Nigel Pickford

Something of an impulse read for me, the combination of royal shenanigans in Restoration England and maritime disaster was too much to resist. However, in between the more salacious bits, there's a mystery of why Samuel Pepys, determined to resume his career of administering the King's Navy, chose not to travel with the Duke of York on his flagship, and said flagship just happening to come to grief. The question being what did Pepys know and when did he know it. I'm not going to give away spoilers, as the story is a juicy one, but I came away from this book both entertained, and informed.… (más)

A beautifully detailed book packed with pictures, illustrations, maps and charts showing the history and location of ships lost at sea. The valuable cargo carried like rare gold coins and fine jewelry were also meticulously listed and salvage attempts included. The book covers a vast historical time period from the Bronze age to WWII and includes famous wrecks like the Titanic and the Girona (Spanish Armada). A gazeetteer in Part two of the book lists more than 1400 shipwrecks with maps showing their locations. A very good read for those interested in maritime treasures… (más)