Odysseus has been away from home for many years, and he is finally making his way back to his family on the island of Ithaca. It will be a dangerous journey and on the way he'll face treacherous challenges of all kinds. If you're feeling brave enough, step aboard his ship and help him on his way!

Following _Britain and the Ocean Road_, Ian Friel expertly navigates the history of Britain and the sea from the Middle Ages to modern times. With _Breaking Seas, Broken Ships_, we follow the story of Britain's maritime history through some of it's most dramatic shipwrecks. From the country's imperial zenith to the very different world of the early twenty-first century we encounter an extraordinary range of people, ships and events, including... the crew and passengers of a state-of-the-art Victorian steamship who vanished in the Atlantic; the sailors of a doomed collier brig in the dying days of sail - and the wives and children they left behind; a lowly ex-naval stoker who went into showbiz with his version of a disaster caused by an admiral; a First World War merchant ship captain who fought a running battle with German U-Boats; the courage and compassion shown by British sailors who escaped their dive-bombed ships; the people who confronted the 'black tide' left by the oil tanker Torrey Canyon; how the container ship has helped to make a new world for us all - for better or worse. With people at the heart of every chapter, it explores major environmental themes alongside the traditional concerns of maritime history, such as trade, social issues and naval warfare. Their experiences tell us the story of Britain's maritime past, one that is remarkable, moving and at times horrifying. Based on brand new scholarship, it is perfect for history enthusiasts, professional historians and archaeologists alike.

A fresh assessment of seaborne activity around England in the later middle ages, offering a fresh perspective on its rich maritime heritage. England's relationship with the sea in the later Middle Ages has been unjustly neglected, a gap which this volume seeks to fill. The physical fact of the kingdom's insularity made the seas around England fundamentally important toits development within the British Isles and in relation to mainland Europe. At times they acted as barriers; but they also, and more often, served as highways of exchange, transport and communication, and it is this aspect whichthe essays collected here emphasise. Mindful that the exploitation of the sea required specialist technology and personnel, and that England's maritime frontiers raised serious issues of jurisdiction, security, and internationaldiplomacy, the chapters explore several key roles performed by the sea during the period c.1200-c.1500. Foremost among them is war: the infrastructure, logistics, politics, and personnel of English seaborne expeditions are assessed, most notably for the period of the Hundred Years War. What emerges from this is a demonstration of the sophisticated, but not infallible, methods of raising and using ships, men and material for war in a period before England possessed a permanent navy. The second major facet of England's relationship with the sea was the generation of wealth: this is addressed in its own right and as an intrinsic aspect of warfare and piracy. RICHARD GORSKIis Philip Nicholas Memorial Lecturer in Maritime History at the University of Hull. Contributors: Richard Gorski, Richard W. Unger, Susan Rose, Craig Lambert, David Simpkin, Tony K. Moore, Marcus Pitcaithly, Tim Bowly,Ian Friel

The role and characteristics of armed force at sea in western Europe and the Mediterranean prior to 1650. This volume is both a restatement of current interpretations of sea power in the middle ages and the Renaissance and a general introduction to naval and maritime history over four and a half centuries. The book offers broad conclusions on the role and characteristics of armed force at sea before 1650, conclusions that exploit the best current understanding of the medieval period. The examination of naval militias in the Baltic, permanent galley fleets in the Mediterranean, contract fleets and the use of reprisal for political ends all illustrate the variety and complexity of naval power and domination of the sea in theyears from 1000 to 1650. The detailed and closely coordinated studies by scholars from Europe, North America, and Australia show patterns in war at sea and discuss the influence of the development of ships, guns, and the language of public policy on maritime conflict. The essays show theimportance and unique character of violence at sea in the period. Contributors: JOHN B. HATTENDORF, NIELS LUND, JAN BILL, TIMOTHY J. RUNYAN, IAN FRIEL, JOHN H. PRYOR, LAWRENCE V. MOTT, JOHN DOTSON, MICHEL BALARD, BERNARD DOUMERC, MARCO GEMIGNANI, FRANCISCO CONTENT DOMINGUES, LOUIS SICKING, JAN GLETE, N.A.M. RODGER, RICHARD W. UNGER.

WITHOUT HENRY V'S NAVY, the Battle of Agincourt would never have happened. Henry's fleet played a major - if often unrecognised - part in enabling the king to come within reach of final victory in the Hundred Years War against France. Henry's navy was one of the most successful fleets deployed by England before the time of Elizabeth I. The royal fleet was transformed in Henry's short reign from a few dilapidated craft into a powerful weapon of war, with over thirty fighting vessels, up-to-date technology and four of the biggest ships in Europe. Drawing from extensive research into documentary, pictorial and archaeological sources, Henry V's Navy is about the men, ships and operations of Henry's sea war. Maritime historian Ian Friel explores everything from shipboard food to how crews and their ships sailed and fought, and takes an in-depth look at the royal ships. He also tells the dramatic and bloody story of the naval conflict, which at times came close to humiliating defeat for the English.

_Britain and the Ocean Road_ uses new firsthand research and unconventional interpretations to take a fresh look at British maritime history in the age of sail. The human stories of eight shipwrecks serve as waypoints on the voyage, as the book explores how and why Britain became a global sea power. Each chapter has people at its heart - sailors, seafaring families, passengers, merchants, pirates, explorers, and many others. The narrative encompasses an extraordinary range of people, ships and events, such as a bloody maritime civil war in the 13th century, a 17th-century American teenager who stepped from one ship to another - and into a life of piracy, a British warship that fought at Trafalgar (on the French side), and the floating hell of a Liverpool slave-ship, sunk in the year before the slave trade was abolished. The book is full of surprising details and scenes, including England's rudest and crudest streetname, what it was like to be a passenger in a medieval ship (take a guess), how a fragment of the English theatre reached the Far East during Shakespeare's lifetime, who forgave who after a deadly pirate duel, why there were fancy dress parties in the Arctic, and where you could get the best herring. _Britain and the Ocean Road_ is the first of two works aimed at introducing a general audience to the gripping (and at times horrifying) story of Britain, its people and the sea. The books will also interest historians and archaeologists, as they are based on original scholarship. The second book, Black Oil on the Waters, will take the story from the age of steam to the 21st century.