This work touches on the specialized world of wooden-ship building, looking at the endless variations of techniques from country to country, region to region, and over the course of history.

A collection of "almost lost" episodes from the U.S. Navy in the Civil War--most of which have lain hidden for 150 years. Navy spies, cattle raids, deep inland recons and shore assaults as well as a daunting battle on the far side of the planet--Civil War history you've never read before. Included in this new research is the story of Monitor's Unknown Mission; the first all-black Navy crew (months before the Emancipation Proclamation); and the solution to the riddle of the First Battle of Fort Butler. There are no "big name" battles here--just the story of the many critical roles played by the U.S. Navy, told through small-unit actions. After a century and a half, these stories are something new in Civil War history.

England's Islands in a Sea of Troubles examines the jurisdictional disputes and cultural complexities in England's relationship with its island fringe from Tudor times to the eighteenth century, and traces island privileges and anomalies to the present. It tells a dramatic story of sieges and battles, pirates and shipwrecks, prisoners and prophets, as kings and commoners negotiated the political, military, religious, and administrative demands of the early modern state. The Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, Lundy, Holy Island and others emerge as important offshore outposts that long remained strange, separate, and perversely independent. England's islands were difficult to govern, and were prone to neglect, yet their strategic value far outweighed their size. Though vulnerable to foreign threats, their harbours and castles served as forward bases of English power. In civil war they were divided and contested, fought over and occupied. Jersey and the Isles of Scilly served as refuges for royalists on the run. Charles I was held on the Isle of Wight. External authority was sometimes light of touch, as English governments used the islands as fortresses, commercial assets, and political prisons. London was often puzzled by the linguistic differences, tangled histories, and special claims of island communities. Though increasingly integrated within the realm, the islands maintained challenging peculiarities and distinctive characteristics. Drawing on a wide range of sources, and the insights of maritime, military, and legal scholarship, this is an original contribution to social, cultural, and constitutional history.

A practical and engaging guide to dinghy cruising, covering everything from getting set up to embarking on more adventurous cruises. A wonderful read with a huge amount of useful advice.

Using the concept of boundaries, physical and cultural, to understand the development of China’s maritime southeast in late Imperial times, and its interactions across maritime East Asia and the broader Asian Seas, these linked essays by a senior scholar in the field challenge the usual readings of Chinese history from the centre. After an opening essay which positions China’s southeastern coast within a broader view of maritime Asia, the first section of the book looks at boundaries, between “us” and “them”, Chinese and other, during this period. The second section looks at the challenges to such rigid demarcations posed by the state and existed in the status quo. The third section discusses movements of people, goods and ideas across national borders and cultural boundaries, seeing tradition and innovation as two contesting forces in a constant state of interaction, compromise and reconciliation. This approach underpins a fresh understanding of China’s boundaries and the distinctions that separate China from the rest of the world. In developing this theme, Ng Chin-keong draws on many years of writing and research in Chinese and European archives. Of interest to students of migration, of Chinese history, and of the long term perspective on relations between China and its region, Ng’s analysis provides a crucial background to the historical shared experience of the people in Asian maritime zones. The result is a novel way of approaching Chinese history, argued from the perspective of a fresh understanding of China’s relations with neighbouring territories and the populations residing there, and of the nature of tradition and its persistence in the face of changing circumstances.

Young prince Tamas is separated from his comrades in the far-off land over-mountain when he meets the witch's apprentice, Ela, who plans to challenge the Goblin Queen using a shard of the queen's own mirror. By the author of Chernevog.

Sixteen master translators have chosen their favorite stories from Latin America. Writers and translators include Edith Grossman, Helen R. Lane, Augusto Monterroso, Gregory Rabassa, Alfonso Reyes, Hardie St. Martin, and Luisa Valenzuela. An introductory essay on translation by Ilan Stavans and an epilogue by Margaret Sayers Peden provide entertaining food for thought.