The Oxford Companion To Ships And The Sea

by Peter Kemp (Editor)

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. 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 Harbour 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.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Nautical

972 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking a nautical cultural & history course in college. This is EXTREMELY helpful. There are drawings, schematics, definitions, glossaries, everything you could think of. 5/5!

[Katrinka · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book ignores much of history. For instance, there is no entry for either the Morro Castle or the Andrea Doria, both subjects I looked for recently, pulling this book off my ship and boat bookshelf first, thinking it the most likely to have an entry on both. Also, beware of mistakes in this book, the most glaring to me is that the Santa Maria, which every school child in the USA studies, was a carrack, not a caravel, as stated in this Oxford Companion (mine is 1976 ed). The Nina and Pinta were the smaller caravels.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun to read...makes a good bathroom book even if you only wish you were salty enough to refer to your bathroom as "the head." Entries on famous admirals and sea battles with a touch of subjectivity make Wikipedia's NPOV guidelines look hopelessly institutional. Perspective can be valuable!

Great illustrations, too.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fun and informative, with more information and definitions than you would ever want to know. In fact, it defines things that I, and experienced sailor friends, have never heard of. ( Don't get me wrong, I am in no way an experience sailor.) Fun to read on a dark and stormy night, as you are anchored close to shore. Maybe some Jeopardy Answers could be culled from this book. Arr!

[Kati · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent tool for translators. I own the Czech version and I can't praise it enough. It really helped me find the correct translation of terms I couldn't find anywhere else. It's worth every penny.

[Will Kastner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful reference book, but I wonder if the title should actually be "The Oxford Companion to the Royal Navy."

[Julian Stockwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing reference work of the sea and the men who sail on it.