Outer Banks Shipwrecks: Graveyard of the Atlantic (Images of America

Images of America

by Mary Ellen Riddle

Ever since ships began navigating the coast of North Carolina, the area has maintained a reputation for being dangerous. Today, the region that stretches from the Currituck Outer Banks south to Bogue Banks is referred to as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. From the 1585 grounding of the English ship Tiger off the Outer Banks to the 2012 loss of the Bounty, more than 2,000 shipwrecks have occurred in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. Weather, geography, war, piracy, and human error have all contributed to this dense shipwreck zone. The stories behind the shipwrecks illustrate the best and worst of mankind, showing courage and compassion as well as the atrocities of war. This history informs readers about commerce, technology, war, environment, maritime life, and the complexity of the human element."

Genres: Nonfiction

130 pages, Hardcover

Published April 3, 2017

Reviews

[Walt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. The writing and editing were inconsistent. The wrecks were presented in alphabetical order which is possibly the least useful way of of organizing the book. Organizing the shipwrecks either by date (as many for example were wrecked hy the same storm) or by area of the wreck would have made far more sense. Better organization would have helped the readability of this book tremendously.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all of the areas of the world where ships of all kinds will travel, there is perhaps no more perilous place along the coast of the United States than the Outer Banks of North Carolina. From the "Images of America: North Carolina" series comes Mary Ellen Riddle's "Outer Banks Shipwrecks: Graveyard of the Atlantic". This 2017 entry takes an overview of the wrecks off this infamous coast and does things in alphabetical order by name of ship. Some entries get a bit more detailed than others which is fine because it doesn't diminish the number of ships that were lost off these islands. What was also a small eye-opener to this reader was the number of ships sunk by German U-boats during WWII something that isn't emphasized a lot in the history books. Overall, this is an interesting book & one that anyone with an interest in ships as well as the Outer Banks will enjoy.

[Lori Shafer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the Images of America series. They have great vintage photographs on a large variety of locations and topics.

I checked out the ebook of this book from my library. Since I vacation in North Carolina, this book caught my attention. I will say the ebook version is not as good as a print version. The photos and it's description are often on different pages. I also wish the shipwrecks were organized differently. I would have preferred them to be organized by time period.

However, I loved the photos. The author had lots of great facts on the wrecks.

[Sarah Larson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a nice quick read with everything I could have ever wanted out of a book about shipwrecks.