Sea Worthy Reading -- briny books on and off the voyage

A thread to aggregate, suggest and link books about the seas, sailing, voyages, cruising, boating lakes and rivers, navigating canals, and all things afloat.

For a start -- a few sea-worthy anthologies for those so inclined when voyaging:

Stories of the Sea (Everyman's Library Pocket Classics)

edited by Diana Secker Tesdell

http://amzn.com/0307592650

Poems of the Sea (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets)

edited by J. D. McClatchy

http://amzn.com/0375413294

Sea Lovers: Selected Stories

edited by Valerie Martin

http://amzn.com/0385533527

American Sea Writing: A Literary Anthology (Library of America)

edited by Peter Neill et al.

http://amzn.com/1883011833

A favorite novel about the dangerous fishing industry off the coast of Northern California.

The Fisherman's Son

by Michael Koepf

http://amzn.com/0767902459

Old school---

The Horatio Hornblower series by CS Forester. Poor guy suffered from Mal de Mar and Mal debarquement.

The African Queen is also an excellent thriller down the Ulanga river.

Old school---

The Horatio Hornblower series by CS Forester. Poor guy suffered from Mal de Mar and Mal debarquement.

The African Queen is also an excellent thriller down the Ulanga river.

Oh yes indeed, might tasty.

If you are interested in How It Used To Be, Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad. Actually, it reads much like a frat party on a cruise...Even if you can't finish it, move on to a very similar book, The Ship Dwellwers, A Story of a Happy Cruise by Albert Bigelow Paine. This was more interesting to me...He had the Twain book read to him as a child, when it was first published in the 1860's. He yearned to do the same, and managed it in 1908, and published his book in 1909 or so. He tried to trace Twain's route and it is interesting to compare what he sees with what we see today. He sort of runs out of steam and superlatives after Egypt..Both are free for Kindle. EM

The Outlaw Sea

by William Langewiesche

This is THE definitive work on contemporary worldwide maritime shipping (people and goods). From disasters to piracy to "flags if convenience," factual accounts will bring you to a true understanding of the industry.

I'm not sure if this fits the category but I found that reading Path Between the Seas by David McCullough before sailing significantly added to my appreciation of our Panama Canal cruise.

That McCullough book is mighty tasty. If anyone's interested, I can podt a list Panama Canal books that may appeal.

In the meantime, more briny books:

Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin series

A High Wind in Jamaica

by Richard Hughes

Link: http://amzn.com/0940322153

In Hazard (New York Review Books Classics)

by Richard Hughes

Link: http://amzn.com/1590172728

The Sea-Wolf

by Jack London

Link: http://amzn.com/0486411087

Fin Gall: A Novel of Viking Age Ireland (The Norsemen Saga)

by James L. Nelson

Link: http://amzn.com/1481028693

Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdal.

True story of his trip across the Pacific on a balsa raft to show how people migrated. Really lets you feel and know how good you have it on board a cruise ship.

Harry

Kon Tiki by Thor Heyerdal.

 

True story of his trip across the Pacific on a balsa raft to show how people migrated. Really lets you feel and know how good you have it on board a cruise ship.

 

Harry

Hah! Good point.

The Outlaw Sea

by William Langewiesche

 

This is THE definitive work on contemporary worldwide maritime shipping (people and goods). From disasters to piracy to "flags if convenience," factual accounts will bring you to a true understanding of the industry.

Oh, and definitely read this one (The Outlaw Sea) with the lights ON -- it has some truly terrifying chapters! :eek: Trust me, after reading it you'll never be tempted to snooze through a lifeboat drill again!

Slightly less scary non-fiction that I would also recommend is Kristoffer Garin's Devils on the Deep Blue Sea. It's a fascinating in-depth look at the history of the modern cruise industry. :cool:

Thank you, wwcruisers, that's a CLICK for me.

Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes, and Showdowns That Built America's Cruise-Ship Empires

by Kristoffer A. Garin

Link: http://amzn.com/0452287340

If you want something a bit more light-hearted, Candy Calvert has three Cozy Mystery books set on ships.

Non Fiction- Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean by Edward Kritzler

Two more old school--

Treasure Island

Robinson Crusoe

How about historical fiction?

James Michener's books Hawaii, Alaska, and Caribbean.

I loved Michener's Hawaii, what a great read. Speaking of historical fiction other terrific writers with sea-themes include Raphael Sabatini, Morgan Llywelyn, C.S. Forester 's Hornblower saga.

Hawaii

by James A. Michener et al.

Link: http://amzn.com/0375760377

Tales of the South Pacific

by James A. Michener et al.

Link: http://amzn.com/0812986350

Grania: She-King of the Irish Seas

by Morgan Llywelyn

Link: http://amzn.com/0765318083

Captain Blood by Raphael Sabatini

http://www.amazon.com/Captain-Blood-Rafael-Sabatini-ebook/dp/B00ZE97JMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446225263&sr=8-1&keywords=Sabatini+blood

Jaws

Jaws

Yikes:

Jaws: A Novel

by Peter Benchley

Link: http://amzn.com/0345544145

Of course the bane of ships everywhere-- seagulls

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

of course the bane of ships everywhere-- seagulls

 

jonathan livingston seagull

hah!

I'm another fan of Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific." My dad was a WWII Navy vet who served in the South Pacific.

More contemporary, I'd recommend Richard Phillips' "A Captain's Duty," the story of the Maersk Alabama piracy. It's a harrowing story. My oldest son sailed with Phillips a couple of years afterward on a different cargo ship - interesting guy.

The Perfect Storm-- about the Andrea Gail

What a great idea for a thread, OctoberKat.

I don't have any contributions, but would like to thank everyone for their suggestions, lots to work through here.

The Perfect Storm-- about the Andrea Gail

That's a good (scary) one.

The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

by Sebastian Junger

Link: http://amzn.com/0393337014

A woman captains a fishing vessel in tumultuous waters, a very good read!

The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey

by Linda Greenlaw

Link: http://amzn.com/0786885416