Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries [Hardcover]

Michael Goss (Author), George Behe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1994

A mother pleads with her son not to sail on a certain steamer because she has dreamt - three times in a row - that the vessel will never reach its destination. Modern-day observers watch in awe as a ghost ship - blazing from bow to stern - dutifully re-enacts a two-hundred-year-old tragedy that the observers' fathers and grandfathers also watched re-enacted with the same sense of awe.A crewman walks past a solitary figure seated in the ship's restaurant only to turn a moment later and find the restaurant empty. A red glow appears in the darkness ahead of a modern warship, and the faint outline of an old galleon, her sails in tatters, is seen approaching against the wind - only to vanish a moment later before the startled eyes of observers. Such strange events have been seen for centuries and continue to be reported even today by witnesses who are, for the most part, sober and responsible human beings. In "Lost at Sea", folklore specialist Michael Goss and George Behe, an expert on maritime disasters, explore what lies behind these amazing narratives and enduring legends.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... a good investigation into many of the paranormal claims that have been made about ships." -- The American Rationalist "One of the most action-filled tension-tight and adventure-packed books of this or any other year. You'll be taken out to sea, brought back in some cases and left there in others." -- The Book World

Product Details

• Hardcover: 359 pages
• Publisher: Promoetheus Books (September 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879759135
• ISBN-13: 978-0879759131
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #998,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, thought-provoking, November 10, 1999

By 

Mike Dash - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries (Hardcover)

A finely researched piece of history by British folklorist Goss and Titanic specialist Behe (the author of an earlier book on alleged psychic forewarnings of the Titanic tragedy). The authors go back to first-hand and contemporary sources, and in the process clear away much rubbish contributed by less careful authors. Subjects covered include The Flying Dutchman (a first-rate summary of a complex legend), the ghost of the U28 and the disappearance of the Waratah. Recommended.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting discussion of different sea disasters, but...., February 8, 2002

By 

Michael Schoene (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries (Hardcover)

The book Lost at Sea is a very good work that deals with different mysteries related to the sea. It gives very detailed accounts of disasters like the sinking of the Titanic, Lusitania, UB-65, Thrasher and many others. In addition to telling the stories of these and other lost ships, it also goes into a very detailed discussion of paranormal events associated with each disaster. The authors take each paranormal event (like ghost ship sightings and premanitions) and they intensely scrutinize the event. There is no doubt that the authors have done their research, but most of the main chapters are bogged down with long naratives on why the event was not a paranormal event. Though their conclusions seem correct it would be nice if a book about the paranormal actually had events in it that the authors believed to be paranormal. Their research should be commended, but the long proofs that they present are often very tedious and I was left wanting to hear more about the disaster and the legends. It doesn't bore you to the point of putting the book down, but as I said I was left wanting to move onto the next chapter.
For a person that is interested in a variety of sea disasters the final chapter of the book will certainly entertain you. In this chapter several ships are discussed (like the Athenia, Queen Mary, Pathfinder, Amphion etc) and the reader gets just a few pages on what the ship was, what happen, and what paranormal activity went along with the incident. There is a little bit of a discussion on whether the events were really paranormal or not, but the discussion is far shorter than what is found in the the main body of the book.
All in all I would recomend this book to almost anyone. If you like legends and stories of lost ships, read this book. Just be ready for a few slow discussions on the paranormal.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Frustrating Read!, February 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost at Sea: Ghost Ships and Other Mysteries (Hardcover)

I can appreciate the fact that the authors of this book have done their homework, and have done it well. BUT, too often the chapters get too bogged down in detail rather than move on to the next story. True enough, if you are a fan of strange phenomena that takes place on the sea, this is an excellent book. But again, it's weighed down with far too much detail to the point of getting lost. I could'nt, no matter how hard I tried, get through it--so I eventualy gave up and put it down after the second chapter.