This is the first book to explore information management at sea as practiced by the U.S. Navy from the Civil War to World War II. The brain of a modern warship is its combat information center (CIC). Data about friendly and enemy forces pour into this nerve center, contributing to command decisions about firing, maneuvering, and coordinating. Timothy S. Wolters has written the first book to investigate the history of the CIC and the many other command and control systems adopted by the U.S. Navy from the Civil War to World War II. What institutional ethos spurred such innovation? Information at Sea tells the fascinating stories of the naval and civilian personnel who developed an array of technologies for managing information at sea, from signal flares and radio to encryption machines and radar. Wolters uses previously untapped archival sources to explore how one of America's most technologically oriented institutions addressed information management before the advent of the digital computer. He argues that the human-machine systems used to coordinate forces were as critical to naval successes in World War II as the ships and commanders more familiar to historians.

A full-scale reference book for everyone boarding a seafaring vessel. The information is accessible, concise, up-to-date, and potentially life-saving. This is a weapon against ignorance at sea, and a no-brainer buy for all those who are interested in the safety of their passengers, their boats and themselves. The book covers everything from emergency radio operation, proper employment of safety equipment, to survival and first aid in the water. It also includes a full glossary and index. It was originally published in the UK this year by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA).

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An “extraordinary meditation on mortality, grief, death, childhood and memory" (USA Today) about a middle-aged Irishman who has gone back to the seaside to grieve the loss of his wife. In this luminous novel, John Banville introduces us to Max Morden, a middle-aged Irishman who has gone back to the seaside town where he spent his summer holidays as a child to cope with the recent loss of his wife. It is also a return to the place where he met the Graces, the well-heeled family with whom he experienced the strange suddenness of both love and death for the first time. What Max comes to understand about the past, and about its indelible effects on him, is at the center of this elegiac, gorgeously written novel—among the finest we have had from this masterful writer.

An introduction to Earth's oceans, covering water, geology, tides, waves, coastlines, and ocean life, and presenting numerous photographs.

The weather affects everyone at sea, whether you are pottering along the coast, motoring from port to port or sailing to another continent. This book explains the basic principles that govern the weather from a practical, on the water, sailor's point of view. It goes through global, regional and then local weather patterns so you understand what is happening, how this might change and why. Armed with this knowledge and understanding you will be more confident to make decisions about when and when not to venture out to sea and what to expect if things change while you are out there. Simon Rowell shares his experience as a round-the world skipper and world-class weather forecaster. He explains the basic physics creatively and puts it in context with real situations to enable you to apply weather theory to practical sailing scenarios. Hundreds of illustrations aid the communication of what can be a complex subject, enabling you to better understand the weather and increase your enjoyment and safety when out on the water. This book is part of Fernhurst Books' Skipper's Library series of practical books for the cruising sailor.

The 100-year story of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, a scientific collaboration originally formed by eight northern European nations to address problems of overfishing in the North Atlantic. The author uses archival research and interviews to profile key ICES members and to provide insight into the relationship between fisheries science and biological oceanography. Contains a small section of historical photographs.

​Over more than three decades starting in the 1990s, thousands of robberies, acts of piracy, and other violent attacks against merchant vessels have been reported in many of the world’s waters. The grave danger of piracy poses a direct threat not only to the security and efficiency of marine transportation, but more seriously, to the lives of the men and woman carrying out this important function. This book collates ideas brought up by seafarers, shipowners, industry practitioners, government officials, academics, and researchers exchanged views and insights on the complex web of underlying factors behind the phenomenon of piracy. Piracy at Sea brings together a wide spectrum of maritime stakeholders, who present different aspects of the problem in an open manner and share their thoughts on how to deal with a truly complex situation. It encapsulates this collective wisdom in a publication that can serve as an easy reference for practitioners as well as researchers, and hopefully contribute to more concrete action.​

From one of the most admired admirals of his generation—and the only admiral to serve as Supreme Allied Commander at NATO—comes a remarkable voyage through all of the world’s most important bodies of water, providing the story of naval power as a driver of human history and a crucial element in our current geopolitical path. From the time of the Greeks and the Persians clashing in the Mediterranean, sea power has determined world power. To an extent that is often underappreciated, it still does. No one understands this better than Admiral Jim Stavridis. In Sea Power, Admiral Stavridis takes us with him on a tour of the world’s oceans from the admiral’s chair, showing us how the geography of the oceans has shaped the destiny of nations, and how naval power has in a real sense made the world we live in today, and will shape the world we live in tomorrow. Not least, Sea Power is marvelous naval history, giving us fresh insight into great naval engagements from the battles of Salamis and Lepanto through to Trafalgar, the Battle of the Atlantic, and submarine conflicts of the Cold War. It is also a keen-eyed reckoning with the likely sites of our next major naval conflicts, particularly the Arctic Ocean, Eastern Mediterranean, and the South China Sea. Finally, Sea Power steps back to take a holistic view of the plagues to our oceans that are best seen that way, from piracy to pollution. When most of us look at a globe, we focus on the shape of the of the seven continents. Admiral Stavridis sees the shapes of the seven seas. After reading Sea Power, you will too. Not since Alfred Thayer Mahan’s legendary The Influence of Sea Power upon History have we had such a powerful reckoning with this vital subject.

In this refreshing, reader-friendly, and colorfully illustrated book about the ocean, renowned marine scientist Knowlton presents an overview of the hundreds of species that have been discovered in the past decade.