Nautical History

To most of us (the uninitiated), the sailing ships of the past are a thing of myth and romance. We see paintings of graceful ships' hulls cutting through majestic waves, rigging taut and sails billowing. We imagine the freedom of the sea and it stirs something deep within us. There's a yearning to test our mettle, feel our smallness under the open sky and on the open sea, experience the power of the waves as they crash on the deck during a gale.

A lot of nautical fiction tends to focus on the narrow European "age of sail," especially the age of discovery and the epic sea battles of the Napoleanic wars. But, of course, Maritime history is much broader than that. It's an overarching subject that includes lots of topics, like fishing, whaling, international maritime law, naval history, the history of ships, ship design, shipbuilding, the history of navigation, the history of the various maritime-related sciences (oceanography, cartography, hydrography, etc.), sea exploration, maritime economics and trade, shipping, yachting, seaside resorts, the history of lighthouses and aids to navigation, maritime themes in literature, maritime themes in art, the social history of sailors and passengers and sea-related communities.

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88 Items found Print
Admiral David Glasgow Farragut
by Chester G. Hearn
from US Naval Institute Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
All About Sailing the Seven Seas
All About Books
by Ruth Brindze
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All Hands Aloft!
by Lou A. Schmitt
from Howell-North
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
by Walter Dean Myers
from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Barbary Pirates
Landmark #31
by C. S. Forester
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Battle of Lake Erie
in War of 1812 (Location: HISA-19WET)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Blockade Runners and Ironclads
in American Civil War (1860-1865) (Location: HISA-19CW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Blow Ye Winds Westerly
by Elizabeth Gemming
1st edition from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Brendan Voyage
Modern Library Exploration
by Tim Severin
from Modern Library
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.00
Captain Cook Explores the South Seas
World Landmark #19
by Armstrong Sperry
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Christopher Columbus
by Elaine Murray Stone
500 Anv from Tyndale House
Biography for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Clipper Ship Days
Landmark #22
by John Jennings
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Commodore Perry in Japan
by Robert Reynolds
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Design Line: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
by Chris Oxlade, Edited by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Mike Lemanski
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-Adult
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Discovery of the Titanic
by Robert Ballard
from Warner/Madison Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Titanic & 20th Century Disasters (Location: HISV-20DIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ferdinand Magellan
World Landmark #31
by Seymour Gates Pond
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Fighting Sail
by Oliver Warner
from Cassell
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
First Ships Around the World
from Lerner Publishing Group
for 4th-6th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Francisco Coronado
by Malcolm C. Jensen
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Clearance: Biographies (Location: ZCLE-BIO)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Age of Sail
by Amy Handy
from Todtri Productions Limited
for 7th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Guns Off Cape Ann
by Kenneth Poolman
from Evans Brothers Limited
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
How the Merrimac Won
by R.W. Daly
from Thomas Crowell
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912
by Lauren Tarshis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Guide to Sailing Ships
by Christopher Chant
Library ed from Marshall Cavendish Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Illustrated History of Ships and Boats
by Lionel Casson
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Wreck of the Whaleship Essex
by Owen Chase
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.95
Indestructible Commodore Matthew Perry
by Arthur Orrmont
from Julian Messner
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Ironclads of the Civil War
by Frank R. Donovan
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones
A Discovery Book
by Stewart Graff, illustrated by William Hutchinson
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
John Paul Jones
by Samuel Eliot Morison
from Little, Brown & Company
for 10th-Adult
1960 Biography Pulitzer Prize
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
John Paul Jones, Fighting Sailor
Landmark #39
by Armstrong Sperry
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Keystone Battlewagon - U.S.S. Pennsylvania (BB-38)
Warship Series #2
by Myron J. Smith
1st edition
for 7th-10th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Kid on the River
by Dean Nichols
1st edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Pacific Northwest (Location: HISA-PNW)
Lexington Goes Down
by A. A. Hoehling
from Prentice Hall
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lighthouses of America
by Mina Lewiton, Illustrated by Howard Simon
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Log of Christopher Columbus
by Christopher Columbus, translated by Robert Fuson
1992 Printing from International Marine / McGraw-Hill
for 9th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Longitude
by Dava Sobel
1st edition from Walker and Company
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Longitude
by Dava Sobel
1st edition from Penguin Books
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lost at Sea
by Ronald Pearsall
from Smithmark Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Making It Go: The Life and Work of Robert Fulton
by Don Herweck
from Teacher Created Materials, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.00
Men-of-War
by Patrick O'Brian
1st Us Edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Men-of-War
Seafarers
by David Howarth
1st edition from Time-Life Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Midway: Battle for the Pacific
Landmark #119
by Edmund Castillo
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Monitor & the Merrimac
Landmark #16
by Fletcher Pratt
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Mutiny on the Bounty
by Patrick O'Brien
from Walker and Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd
Landmark #122
by A.B.C. Whipple
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd
Landmark #122
by A.B.C. Whipple
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$14.99
Nelson and the Age of Fighting Sail
by Oliver Warner
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Oars, Sails and Steam
by Edwin Tunis
from Johns Hopkins University Press
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
Old Ironsides
by David L. Weitzman
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Old Ironsides: The Fighting Constitution
Landmark #51
by Harry Hansen
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$11.95
Paddle-Wheel Days in California
from Stanford University Press
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Pictorial History of American Ships
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Picture Book of Christopher Columbus
by David A. Adler
from Trumpet Club
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Pirates
by Nigel Cawthorne
from Chartwell Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Pirates (Location: HISV-PIRATE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sailing the Unknown
by Michael Rosen, Illustrated by Maria Cristina Pritelli
from Creative Editions
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Sailing-Ship
by Romola & R. C. Anderson
from Bonanza Books
for 9th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Sailors, Whalers, Fantastic Sea Voyages
by Valerie Petrillo
1st edition from Chicago Review Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Sea Clocks: The Story of Longitude
by Louise Borden
1st edition from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Seabees of World War II
Landmark #103
by Edmund Castillo
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Seafaring America
by Alexander Laing
from McGraw-Hill
for 6th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sentinel of the Seas
by Dennis M. Powers
1st edition from Citadel Press
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Ships and Boats
by Chris Oxlade
from Shooting Star Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Ships Under Sail
by Gordon Grant
from Garden City Books
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Ships Visual Encyclopedia
by David Ross
from Amber Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
Ships, Sailors and the Sea
Usborne Beginner's Knowledge
by Caroline Young, J. Miles
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast
by James A. Gibbs
2nd edition from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific Northwest (Location: HISA-PNW)
Spanish Armada
by Jay Williams
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Horizon Caravel Books (Location: VIN-HOR)
Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections: Man-of-War
by Stephen Biesty
from DK Publishing
for 1st-4th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Ships
by Frank O. Braynard, paintings by Fouille
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Stephen Decatur
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #29
by Iris Vinton, illustrated by Graham Kaye
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 3rd-8th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Story of Submarines
Landmark #102
by George Weller
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Story of the Clipper Ships
Cornerstones of Freedom
by R. Conrad Stein
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th Grade
in Cornerstones of Freedom (Location: VIN-CORN)
T is for Tugboat
by Shoshanna Kirk & Sara Gillingham
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Take Command, Captain Farragut!
by Peter Roop, Connie Roop
1st edition
for 3rd-6th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
Tall Ships of the World
by C. Keith Wilbur
from The Globe Pequot Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
The Admirals
by Walter R. Borneman
from Little, Brown & Company
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
The Bounty
by Caroline Alexander
Reprint from Viking Press
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Trail Blazer of the Seas
by Jean Lee Latham
from Purple House Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Twentieth Century Sea Power
for 7th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Two Years Before the Mast
Signet Classics
by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
from Signet Classics
Autobiographical Narrative for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.95
Two Years Before the Mast
by Richard Henry Dana Jr., illustrated by E. Boyd Smith
from SeaWolf Press
Autobiographical Narrative for 10th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$12.95
Vancouver's Discovery of Puget Sound
by Edmond S. Meany
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Pacific Northwest (Location: HISA-PNW)
What's Inside? Boats
What's Inside?
from DK Publishing
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Ships, Boats & Submarines (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Wooden Ships and Iron Men
by Clifford Lindsey Alderman
from Walker and Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Yankee Clippers
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
You Wouldn't Want to Sail the Seas!
by Written by Peter Cook, John Malam, Jim Pipe, and David Stewart, and Illustrated by David Antram and Kevin Whelan
from Parfait Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nautical History (Location: HISV-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)