Seafaring Lore and Legend

by Peter D. Jeans

"A valuable and lively resource. Jeans sorts truth from fiction with a sure hand and does full justice to both."―Peter Stanford, President Emeritus, National Maritime Historical Society“A veritable sourcebook of nautical history, beliefs, and heritage. Every true mariner will get lost in this book.”―BoatingSeafaring Lore and Legend is a storehouse of wonders for those who love the sea. From Noah’s Ark to Thor Heyerdahl’s raft, from Atlantis to the Northwest Passage, author Peter Jeans scours the ages and the seven seas for fanciful, inspiring, and bizarre tales of sea monsters, ghost ships, lost continents, castaways, pirates, explorers, superstitions, and customs.Discover the surprising truths origins of naval salutes and the Beaufort ScaleFlogging a dead horse and other oddities of nautical customSea chanties, scurvy, and the hardships of life at seaInfamous and noteworthy sea captains and their shipsFamous wrecks and mutiniesMermaids, sirens, and sea nymphsNautical superstitions such as the albatross and Fiddler’s GreenAnd much moreThis is a book you can open anywhere to savor for a few minutes or an afternoon. But be it's easy to lose track of time at sea.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Pirates, Mythology, Research, Folklore

384 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[IDolciLibri]

For what it covered it was fairly decent.
There were acknowledgements that Columbus didn't discover America - but in the footnotes you see he talks about other groups discovering it.... But doesn't include the Indigenous people. The acknowledgement is high enough above norm that I'm giving a pass but it is tiring to read how (white) people discovered a land that was inhabited by (nonwhite) people. The language was also fairly consistent about discovery by western peoples and I think the book would have been better described as Western Seafaring Lore & Legend as it felt like most non-western sources were merely supplementary to the western ones.

Still, it was enjoyable to read - the wit of author had me snorting a few times.

[sabsey]

Not sure what to rate. A really good and brief overview of general seafaring lore and culture as it's developed throughout history - however it did have a very strong emphasis on western, and especially British history.

Also, there were certain points where I could tell the author had taken off a few bias or perhaps less well-trustworthy sources (as in the section that covered the golden age of piracy but relied almost entirely on Captain Charles Johnson's accounts).

However, I would still highly recommend for anyone interested on this topic, but like all history - take it with a grain of salt.

[Dayna Smith]

A rollicking romp through maritime history and legend. The book covers explorers, sea monsters, famous sea battles, mermaids, mutinies, fabled lands, and all manner of maritime superstition and lore. This would be a great entrance for boys into nonfiction, though girls will find it fun as well. The book is well-researched and footnoted, and ends with a lengthy bibliography for interested readers to pursue further.

[Joe]

Very well researched and thoughtfully organized. As someone who's spent a lot of time on the ocean I very much enjoyed this. The only negative I have is I wish that it'd included pictures. I feel that would've put it far and away ahead of other books in its field. Still very good. Recommended to those who go to sea and those who wish they could. Also very good for history and mythology lovers. 9.5/10

[E]

A potpourri of various seagoing tales, myths, and the like. Unlike the professional review quoted above, I didn’t find this book lively. It was a very long slog to get to the end despite some of the sections being quite interesting.
The Kindle version lacked bookmarks, which made for very poor usability.

[Kevin LaBrie]

Some goo stuff here but it was not what i thought it was going to be. Good book to read for us sailors.

[Scott D.]

Some interesting factoids, although much of it is anecdotal in length and a little fuzzy on research. Still, an enjoyable enough read.

[Raven Knightshade]

An excellent introduction to many nautical topics.

[Tomás]

An unengaging presentation of a really interesting topic.

[Niko]

An interesting but often too brief collection of seafaring facts.

[Owen Melisek]

Just a great account of maritime folklore and history. I learned a ton reading this (not sure I'll remember it all though haha)

[Alisha Juneja]

Not only is this comprehensive but the writer has dry wit that sneaks up on you and you forget your work; barking a laugh like it's a little secret between you.

Must read!

[Rachel (Sfogs)]

This book is good however, the authors snaky comments are very annoying.