From the day the first humans put to sea 50,000 years ago, the ocean has never lost its power to fascinate mankind. This fascination endures despite -- or, perhaps, because of -- the ever-present danger that has been, for a thousand generations, the cost of seafaring: shipwrecks. From prehistoric dugouts to the "Titanic" herself, new discoveries, and thousands of old ones, retain a firm grip on the imagination of the world; they remain a source of dread and fascination, an example of human frailty in the face of nature's power. "Lost Ships" is a chronicle of three of the most fascinating adventure stories in maritime history -- or, rather, three stories of adventure and three of exploration, for each part of "Lost Ships" intertwines the tale of a shipwreck with that of its subsequent discovery by Mensun Bound, marine archaeologist and adventurer. Using a combination of high-tech gadgetry -- sonar sensing, satellite mapping, carbon dating -- and old-fashioned detective work, Bound documents the distinct character of each discovery, tells the story of the crew and/or passengers, places each wreck in its historical context, and shows the Challenges overcome in the exploration of the wreck. And what a selection of shipwrecks these are: the Mahdia ship that carried the spoils of Sulla's sack of Athens in the first century B.C.E., sank off the coast of North Africa, and was rediscovered only in 1993; the "Agamemnon, " Horatio Nelson's first ship of the line and victor at the Battle of Trafalgar; and the "Graf Spee, " one of Nazi Germany's most powerful warships, scuttled in the River Plate in Uruguay after the most thrilling naval chase of the century. --Amazon.com.