Here is a survivor's vivid account of the greatest maritime disaster in history. The information contained in Gracie's account is available from no other source. He provides details of those final moments, including names of passengers pulled from the ocean and of those men who, in a panic, jumped into lifeboats as they were being lowered, causing injury and further danger to life. Walter Lord, author of "A Night to Remember," comments that Gracie's book--written shortly before he died from the exposure he suffered on that night--is "invaluable for chasing down who went in what boat," and calls Gracie "an indefatigable detective."

The band playing 'Nearer my God to Thee' as the ship went down is probably one of the most famous stories relating to the Titanic. The bravery of the band and their leader, Wallace Hartley, is one of the endearing stories to come out of the worst disaster to happen to a British passenger liner. Who comprised the band? Who was Wallace Hartley and where did he come from? Not much has been written about this enigmatic band leader or of his part in the tragedy, beyond a few mentions in the many books on the disaster. But he was one of the most important characters in the story of Titanic. Yvonne Speak has spent years researching the life story of Wallace Hartley and has conducted interviews with remaining members of his family. Here she tells his story and remembers this most British of heroes.

This latest book from ex- Queen Mary entertainments officer Paul Curtis collates a lively selection of stories about some of the greatest and most fascinating passenger ships to ever ply the world’s oceans. Stories range from tragic to funny, from elegant Cunard Queens to smaller cruise liners, and even the Royal Yacht Britannia. They present vivid snapshots from the lives of these vessels across war and peace, covering such matters as the foibles of captains, the escapades of passengers and crew, the most terrible disasters, and the greatest thrilling rescues. This collection of intimate portraits of the most famous and notorious ships of all time, relayed in the author’s trademark humorous style, is sure to be the perfect accompaniment to any voyage, whether on the high seas or simply from an armchair at home.

Tony Lewery is acknowledged as an authoritative voice on all aspects of the 'roses and castles' folk art tradition of English narrow boat painting. This, a standard work on the subject, shows how the designs, proudly displayed on the narrowboats of generations of boat people, originated and evolved. The geomatric designs, painted flowers and romantic castle-and-cottage landscapes and vividly described along with pen portraits of the men who painted them.

Despite being the largest of the legendary Olympic-class trio, Britannic is often overlooked in comparison to Olympic and Titanic. Launched on the eve of war in February 1914, Britannic would never see service on the White Star Line's express service for which she was built. Instead, His Majesty's Hospital Ship Britannic became vital to the thousands of injured and sick troops who needed transporting back to Britain from the Mediterranean theatre of war. However, her life was cut short when she was suddenly wracked by a mysterious explosion on 21 November 1916 and sank in less than an hour - three times faster than her sister ship Titanic - and yet, thanks to the improvements in safety heralded by the tragedy of her sister, 1,032 of 1,062 on board survived. In this updated and expanded edition of The Unseen Britannic, Simon Mills incorporates previously unseen material to tell a tale of heroism in the First World War and a remarkable ship, which is finally beginning to emerge from the shadow of the Titanic.

France produced some of the finest and best-decorated passenger ships of the twentieth century. Beginning in 1912 with the four-funnel France, the nostalgic voyage continues with the great and grand transatlantic liners of the French Line, the CGT. These include the famous Ile-de-France, Normandie and Liberte, as well as the lesser passenger ships of the French Line. In addition, focus is given to Compagnie de Navigation Sud-Atlantique, Transports Maritimes and Chargeurs Reunis operating important South American routes and to Messageries Maritimes running in Africa, the East and the South Pacific. Packed full of nostalgic reminiscence of great ship days gone by, the book explores majestic liners, mail boats to Africa and colonial steamers to Saigon. Presenting many previously unpublished images alongside insightful text and anecdotes, William H. Miller brings the reader on board France's greatest transatlantic liners.

Der Middendorf" ist der Klassiker, wenn es um die Bemastung und Takelung alter Schiffe geht. 1903, im Todesjahr von Ludwig Friedrich Middendorf, erschienen, stellte das Buch das seinerzeitige Wissen umfanglich und aktuell dar. Der Middendorf" durfte lange Jahre in keinem Konstruktionsburo und auf keiner Werft fehlen. Und auch heute noch greifen die Sachverstandigen und Bootsbauer, die mit alten Schiffen zu tun haben, zu diesem Standartwerk, das angesichts der fortschreitenden Zeit wohl fur immer den Stand der Dinge markiert.

The world of ocean liners, those built for French lines were the epitome of style and panache, and SS Normandie perhaps the pinnacle of this. When she entered service in 1935, she was the largest, longest, fastest and certainly the best fed ship of her time, serving the finest food imaginable in a dining room longer than the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. Normandie embodied high glamour and was a firm favourite of many, albeit for a short time. Times were changing and even the French government's massive subsidies to the builders, an attempt to make Normandie a flagship for the drive out of the Depression. could only work for so long, as the Second World War drew nearer. She might have been a valuable troopship, and served a the USS Lafayette for a time, but caught fire at her New York pier in 1942. The great ship was salvaged, but with an expensive restoration in prospect she could not escape being scrapped in 1946-47. Through beautiful illustrations and evocative writing, William H.Miller presents the story of one of the most lavish liners ever to cross the seas.

If one can "see" the wind and "feel" the swell at the sight of a painting, it's probably a painting of Johannes Holst (1880- 1965). Over seven decades Holst has created more than two thousand paintings that are admired and collected all over the world. This new magnificent volume gathers more than 1,500 paintings of Johannes Holst. The text section outlines Holst's oeuvre as well as the ups and downs of his life, supplemented by top-class guest contributions.

In 1973 David Christie moved house from Essex to Scotland, but it wasn't till 1974 that he discovered the joys of sailing on Calmac's ships. An initial sail on King George V at Oban in her last season was a great introduction but mostly, over the next three years, I focussed on Queen Mary on the Clyde, now safely back in Glasgow at the Science Centre. Most of the Clyde piers are covered, with emphasis on Rothesay. Ferries also feature with old and new on the Rothesay and Dunoon runs and the smaller boats at Largs. The west coast features with Oban as the main terminal, then Mallaig, before a session on the pre-bridge Skye ferries. A single visit to Ullapool finishes this journey back to the seventies.

German submarine technologies count among the leaders in the world. The Germans were not the first to have introduced submarines into their navy, but it wasn't long before the most technically demanding boats were being designed and built in german shipyards - a pursuit which has always involved ground breaking innovations and continues to this day. The compilation ranges from the first diving boats around the turn of the century to the modern HDW class 212A and 214 of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, to tomorrow's submarine technologies as well as the HDW class 210mod and 216--still only existing on paper. The author explains different mission profiles of current submarines and also adds a list of all submarines built in Germany after 1945. The extensive documentation is completed by 130 illustrations--including many impressive pictures of the renowned photographer Peter Neumann.

During the history of the White Star Line there were two international disputes - the Boer Wars and the First World War. White Star Line vessels valiantly served in both, including the Big Four: Celtic, Cedric, Baltic and Adriatic. After the merger of White Star with Cunard in 1934, several of the company's vessels served once again in the Second World War, helping move people and supplies around the world. Sadly, not all vessels returned from conflict, with many beautiful liners lost while performing their duty, but behind every engagement and wreckage there are tales of great heroism and endeavour. Here, author and collector Patrick Mylon has compiled the first book to concentrate on what happened to the White Star ships during wartime, weaving together ship histories and human stories to create a poignant and evocative book filled with rare imagery.

The SS Great Britain Story is a concise account of one of the most famous steamships ever built. The great Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel embraced the latest innovations, including an iron hull and a screw-propeller, to create an ocean liner that was decades ahead of its time. Launched by Prince Albert in 1843, the SS Great Britain was nearly lost three years later when she ran aground in Dundrum Bay, Ireland. Fortunately she weathered the winter storms and went on to enjoy a long and chequered career. She spent many years transporting emigrants to Australia, served as a cargo vessel, and almost ended her days stranded on the Falkland Islands. Following an incredible rescue mission in the 1970s, fully documented here, she was returned to dry-dock in Bristol, where she was originally built, and is now the centrepiece of a fascinating and ongoing restoration project.

Titanic is a fascinating exploration of the most famous maritime disaster of all time. It delves into the astonishing facts surrounding the tragedy of 1912 and is essential for anyone wishing to separate myth from reality. With a range of trivia including facts about the construction of the vessel deemed to be 'unsinkable', the information is presented in an interesting and engaging way to embrace a wide variety of readers. This title is brimming with facts about the Titanic and its passengers, the history of the Titanic, strange stories of premonitions of the disaster, conspiracy theories, the various films, the sinking of the Titanic, the discovery of the wreck and salvage operations, are all explored. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.

Three hundred nautical miles from shore, I'm cold and sick and afraid. I pray for reprieve. I long for solid ground. And I can't help but ask myself, What the hell was I thinking? When Sue Williams set sail for the North Atlantic, it wasn't a mid-life crisis. She had no affinity for the sea. And she didn't have an adventure-seeking bone in her body. In the wake of a perfect storm of personal events, it suddenly became clear: her sons were adults now; they needed freedom to figure things out for themselves; she had to get out of their way. And it was now or never for her husband, David, to realize his dream to cross an ocean. So she'd go too. Ready to Come About is the story of a mother's improbable adventure on the high seas and her profound journey within, through which she grew to believe that there is no gift more precious than the liberty to chart one's own course, and that risk is a good thing ... sometimes, at least.

`I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse. They were built only to serve.' George Bernard Shaw Since ancient times, long before GPS, radio transmission or radar, lighthouses have served as beacons helping ships to navigate Ireland's sometimes treacherous waters. The earliest lights were simply bonfires built on hillsides; in the fifth century, St Dubhan established a brazier of burning wood or turf on the headland of Hy Kinsellagh (now known as Hook Head). Today, despite technological advances, these coastal icons continue to serve as crucial navigational aids for the maritime traffic of our island nation, from the smallest leisure crafts to cargo ships and trawlers. By day, they mark the way with their instantly recognisable appearances; at night, by the character of their signals. One flash every two seconds tells a sailor that they are near Valentia Island off the coast of Kerry. Four flashes every twenty seconds means that they are further north, approaching Loop Head in County Clare. As well as representing a unique part of our maritime history and built heritage, lighthouses are a powerful symbol of strength and resilience in times of darkness. This evokes an irresistible fascination with them in many people. Artist Roger O'Reilly grew up near the Boyne Estuary lighthouse in County Meath and ever since has associated a sense of peace and reassurance with the warm glow of lighthouse beacons. He has spent two years criss-crossing the country to draw dramatic portraits of these sentinels of our shores. Gathered in this extraordinary collection, each beloved landmark is accompanied by a wealth of practical and insightful information: history, location, elevation, signal and range. This spectacularly illustrated celebration of these architectural gems will be treasured by anyone who finds comfort, intrigue or excitement in the glimmer of a lighthouse through the darkness.