"A detailed account of how the US Navy modernized itself between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, through strategic approaches to its personnel, operations, technologies, and policies, among them an emerging officer corps, which sought to professionalize its own ranks, modernize the platforms on which it sailed, and define its own role within national affairs and in the broader global maritime commons"--

Discover the beautiful stories of Michael Morpurgo, author of Warhorse and the nation’s favourite storyteller. How far would you go to find yourself? The lyrical, life-affirming new novel from the bestselling author of Private Peaceful

After escaping religious persecution in France in 1686, Daniel Bonnet, a young Huguenot boy, and his parents travel on a slave ship to West Africa, then to the Caribbean, and finally to New York. As Daniel grows he must confront the challenges and moral complexities of slavery, inequality, and disability.

Still mourning the death of their mother, three brothers go with their father on an extended sailing trip off the Florida Keys and have a harrowing adventure at sea.

"A considerable tour de force by any standard." ?New York Times Book Review"

When a young child forges a special connection with a seal on a trip to the seaside, their imagination takes them on an unforgettable journey. Through their eyes, we have a chance to explore everything the amazing beach and wide, wide sea has to offer, until suddenly a violent storm blows in. The next morning the beach is ugly and covered in litter. Whose fault is it? And who can fix it? Together, the child, their grandmother, and the rest of the community clean the beach, and the child makes a promise to the seal that things will change for the better.

“This bracing history charts the myths, the exploration, and the inhabitants of the all-too-real and wild circumpolar ocean to our south.” —The Sydney Morning Herald, Pick of the Week Unlike the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans with their long maritime histories, little is known about the Southern Ocean. This book takes readers beyond the familiar heroic narratives of polar exploration to explore the nature of this stormy circumpolar ocean and its place in Western and Indigenous histories. Drawing from a vast archive of charts and maps, sea captains’ journals, whalers’ log books, missionaries’ correspondence, voyagers’ letters, scientific reports, stories, myths, and her own experiences, Joy McCann embarks on a voyage of discovery across its surfaces and into its depths, revealing its distinctive physical and biological processes as well as the people, species, events, and ideas that have shaped our perceptions of it. The result is both a global story of changing scientific knowledge about oceans and their vulnerability to human actions and a local one, showing how the Southern Ocean has defined and sustained southern environments and people over time. Beautifully and powerfully written, Wild Sea will raise a broader awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural history of this little-known ocean and its emerging importance as a barometer of planetary climate change. “A sensitive portrait of a complex ecosystem, from krill to blue whales, and of the ice, winds, and currents that are critical to the circulation of the world’s oceans.” —Harper’s “Wilderness seekers will rejoice in this stirring portrait . . . McCann deftly navigates both natural glories and archival complexities.” —Nature

This book describes a journey in the ocean, discussing the science and adventure that can be experienced by diving deep in a submarine, docking a container ship, migrating with right whales, and hunting with sharks.

A boy and his family endure a difficult nine-week journey across the ocean and survive the first winter at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts.

Founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund--and bestselling author--Edelman looks back on what has been done, and what still needs to be done, to make the nation and world safe and fair for all children.