Koncocoo

Best Ships

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Finalist for the Washington State Book Award — History/General Non-fictionA Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2015A St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best Book of 2015A Miami Herald Favorite Book of 2015BookTrib's Best Narrative Nonfiction Book of 2015#1 History & Biography Book in the 2015 Goodreads Choice AwardsA LibraryReads Top Ten Book of 2015 A Library Journal Top Ten Book of 2015A Kirkus Best Book of 2015 An Indigo Best Book of 2015 "Larson is one of the modern masters of popular narrative nonfiction...a resourceful reporter and a subtle stylist who understands the tricky art of Edward Scissorhands-ing narrative strands into a pleasing story...An entertaining book about a great subject, and it will do much to make this seismic event resonate for new generations of readers." — The New York Times Book Review "Larson is an old hand at treating nonfiction like high drama...He knows how to pick details that have maximum soapy potential and then churn them down until they foam [and] has an eye for haunting, unexploited detail." "This enthralling and richly detailed account demonstrates that there was far more going on beneath the surface than is generally known...Larson's account [of the Lusitania 's sinking] is the most lucid and suspenseful yet written, and he finds genuine emotional power in the unlucky confluences of forces, 'large and achingly small,' that set the stage for the ship's agonizing final moments." "Larson has a gift for transforming historical re-creations into popular recreations, and Dead Wake is no exception...[He] provides first-rate suspense, a remarkable achievement given that we already know how this is going to turn out...The tension, in the reader's easy chair, is unbearable..." — The Boston Globe. Larson is an exceptionally skilled storyteller, and his tick-tock narrative, which cuts between the Lusitania , U-20 and the political powers behind them, is pitch-perfect." "Larson so brilliantly elucidates [the Lusitania 's fate] in Dead Wake , his detailed forensic and utterly engrossing account of the Lusitania 's last voyage...Yes, we know how the story of the Lusitania ends, but there's still plenty of white-knuckle tension. "Larson's nimble, exquisitely researched tale puts you dead center...Larson deftly pulls off the near-magical feat of taking a foregone conclusion and conjuring a tale that's suspenseful, moving and altogether riveting." "With each revelation from Britain and America, with each tense, claustrophobic scene aboard U-20, the German sub that torpedoed the ship, with each vignette from the Lusitania , Larson's well-paced narrative ratchets the suspense. His eye for the ironic detail keen, his sense of this time period perceptive, Larson spins a sweeping tale that gives the Lusitania its due attention. "[Larson] has a gift for finding the small, personal details that bring history to life...His depiction of the sinking of the ship, and the horrific 18 minutes between the time it was hit and the time it disappeared, is masterly, moving between strange, touching details." Not so with Erik Larson...Larson wrestles these disparate narratives into a unified, coherent story and so creates a riveting account of the Lusitania 's ending and the beginnings of the U.S.'s involvement in the war." —Pittsburgh Post Gazette "In your mind, the sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania may be filed in a cubbyhole...After reading Erik Larson's impressive reconstruction of the Lusitania 's demise, you're going to need a much bigger cubbyhole...Larson's book is a work of carefully sourced nonfiction, not a novelization, but it has a narrative sweep and miniseries pacing that make it highly entertaining as well as informative." "Larson breathes life into narrative history like few writers working today." "Now the tragic footnote to a global conflagration, the history of the [ Lusitania 's] final voyage... is worthy of the pathos and narrative artistry Erik Larson brings to Dead Wake ...Reader's of Larson's previous nonfiction page turners...will not be disappointed. "The story of the Lusitania 's sinking by a German U-boat has been told before, but Larson's version features new details and the gripping immediacy he's famous for. The fact that this is coming through a page-turner history book, where all the figures and details reveal an impeccable eye and thorough research, is just one of the odd pleasures of Larson's writing." He draws upon a wealth of sources for his subject – telegrams, wireless messages, survivor depositions, secret intelligence ledgers, a submarine captain’s war log, love letters, admiralty and university archives, even morgue photos of Lusitania victims… Filled with revealing political, military and social information, Larson’s engrossing Dead Wake is, at its heart, a benediction for the 1,198 souls lost at sea.” — Tampa Bay Times. "Larson, an authority on nonfiction accounts, expounds on our primary education, putting faces to the disaster and crafting an intimate portrait in Dead Wake . "In a well-paced narrative, Larson reveals the forces large and small, natural and man-made, coincidental and intentional, that propelled the Lusitania to its fatal rendezvous...Larson's description of the moments and hours that followed the torpedo's explosive impact is riveting... Dead Wake stands on its own as a gripping recounting of an episode that still has the power to haunt a reader 100 years later." — Booklist , starred review "[Larson] has always shown a brilliant ability to unearth the telling details of a story and has the narrative chops to bring a historical moment vividly alive. But in his new book, Larson simply outdoes himself...What is most compelling about Dead Wake is that, through astonishing research, Larson gives us a strong sense of the individuals—passengers and crew—aboard the Lusitania , heightening our sense of anxiety as we realize that some of the people we have come to know will go down with the ship. "Critically acclaimed 'master of narrative nonfiction' Erik Larson has produced a thrilling account of the principals and the times surrounding this tumultuous event in world history...After an intimate look at the passengers, and soon-to-be victims, who board in New York despite the warning of 'unrestricted warfare' from the German embassy, Larson turns up the pace with shorter and shorter chapters alternating between the hunted and the hunter until the actual shot.
Reviews
"In DEAD WAKE: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Larson returns to the subjects of war and ships and stirs in a potent mixture of international politics as well as a little romance to once again seduce his readers with a contemporary view of an historical situation. Written to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a Cunard passenger liner sunk by a German U-Boat, Larson's account differs in several ways from other well-known books produced on the subject. The pluses of Larson's latest work are his acute examination of Room 40, his up-close look at Woodrow Wilson, and his ability to swing between the behind-the-scenes action and balance his discoveries with a conventional but absorbing look at some of the passengers on board the Lusitania all while building a true and terrifying suspense in the narrative. Whether one reads a great deal about WWI history, maritime disasters, or early 1900s international politics, there is something new to be learned in DEAD WAKE."
"He unlocks the doors of top-secret Room 40 showing what the British knew about the submarine threat and openly questions Churchill’s sincerity in his statement, “merchant ships must fend for themselves.” He takes you inside the luxurious confines of the Lusitania with story after story of the passenger’s lives and contrasts them with life within the cramped confines of submarine (aka U Boat) U-20. Radio commentator Paul Harvey ended each of his programs with the line, “And now you know the rest of the story!” Readers of Dead Wake can say with Mr. Harvey, that now WE know the rest of the story!"
"This book gradually brings the whole events out from all the small perspectives of people who got involved or lost their lives in it. The author’s big motivation for writing this book is to let people experience the whole events from the basic stories. The author of this book drew the world of readers back to the last century, the happiness, desires, hopelessness from people are all seems close enough to touch. Even though the book itself focused mostly on the Boat and the submarine U-20 which sunk it, the characterization of other passengers on Lusitania is attractive and interesting. The movement of different organization and famous people such as American president Wilson were all caught by Erik Larson. Rather than just talking about the big historical event itself, Erik Larson fills in more small details and personal life parts into the skeleton of the book, to make it more vivid. Also, for one who is learning the First World War, this book gave me more new knowledge and brought me a historical event that I did not even hear before. The meeting of U-20 submarine and lusitania was not predicted by room 40, an organization which mainly focused the interception of telegrams from German in that period this time. Some ships “have warm, friendly atmosphere while others are only steel plates riveted around throbbing turbines.”’ There were some children and infants on the boat and only one tenth of them finally survived. The intention of For example, ‘Lauriat took the scrapbooks back to his home in Cambridge, where he inspected them in the company of his wife, Marian. At the station later that night, he checked his trunk and shoe box for transport direct to the lusitania but held back his other three pieces. He kept these with him in the calendar.’ the characteristics of one of the passengers on the boat, Lauriat, a bookseller who usually went to Britain for transporting books, is fully shown for the readers. ‘U-boats in fact traveled underwater as little as possible, typically only in extreme weather or when attacking ships or dodging destroyers.’ The professional explanation like this line appeared commonly in the book. In short, the book is fascinating and interesting, feeling the past historical events from it is the attraction no readers can reject."
Find Best Price at Amazon
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage
Bound for Antarctica, where polar explorer Ernest Shackleton planned to cross on foot the last uncharted continent, the Endurance set sail from England in August 1914. The goal of his expedition was to cross the Antarctic overland, but more than a year later, and still half a continent away from the intended base, the Endurance was trapped in ice and eventually was crushed. For five months Shackleton and his crew survived on drifting ice packs in one of the most savage regions of the world before they were finally able to set sail again in one of the ship's lifeboats.
Reviews
"Other must-reads in the genre are The Long Walk (though that turns out to be most likely fiction so I no longer recommend it), Into the Wild, and Arctic Adventure: My Life in the Frozen North. At the time of launching, Shakleton's expedition was history's most extensively planned exploratory trip to Antarctic, complete with a photographer, scientists, carpenters and engineers (a crew of 27 in total). The crew salvaged what it could and was forced to make do with dwindling supplies and provisions, eventually eating some of their beloved dogs. I won't dampen your reading pleasure by giving away too much of the unfolding events, but through a combination of amazing resourcefulness, outstanding leadership, and ultimately incredible luck on the part of Shakleton, the whole crew survived without a single life lost."
"The actual photographs of the Endurance stuck in the ice are worth the price of the new edition."
"Absolutely fascinating journey and the author did an awesome job with his research."
"Incredible, exciting and at times terrifying firsthand report of the ill-fated attempt by iconic English adventurer Ernest Shackleton to cross the Antarctic by land. Note: I happened to read this book during a week on Hilton Head Island during the month of August in some of the balmiest weather I've ever experienced -- the irony wasn't lost on me while reading it that there possibly could be no more environment so totally opposite the one described in this books harrowing but fascinating and inspirational pages."
"Although I know every sequence and outcome, I don't tire of this epic narrative, and the final chapter never fails to make me tear up."
"A great read for anyone who enjoys the outdoors, fest adventures, and especially the cold."
Find Best Price at Amazon
In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette
New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides returns with a white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and survival in the Gilded Age In the late nineteenth century, people were obsessed by one of the last unmapped areas of the globe: the North Pole. James Gordon Bennett, the eccentric and stupendously wealthy owner of The New York Herald , had recently captured the world's attention by dispatching Stanley to Africa to find Dr. Livingstone. So he funded an official U.S. naval expedition to reach the Pole, choosing as its captain a young officer named George Washington De Long, who had gained fame for a rescue operation off the coast of Greenland. Author Hampton Sides does a masterful job of setting up the voyage against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, developing fascinating characters along the way, and delivering a true triumph of narrative nonfiction. Full of unforgettable characters and vividly described scenes, In the Kingdom of Ice breathes fresh, exuberant, and very personal life into the polar adventure story that once riveted the world.”. - Nathaniel Philbrick, New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea, Bunker Hill and Sea of Glory. As soon as I finished it, I flipped to the first page and began reading it again.”. - Candice Millard, New York Times bestselling author of The Destiny of the Republic and The River of Doubt “Hampton Sides masterfully recounts one of the greatest and most harrowing adventures of all time. In the Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale not only of a journey into the Arctic but also into the very nature of man.”. - David Grann, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of Z. The grand disaster that befell this expedition, and the heroic, truly Siberian sufferings of Captain De Long and his comrades, have found a brilliant chronicler in Hampton Sides.”. - Ian Frazier, National Bestselling author of Travels in Siberia and On the Rez "With colorful characters and rich research distilled into gripping suspense, In the Kingdom of Ice gives us a fascinating but little-known slice of American history that resonates strongly amid our contemporary discussions of climate change. - Scott Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of Lawrence in Arabia " Hampton Sides has written an arctic thriller, an authentic narrative masterpiece that I put down only reluctantly and willingly gave up sleep in order to finish. - Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Frozen in Time and Lost in Shangri-La. “Another crackling tale of adventure from journalist/explorer Sides...this one focusing on a frigid disaster nearly 150 years ago… A grand and grim narrative of thrilling exploration for fans of Into Thin Air , Mountains of the Moon and the like.”. - Kirkus (Starred Review) "With its western frontiers explored and the idea of Manifest Destiny still beckoning, the U.S. in the Gilded Age looked to the North Pole for adventure and conquest...
Reviews
"The letters written by Lt. DeLong's wife during the time he and the ship and crew were out of contact are hear-warming and -rending and provide an excellent counter-point and commentary on the main narrative, and the author's access to the surviving journals and letters of the other crew members allow him to paint full-bodied portraits of the men on the ice. You come very quickly to care about these men and their fates."
"For most of the book, it reminded me very much of "Endurance," the book about Shakleton's disastrous voyage to Antarctica in 1914 in his ship, Endurance: Similar preparations, dangers, disappointing end to sailing part of the voyage almost before it even began, ...and a strong leader, bound and determined to keep the men's morale up...and [spoiler alert] the way they were trapped in the ice for many months, then the ship sinking and them being forced to sledge boats across the ice, and then take to the open ocean in their boats."
"Although I bogged down a bit with all the history that was given for each man, once they set sail I was there with them and can only try to imagine what it was like."
"Some believed, even knowing there was much ice in the northern latitudes, that there was a body of warm water at the pole created by the rotation of the earth and warm currents flowing upward along the earth’s axis. He loved to create and report extraordinary events and, together with the U. S. Navy, backed the outfitting of a ship renamed the USS Jeanette in Le Havre, France and later at the Navy shipyard in Vallejo, California. Author Hampton Sides has done a huge amount of research to recreate this exciting tale along with great detail explaining how the expedition was planned, financed and outfitted."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Boat Building

Build the New Instant Boats
Here are eleven new Instant Boats to choose from, including three built with a new "Tack and Tape" method that eliminates most of the beveling and results in a very shapely and spritely craft. Years ago, when Dynamite began supplementing his boatbuilding work by selling boat plans, he got feedback from a number of customers who found the boats too difficult to build. He outlined the problem to Philip Bolger, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, arguably the most innovative small-craft designer around, and Bolger agreed, on one condition, to design a series of boats that would require no lofting, no jig, and no lumber that could not be obtained at any local building-supplies store. You can then start right in cutting readily available plywood sheets to precomputed patterns. (You can build directly from the book, but the purchase of larger-scale plans at a modest cost from Dynamite will make the task of scaling off the patterns easier.).
Reviews
"Building a plywood boat is a bagatelle particularly using the stitch and glue method. The books are “Go Build Your Own Boat” and Build The New Instant Boat by Harold Payson, “Boats with an open Mind” by Philip Bolger, “Boat Building For Beginners” by Jim Michalak, “Ultra Simple Boat Building” by Gavin Atkin and “Understanding Boat Design” by Ted Brewer There are separate reviews for each of these books. “Build The New Instant Boats” by Harold Payson is a superior book compared to”Go Build Your Own Boat.” and I give it five stars. Again we are reading about how to build boats of Bolger's design. The boat plans are legible and one could actually build the boats from the book."
"I like the book, but I bought the kindle version and unfortunately you cant read any of the dimensions on any of the drawings so it makes it difficult to build any of these boats if you cant read the dimensions off the plans."
"The book contains full plans for 3 or 4 S&G boats as well as a similar number of complete plans for "conventional" Instant Boats."
"If you want to tinker with a wooden boat or build a powered fishing boat."
"Dynamite Payson's easy to follow instructions and Phil Bolger's (almost) idiot-proof plans will have you in a boat of your own construction sooner than you think."
"all of the photos and illustrations are overexposed [very pale, no contrast]."
"A great book on boats, even if you never cut a single sheet of plywood."
"The central subject of this book is the boat plans, and they are not readable in the Kindle version."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Ship History

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. Finalist for the Washington State Book Award — History/General Non-fictionA Washington Post Notable Nonfiction Book of 2015A St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best Book of 2015A Miami Herald Favorite Book of 2015BookTrib's Best Narrative Nonfiction Book of 2015#1 History & Biography Book in the 2015 Goodreads Choice AwardsA LibraryReads Top Ten Book of 2015 A Library Journal Top Ten Book of 2015A Kirkus Best Book of 2015 An Indigo Best Book of 2015 "Larson is one of the modern masters of popular narrative nonfiction...a resourceful reporter and a subtle stylist who understands the tricky art of Edward Scissorhands-ing narrative strands into a pleasing story...An entertaining book about a great subject, and it will do much to make this seismic event resonate for new generations of readers." — The New York Times Book Review "Larson is an old hand at treating nonfiction like high drama...He knows how to pick details that have maximum soapy potential and then churn them down until they foam [and] has an eye for haunting, unexploited detail." "This enthralling and richly detailed account demonstrates that there was far more going on beneath the surface than is generally known...Larson's account [of the Lusitania 's sinking] is the most lucid and suspenseful yet written, and he finds genuine emotional power in the unlucky confluences of forces, 'large and achingly small,' that set the stage for the ship's agonizing final moments." "Larson has a gift for transforming historical re-creations into popular recreations, and Dead Wake is no exception...[He] provides first-rate suspense, a remarkable achievement given that we already know how this is going to turn out...The tension, in the reader's easy chair, is unbearable..." — The Boston Globe. Larson is an exceptionally skilled storyteller, and his tick-tock narrative, which cuts between the Lusitania , U-20 and the political powers behind them, is pitch-perfect." "Larson so brilliantly elucidates [the Lusitania 's fate] in Dead Wake , his detailed forensic and utterly engrossing account of the Lusitania 's last voyage...Yes, we know how the story of the Lusitania ends, but there's still plenty of white-knuckle tension. "Larson's nimble, exquisitely researched tale puts you dead center...Larson deftly pulls off the near-magical feat of taking a foregone conclusion and conjuring a tale that's suspenseful, moving and altogether riveting." "With each revelation from Britain and America, with each tense, claustrophobic scene aboard U-20, the German sub that torpedoed the ship, with each vignette from the Lusitania , Larson's well-paced narrative ratchets the suspense. His eye for the ironic detail keen, his sense of this time period perceptive, Larson spins a sweeping tale that gives the Lusitania its due attention. "[Larson] has a gift for finding the small, personal details that bring history to life...His depiction of the sinking of the ship, and the horrific 18 minutes between the time it was hit and the time it disappeared, is masterly, moving between strange, touching details." Not so with Erik Larson...Larson wrestles these disparate narratives into a unified, coherent story and so creates a riveting account of the Lusitania 's ending and the beginnings of the U.S.'s involvement in the war." —Pittsburgh Post Gazette "In your mind, the sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania may be filed in a cubbyhole...After reading Erik Larson's impressive reconstruction of the Lusitania 's demise, you're going to need a much bigger cubbyhole...Larson's book is a work of carefully sourced nonfiction, not a novelization, but it has a narrative sweep and miniseries pacing that make it highly entertaining as well as informative." "Larson breathes life into narrative history like few writers working today." "Now the tragic footnote to a global conflagration, the history of the [ Lusitania 's] final voyage... is worthy of the pathos and narrative artistry Erik Larson brings to Dead Wake ...Reader's of Larson's previous nonfiction page turners...will not be disappointed. "The story of the Lusitania 's sinking by a German U-boat has been told before, but Larson's version features new details and the gripping immediacy he's famous for. The fact that this is coming through a page-turner history book, where all the figures and details reveal an impeccable eye and thorough research, is just one of the odd pleasures of Larson's writing." He draws upon a wealth of sources for his subject – telegrams, wireless messages, survivor depositions, secret intelligence ledgers, a submarine captain’s war log, love letters, admiralty and university archives, even morgue photos of Lusitania victims… Filled with revealing political, military and social information, Larson’s engrossing Dead Wake is, at its heart, a benediction for the 1,198 souls lost at sea.” — Tampa Bay Times. "Larson, an authority on nonfiction accounts, expounds on our primary education, putting faces to the disaster and crafting an intimate portrait in Dead Wake . "In a well-paced narrative, Larson reveals the forces large and small, natural and man-made, coincidental and intentional, that propelled the Lusitania to its fatal rendezvous...Larson's description of the moments and hours that followed the torpedo's explosive impact is riveting... Dead Wake stands on its own as a gripping recounting of an episode that still has the power to haunt a reader 100 years later." — Booklist , starred review "[Larson] has always shown a brilliant ability to unearth the telling details of a story and has the narrative chops to bring a historical moment vividly alive. But in his new book, Larson simply outdoes himself...What is most compelling about Dead Wake is that, through astonishing research, Larson gives us a strong sense of the individuals—passengers and crew—aboard the Lusitania , heightening our sense of anxiety as we realize that some of the people we have come to know will go down with the ship. "Critically acclaimed 'master of narrative nonfiction' Erik Larson has produced a thrilling account of the principals and the times surrounding this tumultuous event in world history...After an intimate look at the passengers, and soon-to-be victims, who board in New York despite the warning of 'unrestricted warfare' from the German embassy, Larson turns up the pace with shorter and shorter chapters alternating between the hunted and the hunter until the actual shot.
Reviews
"In DEAD WAKE: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Larson returns to the subjects of war and ships and stirs in a potent mixture of international politics as well as a little romance to once again seduce his readers with a contemporary view of an historical situation. Written to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania, a Cunard passenger liner sunk by a German U-Boat, Larson's account differs in several ways from other well-known books produced on the subject. The pluses of Larson's latest work are his acute examination of Room 40, his up-close look at Woodrow Wilson, and his ability to swing between the behind-the-scenes action and balance his discoveries with a conventional but absorbing look at some of the passengers on board the Lusitania all while building a true and terrifying suspense in the narrative. Whether one reads a great deal about WWI history, maritime disasters, or early 1900s international politics, there is something new to be learned in DEAD WAKE."
"This book gradually brings the whole events out from all the small perspectives of people who got involved or lost their lives in it. The author’s big motivation for writing this book is to let people experience the whole events from the basic stories. The author of this book drew the world of readers back to the last century, the happiness, desires, hopelessness from people are all seems close enough to touch. Even though the book itself focused mostly on the Boat and the submarine U-20 which sunk it, the characterization of other passengers on Lusitania is attractive and interesting. The movement of different organization and famous people such as American president Wilson were all caught by Erik Larson. Rather than just talking about the big historical event itself, Erik Larson fills in more small details and personal life parts into the skeleton of the book, to make it more vivid. Also, for one who is learning the First World War, this book gave me more new knowledge and brought me a historical event that I did not even hear before. The meeting of U-20 submarine and lusitania was not predicted by room 40, an organization which mainly focused the interception of telegrams from German in that period this time. Some ships “have warm, friendly atmosphere while others are only steel plates riveted around throbbing turbines.”’ There were some children and infants on the boat and only one tenth of them finally survived. The intention of For example, ‘Lauriat took the scrapbooks back to his home in Cambridge, where he inspected them in the company of his wife, Marian. At the station later that night, he checked his trunk and shoe box for transport direct to the lusitania but held back his other three pieces. He kept these with him in the calendar.’ the characteristics of one of the passengers on the boat, Lauriat, a bookseller who usually went to Britain for transporting books, is fully shown for the readers. ‘U-boats in fact traveled underwater as little as possible, typically only in extreme weather or when attacking ships or dodging destroyers.’ The professional explanation like this line appeared commonly in the book. In short, the book is fascinating and interesting, feeling the past historical events from it is the attraction no readers can reject."
"I didn't expect to be so emotionally moved by this book, but I had a visceral, emotional reaction to the chapters that described the human drama of the poor souls trying to survive the sinking of the Lusitania, especially when mothers and their children where involved."
"I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history, naval battles, presidential decisions, and the life and times of the early 1900's."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Pictorial Ship Books

The Sailing Frigate: A History in Ship Models
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich houses the largest collection of scale ship models in the world, many of which are official, contemporary artefacts made by the craftsmen of the navy or the shipbuilders themselves, and ranging from the mid seventeenth century to the present day. The Naval Review Robert Gardiner is the author of three books on sailing cruisers, including Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars , published in 2000 and re-released in paperback in 2006.
Reviews
"To understand the development of ships over the centuries you should compare models, and the author should assist you by pointing out the differences not so obvious to a beginner's eye."
"Perusing the photos in the book reveal how model ships should be built; attention to realism and details of sailing ships in the 17th and 18th centuries."
"Fantastic book."
"I'm a professional model maker, aerospace (unfortunately), but whose true love the past 45 years has always been man-o-war models. Frequently the books in my collection featured images of the beautiful Admiralty style models. None the less, being such as I am, those photos further wetted my appetite for yet more data which could be of use in building an Admiralty model. Should one be have an interest in Admiralty models or the desire to build one I highly recommend this book."
"It is one of most complete book I've ever seen for ship modelers."
"It arrived in good condition."
"Must have for students and model builders."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Ships 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. Nigel Calder , a diesel mechanic, boatbuilder, and machinist, is widely acknowledged as the world’s foremost writer on boat systems maintenance.
Reviews
"I've read through some of it and I would highly recommend if you want to learn about marine diesel engines."
"If you are a marine diesel owner, but not yet a marine diesel mechanic, this book is great to have on board."
"The book is covering basic engine parts, more in depth explanations of engine parts, fuel system, how to troubleshoot start problems, diagnosing different sounds and symptoms, maintenance and repair procedures (probably more than most of us will want to perform ourselves - like opening up cylinders and decarbonizing the engine)."
"But very informative for the novice to the knowledgeable."
"great buy, well written, easy to understand book."
"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."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Railroads

The Railroad That Never Was: Vanderbilt, Morgan, and the South Pennsylvania Railroad (Railroads Past and Present)
Conceived in 1881 by William H. Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and a group of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia industrialists, the South Pennsylvania Railroad was intended to break the Pennsylvania Railroad’s near-monopoly in the region. Based on original letters, documents, diaries, and newspaper reports, The Railroad That Never Was uncovers the truth behind this now phantom railway.September 2011 (NMRA Magazine). This book is an important contribution to both rail and road history, as well as to business history and business strategy; it is therefore highly recommended. Based on original letters, documents, diaries, and newspaper reports, The Railroad That Never Was uncovers the truth behind this mysterious chapter in American railway history.
Reviews
"We could have cleaner air, less trucks, traffic and congestion if only the government had a brain and started using railroads as an efficient way to move goods from point A to point B."
"Founded as the Southern Pennsylvania Railroad, and designed to compete with the imperial Pennsylvania Railroad, the costs and logistics of building the new railway were so daunting that the project had to be abandoned."
"Wonderful story of the behind the construction and abandonment of the South Penn Railway."
"Harwood outlines the history of a railroad that tried to get though the western Pennsylvanian mountains to beat the established Pennsylvania Railroad."
"I was aware of some of the history of the Turnpike, but this book took that to a whole new level."
"This is a well researched book about the intrigue among rich men of the nineteenth century to create competition, stymie competition and, above all, make money."
"You have to a Railroad History buff for this book to be on your radar."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Aviation

The Wright Brothers
In this “enjoyable, fast-paced tale” ( The Economist ), master historian David McCullough “shows as never before how two Ohio boys from a remarkable family taught the world to fly” ( The Washington Post) and “captures the marvel of what the Wrights accomplished” ( The Wall Street Journal ). Essential reading, this is “a story of timeless importance, told with uncommon empathy and fluency…about what might be the most astonishing feat mankind has ever accomplished… The Wright Brothers soars” ( The New York Times Book Review ). An Amazon Best Book of May 2015: Most people recognize the famous black-and-white photo of the Wright brothers on a winter day in 1903, in a remote spot called Kitty Hawk, when they secured their place in history as the first to fly a motor-powered airplane. That brilliant moment is the cornerstone of the new masterful book by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, who brings his deft touch with language and his eye for humanizing details to the unusually close relationship between a pair of brothers from Dayton, Ohio, who changed aviation history. Bicycle shop owners by day, Wilbur and Orville taught themselves flight theory through correspondence with the Smithsonian and other experts. But the brothers soon realized that theory was no match for practical testing, and they repeatedly risked life and limb in pursuit of their goal—including when Orville fractured a leg and four ribs in a 75-foot plunge to the ground. McCullough’s narration of ventures such as this—their famous first flight at Kitty Hawk; the flight in Le Mans, France that propelled the brothers to international fame; the protracted patent battles back at home; and the early death of elder brother Wilbur—will immerse readers in the lives of the Wright family. The Wright Brothers soars.” (Daniel Okrent The New York Times Book Review). “David McCullough has etched a brisk, admiring portrait of the modest, hardworking Ohioans who designed an airplane in their bicycle shop and solved the mystery of flight on the sands of Kitty Hawk, N.C. Mr. McCullough is in his element writing about seemingly ordinary folk steeped in the cardinal American virtues—self-reliance and can-do resourcefulness.” (Roger Lowenstein The Wall Street Journal). Mr. McCullough presents all this with dignified panache, and with detail so granular you may wonder how it was all collected.” (Janet Maslin The New York Times). "McCullough’s magical account of [the Wright Brothers'] early adventures — enhanced by volumes of family correspondence, written records, and his own deep understanding of the country and the era — shows as never before how two Ohio boys from a remarkable family taught the world to fly." But it’s also a story that resonates with anyone who believes deeply in the power of technology to change lives – and the resistance some have to new innovations.” (Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google ). With his ear for dialect and eye for detail, McCullough puts the Wrights in historical context, flushed out by vivid portraits of their loyal father and sister. "McCullough's usual warm, evocative prose makes for an absorbing narrative; he conveys both the drama of the birth of flight and the homespun genius of America's golden age of innovation." "McCullough shows the Wright brothers (snubbed by the British as mere bicycle mechanics) for the important technoscientists they were. The United States honors David McCullough for his lifelong efforts to document the people, places, and events that have shaped America.” (From The Presidential Medal of Freedom Citation).
Reviews
"David McCullough is one of the preeminent American historians of our times, the deft biographer of John Adams and Harry Truman, and in this book he brings his wonderful historical exposition and storytelling skills to the lives of the Wright brothers. If I have some minor reservations they are only in the lack of technical detail which could have informed descriptions of some of the Wrights' experiments and the slightly hagiographical tint that McCullough is known to bring to his subjects. Firstly McCullough who is quite certainly one of the best storytellers among all historians does a great job of giving us the details of the Wrights' upbringing and family. The Wrights' sister Katharine also played an integral part in their lives; they were very close to her and McCullough's account is filled with copious examples of the affectionate, sometimes scolding, always encouraging letters that the siblings wrote to each other. Lastly, McCullough does a fine job describing how the Wrights rose to world fame after their flight. McCullough's account of the Wright brothers, as warm and fast-paced as it is, was most interesting to me for the lessons it holds for the future. But perhaps what the Wright brothers' story exemplifies the most is the importance of simple traits like devotion to family, hard work, intense intellectual curiosity and most importantly, the frontier, can-do attitude that has defined the American dream since its inception."
"McCullough has written a serious and riveting review of the lives of Wilbur and Orville. FAMILY. McCullough makes it clear that the Wilbur and Orville were a product of their family environment. McCullough writes — “He was an unyielding abstainer, which was rare on the frontier, a man of rectitude and purpose— all of which could have served as a description of Milton himself and Wilbur and Orville as well.”. His strict values molded and focused the views of the three younger Wrights (Katherine, Wilbur, and Orville). I am sure that Orville and myself will do nothing that will disgrace the training we received from you and Mother.”. McCullough writes — “Years later, a friend told Orville that he and his brother would always stand as an example of how far Americans with no special advantages could advance in the world. the greatest thing in our favor was growing up in a family where there was always much encouragement to intellectual curiosity.’ ”. BUSINESS. McCullough records Wilbur’s thoughts on being in business in a letter to his brother Lorin in 1894: “In business it is the aggressive man, who continually has his eye on his own interest, who succeeds. … We ought not to have been businessmen.”. In 1911, Wilbur wrote: “When we think what we might have accomplished if we had been able to devote this time [fighting patent infringement suits] to experiments, we feel very sad, but it is always easier to deal with things than with men, and no one can direct his life entirely as he would choose.”. The Wrights never built, or even tried to build, an industrial empire as Ford or Edison or their Dayton neighbors John and Frank Patterson (National Cash Register) had done. Wilbur and Orville were superb engineers, though neither went beyond high school. For example, the wind tunnel had been invented thirty years before, but Wilbur and Orville developed it into a precise quantitative instrument. For example, McCullough writes — “In early 1889, while still in high school, Orville started his own print shop in the carriage shed behind the house, and apparently with no objections from the Bishop. To reinforce that point requires some expansion of that event or similar other defining events in the lives of Wilbur and Orville. One source of knowledge about the Wrights’ approach to aeronautics is the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton."
"Of particular interest are the Wright's struggles to actually fly at Kitty Hawk and how primitive a place that part of North Carolina was at the start of the 20th century. McCullough does spend a bit of time talking about Charles Taylor who was the Wright's mechanic and without whom they would not have flown. If you want to know more about the Wright's then this is a great place to start but a fuller biography/history might have been more fulfilling."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Mass Transit

Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America
In this celebration of the one hundred year old terminal, Sam Roberts of The New York Times looks back at Grand Central's conception, amazing history, and the far-reaching cultural effects of the station that continues to amaze tourists and shuttle busy commuters. Roberts, an urban-affairs correspondent for the New York Times, seems to have a love affair with the place, and he describes the building, evolution, and unique features of the terminal with an infectious passion. It is, as he notes, a major tourist attraction, the setting for key scenes in many motion pictures, and a center through which an estimated half a million people move each day.
Reviews
"Having frequently passed through both Penn and Grand Central terminals this book conjured up fond memories of the environments, if not the visits."
"I do not live in New York City but have been a frequent visitor since my college days (mid 1960s). At least two or three times a year my wife and I just visit the terminal to walk around, have a meal (the Grand Central Oyster Bar is my lunch favorite), go through the markets, etc. Mr. Robert's book haa added greatly to my appreciation of the terminal and makes me yearn for yet another couple of hours there."
"Still reading this, but it is hard to put down."
"This is a well researched, insightfully written paean to an iconic building -- one that in many ways transformed the city of New York as much as the experience of arrival and departure by rail."
"I just want to go there after reading this book."
"It's hard to believe that Amtrak exists, and that it does not use GCT, but the terminal itself is much smarter and more interesting than it was, even in the days of the 20th Century Limited, and Roberts careful description makes this work a real page-turner."
"Insightful and full of anecdotes that make it come alive."
"I enjoy these types of books and recommend this one to those who are interested in this topic."
Find Best Price at Amazon

Best Transportation Reference

Navigation Rules: Rules of the Road, updated ed.
This Navigation Rules book contains a complete copy of the Inland and International Navigation Rules as presented by the United States Coast Guard. Transportation Dept., Coast Guard.
Reviews
"Good basic list of the rules and probably sufficient for a USCG inspection."
"I had a lot of previous experience at reading, understanding, being tested and using the rules - on the high sea and inland."
"If you want a handy to use, up-to-date (and easy to keep that way), and legible copy of the Navigation Rules, go with the Paradise Cay Publications Inc. version."
"The product is great."
"Hey, it's a Coast Guard publication."
"great book as a reference to the rules of the road for navigation."
"This is NOT the book you are looking for."
"My mistake for not reading the negative reviews as it looks like this item has been reviewed by the publishers instead of customers."
Find Best Price at Amazon