrounding an uninhabited island. Bermuda was known to sailors as "an enchanted den of Furies and Devils, the most dangerous, unfortunate, and forlorn place in the world."Their all-but-new vessel was ruined, but its passengers and crew had survived.

Far from being "the isle of Devils," the castaways found tame wild hogs, sea turtles, birds, and fish that they could easily kill by the dozens.Bermuda was an island paradise, "fertile, fruitful, plentiful, and a safe, secure temperate, rich, sweet, and healthful habitation for man."

Virginia's next governor, Gates, had no intentions of settling in Bermuda and organized the construction of a rescue boat.At the end of August, a crew of eight volunteers were sent in Sea Venture's jury-rigged longboat, to notify Jamestown, but disappeared forever.

As the weeks and months passed, six more Bermuda castaways died, several children were born and a marriage performed.With all the plenty, factions were forming and disobedience brewing. A group of Somer's men conspired to kill Governor Gates and his supporters, but the mutiny sputtered out after the harsh execution of rebel Henry Paine.

Ms. Glover, who also penned Southern Sons: Becoming Men in the New Nation, dutifully reminds us that settlement on Bermuda was temporary.For the glory of England, Governor Gates set about to convince the group to continue on to Virginia.Two small vessels -- the Deliverance and the Patience were constructed of salvaged materials from the wreck of Sea Venture and native cedar.On May 23, 1610, the colonists arrived in Jamestown.

Only about 100 out of the original 500 colonists in Jamestown were found alive -- and most of them were sick and malnourished.Over the winter of 1609-10 "some Jamestown residents, desperate to stay alive, raided graves and ate the corpses."

The food aboard the Deliverance and the Patience was insufficient to sustain the colony for more than a few days."Gates accepted the inevitable and agreed with all speed to return to England."On June 7th, the surviving colonists left Jamestown and embarked for England.

Here the story takes an unexpected turn.Only ten miles downstream, the survivors were intercepted by a relief fleet sent by the Virginia Company under the command of Lord De La Warr. Shocked by their poor condition, he "wasted little time in laying many blames upon the gathered colonists.He found the state of affairs in Jamestown revolting, and he held the settlers responsible."

Since the colony was very short of food, Sir George Somers volunteered to sail back to Bermuda and return with as much food as the Patience could carry.Yet another set back to the colony occurs, when he never returns.Tragically, Somers had died on Bermuda in 1610.At this point, his nephew, Matthew, irresponsibly set sail for England instead of Virginia.

This book has a happy ending, however.Gates returned to England with word that the colony was now strong enough to last after Lord De La Warr combined his group with the settlers from the Sea Venture and Jamestown's survivors.The English now believed that God wanted them in America.

Ms. Glover and Mr. Smith's source is William Strachey."Strachey's personal observations, beginning on board the Sea Venture, offer an entirely fresh perspective on the story of Jamestown.He does so by showing how the colonies ultimate success depended on a fascinating array of adventurers -- entrepreneurs, seamen, servants, settlers, and politicians -- who daring and moving experiences in seeking out a new life in Virginia emboldened them to undertake a dramatic rescue effort that saved America's first colony."

The authors describe William Strachey as a "down-on-his-luck poet seeking a new start in Virginia."Strachey had acquired two shares in the Virgina Company and sailed for Jamestown aboard the Sea Venture in the summer of 1609.

Strachey returned to England probably in late 1611 to publish "True Reportory," his "vivid account of the Sea Venture's odyssey."It was not published until five years after Strachey's death in 1625.

Ms. Glover's book does not add any bombshell facts to what we know, but through careful sifting of long forgotten documents, a fresh perspective of the Jamestown colony is given.All the way through, the authors offer incisive details and insights that make "The shipwreck That Saved Jamestown" a fascinating read.By describing a carefully selected set of individuals and events, the authors give the colonial experience a human face, bringing to life an extended cast of villains and victims.

"The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown" contains nine illustrations, 39 pages of notes, and no maps.The book will be of most interest to readers of early American history.

The Disaster that Made the Colonies
Looking back at history, it often seems as if there was some sort of destiny at play, as if things could not have turned out otherwise.That this view is deceptive is one of the lessons in _The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America_ (John Macrae Books / Henry Holt) by Lorri Glover and Daniel Blake Smith.Tiny contingencies can make huge differences, is another lesson.And yet another is that a horrendous disaster like a shipwreck may not be such a disaster after all.The authors, both professors of history, have thrown light on an important part of colonial history that other books pass by.It might be that other writers who cover the period are uncomfortable with the way this episode shows how closely the British came to failure in their efforts to make it in the New World, and how vastly different the American adventure could have come out if it were not for a few ill winds.

The authors start with a review to show that England before 1609 had nothing but disasters as they set up their outposts across the Atlantic.The effort to start a colony in Jamestown was a decidedly commercial one, but it was yet another disaster.The Virginia Company had to supply food to the settlers, as they could not supply themselves.It did whatever it could to squelch all the bad news coming from Jamestown, and tried to recruit fresh settlers by emphasizing their religious and patriotic duties.Seven ships sent out faced a hurricane, and the main vessel, the _Sea Venture_, was wrecked upon Bermuda.Those that made it to Jamestown faced "a starving time" during the winter of 1609 - 1610, when extreme deprivation led to horrors including cannibalism.Starvation, disease, and Indians killed off over 80% of the settlers.Those shipwrecked on the _Sea Venture_, however, got off easy.Bermuda, reputed to be an island cursed to sailors because of devils therein, proved to be far closer to Eden than Jamestown ever would, a real paradise with mangroves, palmettos, turtles, fish, and birds that stood around waiting to be caught.Indeed, the great challenge for the leader of this crew, Thomas Gates, was to put down mutinies from the many who having lit upon a better place than Jamestown did not want to continue the voyage.Gates was able eventually to scavenge his wrecked vessel, supervise construction of two smaller ones, and proceed to Jamestown, where they found a fraction of the expected settlers, all eager to get away from their nightmarish colony.Without the arrival of the _Sea Venture_ and the supplies it carried from Bermuda, the colony would have perished, but the settlers convinced Gates it was time to give up on the colony and return to England.It was impossible for him to disagree, but as they sailed out the James River, they by chance met another relief fleet coming in from England.Back to Jamestown they went, saving it and saving England's destiny in the New World.

The Virginia Company, however, did not flourish; it was dissolved in 1624, and most of its investors never saw any returns.The preachers insisted that God had kept settlers from Bermuda before 1610, so that it could be full of goods to be taken on to Virginia, and indeed, the Bermudan colony did well and stood as a defiance to Spain.The wreck of the _Sea Venture_ not only preserved English hopes, but it had a direct effect on literature; the wreck and salvation of the vessel were well known throughout London, and were undoubtedly known by Shakespeare.Glover and Smith analyze the text of The Tempest to show how it was inspired by the wreck.More importantly, they have provided a vivid and often grueling account of the extreme difficulties the settlers faced from Indians, disease, and incompetent leadership.Jamestown had barely survived, but the authors show that after 1610 Britons never seriously considered giving up their empire in the New World.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Worst book ever written about the Great Lakes
The Author is just trying to impress us with a long list of those lost. However it is the worst narrative ever written about Great Lakes Shipwrecks. I am glad that I Purchased it used.
Greg Knott

Historically correct
I have no doubt that this book was well researched however it lacks feeling.It may be the nature of the book that causes this, as there is no real tale to tellunless there are survivors.Most of these disasters had no one left to spin the yarn of what occurred.

Wes knows his stuff
While researching a local shipwreck I found that Wes Oleszewski had already done all the work for me. This book is full of well-researched and well written stories about the men and the ships who were lost on the Great Lakes. Wes goes beyond the facts of the tragedy to get to the real stories -- the lives of the people who were lost. Wes' series is a must have for all serious Great Lakes shipwreck researchers.

great book easy reading very knowledgeable author
I throughly enjoyed this book.I have read several of this authors books and found them veryhard to put down. He is good at finding the researchand information about each of the boats he is writing about.I am lookingforward to reading more of the books he has written. Great Book for anyoneinterested in the ship wrecks of the Great Lakes. ... Read more