Captain Kidd

Craig Cabell, Graham A Thomas & Allan Richards, Published by Pen & Sword, ISBN 184415961 2

The execution of Captain William Kidd on 23 May 1701 sparked a controversy that continues to this day. Was he the most infamous pirate who ever sailed the high seas or a privateer undertaking legal business for the king of England? Does the treasure he claims he hid really exist? The authors of the book place the facts of this complex and ambiguous story before the reader to make his or her own decision...

Frobisher

Taliesin Trow, Published by Pen & Sword, ISBN 184884232 5

Although unjustly eclipsed by Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh, Sir Martin Frobisher was one of the great sea dogs of Elizabethan England. He was the first Englishman to attempt to find the fabled Northwest Passage to Cathay, commanding three voyages into the uncharted northern wastes of Canada and Greenland in search of this dream. He served his Queen with distinction but was also a privateer who single-mindedly pursued his own interests. This new biographical study of a many-sided Elizabethan adventurer also sheds light on an extraordinary period in English seafaring history

Young Nelsons

D.A.B. Ronald, Published by Osprey, ISBN 9781846033605

Drawing on letters, poems and first-hand accounts, this book tells the fascinating (and sometimes poignant) stories of Britain's boy sailors during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson himself went to sea at twelve and at the Battle of Trafalgar there were hundreds of "young Nelsons", among them 13-year-old Norwich Duff, who was aboard "Mars" and witnessed the death of her brave captain - a man who was also his father. It fell to the lad to have towrite to his mother reporting the tragic event. Among other famous "young Nelsons" was Prince William Henry, who was sent to sea at age 13, starting a career that would span 11 years. The book has fascinating details about how the future king (William IV) was treated aboard ship.

Mariner's Voyage, Mariner's Launch

Roy Solly, Whittles Publishing, ISBN 1904 445 039, 978 1 90445 500

These are the first two in a trilogy of the social and historical life in the Merchant Navy 1950-1970s, a golden age of British shipping, before globalisation and containerisation ushered in the modern era. It has been said that Solly does for seafaring what Mortimer does for law and Herriot does for vets – and indeed the books are a rich tapestry of life at sea in a bygone era.

Hero of the Fleet

William Stone, Mainstream Publishing, ISBN 978 1845 9650 82

This book is the compelling autobiography of an ordinary life lived in extraordinary times; William Stone brushed with many of the significant events of his era. Interspersed between Mr Stone's own words are short passages in italics which set the scene in a larger context or provide amplification for non-Salty types. There is also a timeline of maritime events during Bill’s lifetime (he died in 2009), which really brings home the great changes that occurred during his 108 years.

Joseph Conrad Master Mariner

Peter Villiers, Seafarer Books, ISBN 0-9547062 93

In the late autumn of 1874 Jozef Korzeniowski arrived in the French port of Marseilles - to go to sea. The young Pole would spend twenty years in the merchant navy and later become known as Joseph Conrad, one of the greatest sea writers of all time. This fascinating book by Peter Villiers is based on a previously unpublished study by his father, the master mariner and author Alan Villiers. It also contains twelve paintings of Conrad's ships by the marine artist Mark Myers. (Also published in the USA by Sheridan Books)

I Remember the Tall Ships

Frank Brookesmith, Seafarer Books, ISBN 0-85036-327-6

This affecting little volume is by New Zealander Frank Brookesmith who sailed in two of the last of the square-rigged ships to fly the Red Ensign.

Brookesmith writes compellingly both of the hardships of day to day life and the timeless lure of the sea.

The Audacious Admiral Cochrane

Brian Vale, Conway Maritime, ISBN 0-85177-9867  

Jervis, Earl St Vincent, said of Lord Cochrane that he was "...mad, romantic, money-getting and not truth-telling..."

Royal Navy captain, radical politician, respected inventor, Vice Admiral of Chile, First Admiral of Brazil, Cochrane was nothing if not a controversial figure in his lifetime. In fact his career was probably more amazing than any other Royal Naval officer in any period in history, and his exploits have formed the basis of many sea stories.

Brian Vale's book sets the record straight on this complex, intriguing figure.

Rough Passage

Cdr R Graham, Seafarer Books, ISBN 0-9547062 4 2  

Seventy years since it was first published, this classic tale of a single-handed voyage by Robert Graham to Labrador and Bermuda in 1934 is back in print. It's a delightful read, hailed as "one of the most remarkable small-boat adventures of this and any other time" by Arthur Ransome. This edition also brings the story up to date with details of the rescue and painstaking restoration of Graham's yacht Emmanuel.

Transatlantic at last

Helen Tew, Seafarer Books, ISBN 0-9542750 7 1  

An incredible tale of an eighty-eight year old grandmother who sailed eight thousand miles in a 26-foot gaff cutter in 2000/2001. For Helen Tew, the question was never "why sail across the Atlantic in a small boat at the age of close to ninety years?" but rather, "Why not?" As Sir Robin Knox-Johnston says in the preface: "This is a lovely story and a love story. Not just human love, but the love of a boat...