The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea

* 'Neatly illustrated and meticulously researched, The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea is a reference work of uniformly high academic quality...As a thief of a sailor's time, it probably has few modern equals. Risk consulting it...and, before you realize what has happened, the fascinating text will have led you into areas of maritime lore you never even know existed; several hours will have passed, the fire will have gone out and one's spouse will long since have gone to bed' - Times Literary Supplement
* 'beguiling enough to make dipping in for a moment a risky exercise - you might end up reading the whole thing' - Classic Boat
* 'excellent...the reader will not be disappointed...this is the sort of book that can but broaden one's knowledge' - Lloyd's List
* 'Marvellous...comprehends between two covers the secrets of the sea and the treasures of the men who sail on it' - The Times
* 'a beguiling book. Open to check a point and you can be lost for hours.' - Daily Telegraph
* 'a totally absorbing work covering almost every possible subject to do with maritime matters' - Financial Times


Description

* The most comprehensive and authoritative reference book of its kind
* A completely revised and updated edition of this highly acclaimed classic, containing more than 2,600 entries on every aspect of the seas and the vessels that sail on them
* Coverage of a huge range of topics, from shipbuilding, yachting, diving, marine engineering, and marine mammals, to smuggling, tsunamis, mermaids, and the language and literature of the sea
* Hundreds of detailed illustrations and line drawings
* Fascinating descriptions of the history of the sea: its battles, such as Pearl Harbor and Trafalgar; its great ships, from Noah's Ark and the Mary Celeste to the Titanic; and its most famous men and women, both real and fictional, including Christopher Columbus, Sir Walter Ralegh, and Robinson Crusoe
* Brand new entries include ship preservation, underwater vehicles, warfare at sea, marine pollution, the Economic Exclusion Zone, and climate change

The most comprehensive and authoritative reference book of its kind, The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea is a completely revised and updated edition of a classic volume that was first published in 1976 to huge acclaim, hailed as 'a beguiling book' (Daily Telegraph ), 'marvellous' (The Times ), and 'totally absorbing' (Financial Times ). It brings together more than 2,600 entries on every imaginable aspect of the seas and the vessels that sail on them, from shipbuilding, yachting, diving, and marine mammals, to tidal power, piracy, and the literature and language of the sea.

This second edition provides significant new material on topics that have come to prominence in recent times, such as oceanography and marine archaeology: key contributions on these subjects from marine expert Dr Martin Angel at Southampton Oceanography Centre include climate change, environmental issues, marine pollution, and marine wildlife. Among the many brand new entries to this edition are up-to-the-minute articles on underwater vehicles, tsunamis, warfare at sea, marine pollution, the Economic Exclustion Zone, and ship preservation.

This Companion also includes authoritative and fascinating entries on maritime history: its naval battles, including Pearl Harbor and Trafalgar; its great ships, from Noah's Ark and the Bounty to the Titanic and the Mary Rose; and its most famous individuals, both real and fictional, including Christopher Columbus, Horatio Nelson, and Robinson Crusoe.

Entries are fully cross-referenced, and the text is illustrated with over 260 detailed drawings, making it more accessible than ever before.

Readership: An essential point of reference for anyone with a professional or amateur interest in the seas and the vessels that sail on them, from yachtsmen, maritime historians, oceanographers, and naval architects, to environmentalists and armchair sailors.