The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea [Hardcover]

I. C. B. Dear (Editor), Peter Kemp (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198606168 | ISBN-13: 978-0198606161 | Publication Date: December 8, 2005 | Edition: 2

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. 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 Harbour 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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Oxford has made a great reference work even better. An essential for questions about the oceans and seagoing vessels, this A-Z encyclopedia compiles 2,600 scholarly entries that reflect sailing history from 3000 B.C. to the present. In addition to diagrams of -clipper-ship rigging, data on the battle against scurvy, sketches of sailor's knots, a drawing of a hornpipe dance, and names of sea battles and their participants, the updated companion offers information on environmental issues, a chart of the Beaufort scale, the global thermohaline conveyor, a map of Magellan's voyage across the Pacific, and methods of preserving archaeological finds. A 25-page cross-referencing index ties the obscure to the commonplace; for example, the reader looking up 'cutter cranks' is referred to the entry achting, and saxitoxin is cross-referenced to hale.

The writing style suits the researcher as well as the sampler who likes browsing among fascinating sea lore, details, and courageous deeds. There are entries covering sea songs, the evolution of sails, and the 1836 rescue of a ship's crew by Grace Darling, a lighthouse-keeper's daughter. For readers of Moby Dick, A Night to Remember, The Sea Wolf, or the novels of Patrick O'Brian (who has an entry), the text answers questions about shrouds and bells, mooring and lading, and more.

A meticulous reference classic, this volume belongs in most public and academic libraries and on home reference shelves. It would also delight old salts and shore dwellers as a gift. Since the first edition is more than 30 years old, the update is welcome. Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Oxford has made a great reference work even better. An essential for questions about oceans and sea-going vessels.... A meticulous reference classic."--Booklist

"Complete with more than 2,600 articles covering a span of more than 5,000 years, this is one of the most comprehensive and authoritative reference books of its kind, including concise explanations of every nautical term from shipbuilding, yachting, diving and marine mammals to piracy and the literature of the sea."--Sunday Charleston Post & Courier

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (December 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198606168
• ISBN-13: 978-0198606161
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,162,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, January 15, 2007

By 

H. Webber - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea (Paperback)

Oxford's earlier paperback of this title had larger type, larger page size, better pictures. I had expected the same book. Now I think the hardbound is a much better buy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Encyclopaedia of Ships and the Sea., January 16, 2005

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea (Paperback)

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

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ahoy, you landlubbers!, July 17, 2007

By 

Pennigan "Pennigan" (Southwest USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea (Paperback)

If you want the history and particulars about seafaring since time began then this is just the book. Rag sailors to plastic pushers, it's all in there. A serious research source for writers, teachers, etc. I give them away as gifts to my psuedo-seafaring friends (hoping they will learn the difference from port and starboard).