Published by Quercus, 2009, hardcover, illustrated, 192 pages, index, 26 cms x 30 cms, condition: as new.
The discovery of shipwrecks has unveiled the remarkable stories behind the vessels and the lives of the people that sailed on them. Some, however, are shrouded in mystery, never having been raised from the depths of the sea: Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, now on display in Portsmouth, offers an intriguing array of artefacts while Shackleton's Endurance still lies at the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Shipwreck tells the stories of 21 ships that have met disastrous ends. Stunning images of ships, wrecks, charts, and the characters involved, illustrate the stories behind each shipwreck. In the accompanying narrative, author Sam Willis vividly describes the history of world shipping, the advances in weaponry, armour and navigation, and looks at safety at sea both in the past and the present. He also considers the modern moral and ethical dilemmas of shipwreck hunting and the future of archaeology at sea. Both a striking visual record and a dramatic account of exciting events at sea, Shipwreck offers a compelling overview of more than 2,000 years of maritime history.
Sam Willis was awarded a PhD in Naval History for his thesis on Command and Tactics in the 18th-century Navy. He has lectured at Bristol University and at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and consults on maritime painting for Christie's. Sam spent 18 months as a Square Rig Able Seaman, sailing the tall ships used in the Hornblower television series and Channel 4's award-winning film Shackleton, and is a consultant to the BBC's Coast. He is the author of Fighting at Sea in the Eighteenth Century: The Art of Sailing Warfare and the two-volume Fighting Ships series, covering 1750-1950.
