Tag: maritime history
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Sailing Alone by Richard King
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Sailing Alone: I’d never do it, but here’s a book about it. Quick synopsis: Various stories about people sailing solo (mostly on purpose). Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In Western culture, solo sailing only becomes a thing during the late 1800s. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Storm petrels are also…
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Left for Dead by Eric Jay Dolin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Left for Dead: Well, maybe they should have left the poor sea otters alone. Quick synopsis: The story of castaways left for dead in the Falkland Islands during the War of 1812. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Sea otters have the densest fur of any animal with as many as…
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Too Much Sea for Their Decks by Michael Schumacher
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Too Much Sea for Their Decks: Never go on a Great Lake in November. Quick synopsis: A look at shipwrecks on Lake Superior. Fact for Non-History People: Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world with 31,700 square miles of surface area. Fact for History Nerds: November shipwrecks on…
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The Ship Beneath the Ice by Mensun Bound
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Ship Beneath the Ice: Ok, I’d get on a boat for something like this. Quick synopsis: The story of finding Shackleton’s ship, Endurance. Fact for Non-History People: In the last 35 years, the Adelie penguin population has decreased 80%. SAVE THE PENGUINS!! Fact for History Nerds: Due to salinity, seawater…
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The Wager by David Grann
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Wager: Maybe the mutineers had a point. Quick synopsis: The story of the shipwreck and mutiny on the HMS Wager. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: If you were the captain of an English ship and it sank, you were automatically given a court martial. Well, assuming you survived. Fun…
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Woman, Captain, Rebel by Margaret Willson
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Woman, Captain, Rebel: I would not recommend living in Iceland in the 1800s. Quick synopsis: The life of Captain Thurídur, Iceland’s most famous female sea captain, in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: In 1783, a massive volcanic eruption decimated Iceland which would ultimately kill…
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Sinkable by Daniel Stone
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Sinkable: Yet another reason not to go on a boat. Quick synopsis: A look at the history of ships and shipwrecks through the lens of the Titanic. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Scientists believe the Titanic will disappear altogether within the next few decades. Fun Fact for History Nerds: Scientists…
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The Black Joke by A. E. Rooks
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Black Joke: If you can’t beat them, steal their ship and then beat them. Quick synopsis: A story of a slave ship turned freedom ship off the coast of Africa in the 1800s. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: A quarter of all the freed enslaved people were courtesy of…
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Black Flags, Blue Waters by Eric Jay Dolin
Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Black Flags, Blue Waters: The English are the reason we can’t have nice things like a Pirate Republic. Quick synopsis: An overview of piracy in the Americas. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Blackbeard was actually one of the least violent popular pirates. He used theatrics (like lighting fuses and sticking…