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Best Passenger Ships

Way’s Packet Directory 1848–1994: Passenger Steamboats of the Mississippi River System since the Advent of Photography in Mid-Continent America
Containing almost 6,000 entries, Way’s Packet Directory includes a majority of combination passenger and freight steamers, but includes in a broader sense all types of passenger carriers propelled by steam that plied the waters of the Mississippi System. Even so, the marvelous introduction, the lengthy captions in the photo collection, and the various letters and special notes in the boat bios are captivating and enlightening.” Seaways‘ Ships in Scale magazine.
Reviews
"Listed in alphabetical order by name of the steamboats, each entry tells when and where the steamboats were built, names of captains, clerks and owners plus, in some cases, what happened to the steamboats."
"I may have found (I haven't found who T. is yet). a brother of that 2nd great-grandfather on another steamboat that plied the Ohio river (I wish)."
"There isn't any other source that comes close to Way's if you need to know about steamboats on the Western Waters (Pittsburgh westwards)."
"Mr. Way has done so much to preserve the history of the steamboats on the rivers of the USA."
"This is a very comprehensive listing of steamboats, where they were built, their size, who was Captain if known, etc."
"A painstaking work that needs practice to be used well."
"I believe this to be the best riverboat/steamboat reference I have ever come upon."
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RMS Olympic
After the war, Olympic was refitted, and throughout the 1920s, she was a favorite liner of the rich and famous.
Reviews
"There has been a spate of small, soft-cover books recently published on the great liners. There are plenty of interior images, and most of a size to actually understand what the splendid rooms of the great Olympic looked like. While there are many exterior images, too, these do not seem selected to simply fill the book up (as is so often the case), but for a reason, which the author makes clear in the adjacent captions."
"Some personal favorites in this volume are the images of Olympic as a troop ship during WWI, as well as some of the latter-day images before the vessel was scrapped."
"Tons of photos, not just exterior, but interior, including some heartbreaking shots of Olympic's magnificent fittings just before she was broken up for scrap."
"The pictures in this book were all new to me."
"Text was brief to leave as much room as possible for images, yet was well written and highly informative."
"Really like this book and highly recommend it for any fan of the Titanic."
"Mr. Hawley brings the golden days of transatlantic ocean liner service back to life."
"Loved the pictures of the olympic."
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Olympic, Titanic, Britannic: An Illustrated History of the Olympic Class Ships
A maritime expert tells the story of the sister ships using previously unseen pictures, passenger diaries, and deck plans, illustrating Olympic's successful career; the premature ends of her two unfortunate sisters; and the experiences of those onboard. Mark Chirnside is the author of The Olympic Class Ships , RMS Aquitania , RMS Majestic , and RMS Olympic.
Reviews
"While not begrudging the amount of press and film devoted to the horrible accident that sank RMS Titanic, it is wonderful to see this author concentrate his efforts on RMS Olympic, a nearly identical ship that served faithfully and well for decades."
"I read a statistic that said that the Titanic was one of the three most written about subjects in history, and browsing through the available books on Amazon and other sites certainly gives credence to that."
"In fiction there is the concept of the "Hero of Another Story," where a side character is alluded to have adventures just as interesting as (if not more so than) the Protagonist's, and for decade's Olympic has been such a figure in the Titanic story, a glorified footnote if she is mentioned at all."
"It is accurate in that Mr. Chirnside has made a great effort to clarify nearly all the misinformation that has been perpetuated over and over in other books on this subject as well as providing additional information, both technical and visual, not found in previous books."
"Mark Chirnside has once again provided a marvelous view if these White Star trios."
"Got this book for my son."
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Best Submarines

The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History
An incredible true tale of espionage and engineering set at the height of the Cold War—a mix between The. Hunt for Red October and Argo— about how the CIA, the U.S. Navy, and. America’s most eccentric mogul. spent six years and nearly a billion dollars to steal the nuclear-armed Soviet submarine K-129 after it had sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean; all while the Russians were watching. The Taking of K-129 is a riveting, almost unbelievable true-life tale of military history, engineering genius, and high-stakes spy-craft set during the height of the Cold War, when nuclear annihilation was a constant fear, and the opportunity to gain even the slightest advantage over your enemy was worth massive risk. “One of the most astonishing covert operations in U.S. history is detailed by author Josh Dean in his new book The Taking of K-129 ... a spy story on steroids.”. — New York Daily News. A terrific read.” —David E. Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of The Billion Dollar Spy “An engrossing account of shadowy intrigue, precision engineering and ultra-deception, The Taking of K-129 is a high-stakes espionage drama of operational boldness married with technical brilliance.” —Robert Wallace, author of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to al-Qaeda “A riveting account of the American intelligence community. Told in fascinating detail , The Taking of K-129 is nonfiction at its best because with every page I had to remind myself this actually happened.”. — Kevin Maurer, co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller No Easy Day “As a former submariner and navy diver, I give Josh Dean an A+ for The Taking of K-129 . This non-fiction account of one of the most dangerous and daring missions of the Cold War is well-researched and reads like a Tom Clancy thriller.” — W. Craig Reed, New York Times bestselling author of Red November "If you’ve been hungry for a submarine tale in the league of The Hunt For Red October , but subscribe to the belief that the truth is stranger than fiction, you’ll devour The Taking of K-129 , an epic befitting the top shelf of espionage and military reads.
Reviews
"I thought he’d take it on vacation with him, as that’s when he gets most of his reading in (too busy watching Russian car crashes on YouTube otherwise), but he started it right away."
"It was simply mind boggling to see what the US Government was able to accomplish in complete secrecy for so many years to harness some of the greatest minds to attempt to retrieve a Russian nuclear submarine in 3 miles deep water."
"This gave more information of the management team assembled to make this happen and offered a better understanding of the engineering challenges faced in this project."
"If you like technical exploits and stories about really big and impossible projects, then this is for you."
"Fascinating story of the development and use, concealed in plain sight - of a ship fitted out to lift a dead weight of 21 million pounds off the ocean floor three miles down."
"The sheer absurdness of some of the technologies used way before their time, makes it almost unbelievable, if not so compelling to read on!"
"Very good book that brings forth new information not only about this effort but other programs in the past."
"This book kept me captivated from start to finish."
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Best Ship Repair & Maintenance

Marine Diesel Engines: Maintenance, Troubleshooting, and Repair
Now updated with information on fuel injection systems, electronic engine controls, and other new diesel technologies, Nigel Calder's bestseller has everything you need to keep your diesel engine running cleanly and efficiently. Now updated with information on fuel injection systems, electronic engine controls, and other new diesel technologies, Nigel Calder's bestseller has everything you need to keep your diesel engine running cleanly and efficiently. Cure overheating Fix your transmission Retrofit a new diesel engine Flush your cooling system Change your oil Clean your electrical system Replace fuel filters and bleed air from the fuel system Troubleshoot virtually any problem.
Reviews
"Of course this only happens when you are anchorless, motoring through islands and shoals with a nice hunk of shore that is covered in rocks, and half a dozen icons on the navigation chart of sunken boats."
"I've read through some of it and I would highly recommend if you want to learn about marine diesel engines."
"If you own, run or operate a sailboat with a diesel engine, this will be some the best money you ever spent and may save you hundreds of time the investment made on this book."
"If you are a marine diesel owner, but not yet a marine diesel mechanic, this book is great to have on board."
"But very informative for the novice to the knowledgeable."
"I have spent my life working on the water and with Diesel engines every day , this book in my opinion is very very good it is easy to read and understand it has saved me money and is well worth it I highly recommend this book."
"Great, detailed explanation of the principles, operation, and troubleshooting of marine Diesel engines."
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Best Boat Building

Building a Strip Canoe, Second Edition, Revised & Expanded: Full-Sized Plans and Instructions for 8 Easy-To-Build, Field-Tested Canoes (Fox Chapel Publishing) Step-by-Step; 100+ Photos & Illustrations
This revised edition of Building a Strip Canoe includes full-sized plans for 8 well-proven canoe designs, most of which are the author's own adaptations.
Reviews
"He is so busy though, I don't know when he will ever have time to start this project but he is happy and that makes me happy."
"His extensive practical experience working with people building these canoes as well as his love of using this equipment in his home state come through."
"It also shows some crude methods of face screwing strips to the molds where a tacked 18 gauge brad and/or a t50 staple would have done the job."
"As a novice boatbuilder I really wanted basic, good information about this technique."
"I have always wanted to build a cedar strip canoe."
"I find this book fascinating to read...It is detailed about the process of building a strip canoe and it offers several prints of different size molds for construction.This way you don't have to loft anything for them."
"This is second time I have purchased this book."
"Very informative and he breaks things down as we say in the military " Barney style"."
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