Product Description

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, hailed as 'a beguiling book' (Daily Telegraph), 'marvellous' (The Times), and 'totally absorbing' (Financial Times). 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 Harbor 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #210929 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 688 pages

Lloyd's List
excellent...this is the sort of book that can but broaden one's knowledge

Review
"The 2005 edition builds on the sure foundations of the 1976 by updating much of the original material without destroying its essential character. Neatly illustrated and meticulously researched, the Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea is a reference work of uniformly high academic quality. It is not, though, a book to open lightly. As a thief of a sailor's time, it probably has few modern equals. Rish consulting it to look up some puzzling piece of marine terminology and, before you realise what has happened, the fascinating text will have led you into areas of maritime lore you never even knew existed; several hours will have passed, the fire will have gone out and one's spouse will long since have gone to bed." (Richard Shelton, TLS )

Times Literary Supplement, February 10, 2006
'a reference work of uniformly high academic quality...As a thief of a sailor's time, it probably has few modern equals'

Customer Reviews

Not as comprehensive as the previous edition
I had the previous edition of this work in paperback (definitely a five star volume) and was looking forward to replacing it with a more durable and up to date hardback copy by virtue of this new edition. I have to say I am disappointed - whatever additions and improvements have been made, the new edition is considerably shorter than the previous one, largely because it omits the information on ports of the world. To my annoyance I have therefore had to hang on to my old copy to retain access to this useful and interesting (but now dated) information - I do not understand why publishers diminish such works by limiting the content of new editions.

Abbreviated
A great disappointment. The previous edition of this book was a treasure trove of facts about the sea and all things related, but sadly it was so out of date that it was becoming increasingly useless as a practical reference. So of course any update is welcome.

However, for reasons known only to the writers and publishers, the amount of factual content and number of references in this new edition fall far short of the older version. Consequently, for those who have the older book, you will need to keep hold of it if you buy this latest edition. And sadly, far too often you will find no update for countless fascinating references, because they have simply been omitted. Very much a missed opportunity.

Readers who do not have the previous edition will undoubtedly find it fascinating, nonetheless. But it could have been so much better.

An Encyclopaedia of Ships and the Sea.
Every time I pick up this book I find myself being drawn into reading far more than was either planned or expected. It is a beguiling book because each fact explained seems to lead to another which must also be found and read. But, in turning the pages one is constantly hijacked by something of interest which has simply caught the eye - and so it continues.

Laid out in true encyclopaedic form, this book contains almost one thousand pages of facts - many of which are supported by black and white graphics or photographs. The only exception is the colour used right at the end to show; Ships flags, ships lights, Buoys and Buoyage - all of which are, of course, wholly dependant on colour in order to be fully explained.

The bookshelf of anyone engaged in the research of ships and shipwrecks would be empty without a copy of this excellent and most useful publication.

NM