I recently had recommended to me Robert Redick’s The Red Wolf Conspiracy, a fantasy epic which is almost exclusively set aboard the Imperial Merchant Ship Chathard, a 600 year old sailing ship of immerse proportions and age that sets out on … Continue reading
Category Archives: Reviews
The just released, A Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell, is classic nautical fiction – vivid, fast paced and full of drama, both on sea and land. Master and Commander Charles Hayden is a gifted naval commander with extremely bad … Continue reading
Pirates of the Narrow Sea, Book 1 – Sallee Rovers by M. Kei is well written nautical adventure fiction with a twist or two, or perhaps three. The novel is not set during the Napoleonic wars and features, as the … Continue reading
In late May, we posted about the publication of a beautiful new book by Alison Shaw and Tom Dunlop, Schooner – Building a Wooden Boat on Martha’s Vineyard. We recently had the opportunity to read the book. Our review: Schooner – … Continue reading
We have fallen way behind in our book reviews. Until we catch up, here is a review of Julian Stockwin’s new novel, Victory, republished with permission from Astrodene’s Historic Naval Fiction. Astrodene Review: Victory by Julian Stockwin Victory starts off with a major setback … Continue reading
A new look at the last battleship battle of World War II and perhaps of all time. A review by Steven Toby, republished with permission from the MarHst list. In this new book, Battle of Surigao Strait, author Anthony P. Tully mines … Continue reading
Margaret Muir’s new novel, Floating Gold, is a wonderful blend of classic Georgian naval fiction, a mystery/thriller and a grand treasure hunt. A rousing tale, well told. It is due to be released in the United States on May … Continue reading
Alaric Bond is a frequent contributor to the Old Salt blog. He is also a wonderful writer. His latest novel True Colours has recently been published. I liked it – a lot. A review: Alaric Bond’s new novel, True Colours, the … Continue reading
A few days ago, we posted about Ric Burns’ new documentary, Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World, which will be broadcast tomorrow, May 10, at 9PM on most PBS channel in the United States. I had the opportunity to … Continue reading
Max Hardberger’s Seized, a Sea Captains Adventures – Battling Scoundrels and Pirates while Recovering Stolen Ships in the World’s Most Troubled Waters is a fascinating account of one man’s remarkable career and personal journey. In addition to working professionally as … Continue reading
Pirate Latitudes by Micheal Crichton, published a year after his death, is a romp. It is full of swashbuckling action and completely familiar characters. There is a bold captain, who is either a privateer or a pirate; several fair and … Continue reading
Under Sail is a remarkable account of sixteen year old Felix Riesenberg’s first voyage on a square rigger from South Street Seaport in New York, to Honolulu and back. He sailed on the A.J. Fuller, a Bath built, copper clad, … Continue reading
A review by Steven Toby, written for the Maritime History Listserv, included here with his kind permission. Sounds like a fascinating book. Skipjack: The Story of America’s Last Sailing Oystermen by Christopher White is an excellent book on the last commercial fishing craft … Continue reading
My River Chronicle – Rediscovering the America on the Hudson, is a fascinating voyage in the life of a young woman, who finds herself oddly quite at home in a most unlikely new job. It is also a journey through … Continue reading
Live Yankees, the Sewalls and their Ships is a fascinating and sweeping history of one family from Bath, Maine, which built and operated over one hundred merchant ships, mostly square riggers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It offers … Continue reading
There have been hundreds of novels written about dashing Royal Navy ships’ captains who bear a striking resemblance to Lord Cochrane. The resemblance and family history are most obvious in Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower, but a dozen or so … Continue reading
I started reading nautical fiction, specifically C.S. Forester’s Hornblower series, as a teenager. The Hornblower novels, while meant for adults, were great “boy books,” full of adventure and action, with a hero with just enough self doubt and angst for … Continue reading
Last year the National Maritime Historical Society (NMHS) published a fascinating booklet, John Stobart and the Ships of South Street, which features the pre-eminent maritime artist’s paintings of ships arriving or departing from New York’s South Street docks. At first the presentation struck me as odd. The … Continue reading
Louis Arthur Norton’s book Captains Contentious – The Dysfunctional Sons of the Brine is an entertaining reminder that history is finally about individuals, dedicated to the causes in which they believe, as well as serving their own needs and obsessions. … Continue reading
In his Aubrey/Maturin series, Patrick O’Brian wrote of HMS Surprise, a small British frigate, originally captured from the French. Over several books, the Surprise became almost as beloved a character, in her own way, as Jack Aubrey and Doctor Maturin … Continue reading