David Hannay endeavours to give a popular, but clear and not inaccurate, account of the growth, and services, of the Royal Navy. The books is divided into two volumes. The first volume begins with King John and ends at the Revolution of 1688. The second volume will give the history of the great struggle with France and her dependent allies, which began in 1689, and ended only when the time of great naval wars was over.

'A roaring tale ... remains as vivid and exciting today as it was on publication in 1697' Guardian The pirate and adventurer William Dampier circumnavigated the globe three times, and took notes wherever he went. This is his frank, vivid account of his buccaneering sea voyages around the world, from the Caribbean to the Pacific and East Indies. Filled with accounts of raids, escapes, wrecks and storms, it also contains precise observations of people, places, animals and food (including the first English accounts of guacamole, mango chutney and chopsticks). A bestseller on publication, this unique record of the colonial age influenced Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels and consequently the whole of English literature. Edited with an Introduction by Nicholas Thomas

For over 50 years between the 1760s and the early 19th century, the pioneers who sailed from Europe to explore the Pacific brought back glimpses of this new world in the form of oil paintings, watercolours and drawings - a sensational view of a part of the world few would ever see. Today these works represent a fascinating and inspiring perspective from the frontier of discovery. It was Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, who popularised the placement of professional artists on British ships of exploration. They captured striking and memorable images of everything they encountered: exotic landscapes, beautiful flora and fauna, as well as remarkable portraits of indigenous peoples. These earliest views of the Pacific, particularly Australia, were designed to promote the new world as enticing, to make it seem familiar, to encourage further exploration and, ultimately, British settlement. Drawing on both private and public collections from around the world, this lavish book collects together oil paintings, watercolours, drawings, prints and other documents from those voyages, and presents a unique glimpse into an age where science and art became irrevocably entwined.

The Definitive Study and Solution to the Centuries-old Mystery of the World's Most Sighted Sea Serpent There is a long history of conflating sightings of unidentified marine objects (UMOs) as purported sea serpents. Most sightings are either of an extremely brief duration or made by a single observer, and thus often easy to dismiss. This is not the case, however, with respect to the so-called Gloucester Sea Serpent which frequented the Massachusetts and New York coasts during the early nineteenth century. Witnessed by hundreds of people for extended periods repeatedly over many days, the Gloucester UMO is the most sighted 'sea serpent' in history. As well, due to being the object of study at the time and shortly thereafter by naturalists, the mysterious creature remains the most thoroughly investigated of all putative sea serpents. For these reasons, it has achieved an exalted status among cryptozoologists who maintain it represents the best evidence for the existence of sea serpents. For the first time, an eminently qualified aquatic biologist and ethnozoologist presents the definitive history of the phenomena and carefully examines the evidence. It is concluded that the most parsimonious explanation behind the Gloucester Sea Serpent is as early evidence for what is today recognized as being one of the most serious threats to marine biodiversity: entanglement in fishing gear and other maritime debris. Therefore, although widely considered to be restricted to the advent and widespread use of non-degradable plastic in the middle of the twentieth century, this new interpretation of the Gloucester UMO suggests that entanglement has a much longer environmental history than is commonly believed.

Erik Petkovic's Lake Erie Technical Wreck Diving Guide is packed with tales of sailing ships and steamers that foundered, succumbed to storms, collided and were engulfed in flames. Ships that sunk more than once, or were involved in wars, slave escapes and catastrophic collisions on the shallowest of the Great Lakes. There are some whose full story is still a mystery waiting to be discovered. The author's original research reveals daring tales of deep salvage, valuable cargo, submarines, experimental engineering, unknown wrecks, and missing, yet-to-be-discovered vessels. This new guide brings to life the lost history of the ships, passengers and crew. Then there are the dives themselves. Some of the wrecks are remarkably intact for their age. Features which can be seen include complete wooden ship's wheels, standing masts, rudders, propellers, portholes, boilers, and steamship hogging arches. As well as a description, each wreck's current condition, location, dimensions, hazards and highlights are given. Photos and archive materials also help bring these rarely dived wrecks to life.