With time running out and the decks awash with the sea, first-class passenger Archibald Gracie was one of the last people to escape the sinking of the Titanic, clinging to an overturned collapsible boat before being rescued. Once safe on the Carpathia, Gracie immediately began writing what has become one of the definitive books on the tragedy. The Truth About the Titanic is Gracie’s detailed account of not just his experience the night of April 15, 1912, but that of each of the lifeboats launched that night, as well as the testimony at the inquiry that followed. Although Gracie died before his book was published, The Truth About the Titanic is recognized as one of the most complete and accurate accounts of the tragedy.HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library. Read more

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author and master of narrative nonfiction comes the enthralling story of the sinking of the Lusitania“Both terrifying and enthralling.”—Entertainment Weekly“Thrilling, dramatic and powerful.”—NPR“Thoroughly engrossing.”—George R.R. MartinOn May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack. Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history. It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love.  Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.Finalist for the Washington State Book Award • One of the Best Books of the Year: The Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Miami Herald, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, LibraryReads, Indigo Read more

#1 New York Times Bestseller: The definitive book on the sinking of the Titanic, based on interviews with survivors, by the author of The Miracle of Dunkirk.  At first, no one but the lookout recognized the sound. Passengers described it as the impact of a heavy wave, a scraping noise, or the tearing of a long calico strip. In fact, it was the sound of the world’s most famous ocean liner striking an iceberg, and it served as the death knell for 1,500 souls. In the next two hours and forty minutes, the maiden voyage of the Titanic became one of history’s worst maritime accidents. As the ship’s deck slipped closer to the icy waterline, women pleaded with their husbands to join them on lifeboats. Men changed into their evening clothes to meet death with dignity. And in steerage, hundreds fought bitterly against certain death. At 2:15 a.m. the ship’s band played “Autumn.” Five minutes later, the Titanic was gone. Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, Lord’s moment-by-moment account is among the finest books written about one of the twentieth century’s bleakest nights. Read more

The story of the fighter that wouldn’t back downFrom the Cold War’s frontlines to the battlefields of today, the MiG-29 Fulcrum has carved its name into the history of aerial warfare. Red Bandit pulls you into the cockpit of this legendary jet, delivering a visceral, no-holds-barred chronicle of its battlefield legacy. From its Cold War debut to its modern-day skirmishes, this is the definitive story of a fighter born from the crucible of the East-West rivalry.Based on declassified reports, first-hand pilot accounts, and meticulous combat analysis, Red Bandit strips away the myths to reveal the true capabilities—and limits—of Russia’s iconic warbird. Witness its clashes in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, and trace its evolution from a Soviet frontline defender to a key player in 21st-Century conflicts. Whether dogfighting over the Persian Gulf or facing off in Kosovo, the MiG-29’s record is as complex as it is explosive.Perfect for military aviation fans, historians, and thrill-seekers alike, Red Bandit is more than just a parochial history—it’s a high-stakes, sky-scorching narrative of power, politics, and heart-pounding dogfights. Strap in for a supersonic ride through four decades of aerial combat...and discover how a jet designed to fight World War III found itself fighting on today's battlefronts. Read more

September 1, 1985. The RMS Titanic, which has been missing since April 15, 1912, is found in the North Atlantic where it lies at a depth of 3,821 metres.Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a commander in the French Navy, directed underwater research of part of many expeditions to the wreck, from 1987 until his untimely death in 2023.With hundreds of hours of diving to the liner and more than five thousand objects brought to the surface, including bottles of champagne, luggage and jewellery, the last secrets of the liner will be revealed, reliving the ship’s maiden voyage and tragic destiny.Through the incredible story of his expeditions, Paul-Henri Nargeolet brings to life the Titanic, that of its passengers and its crew, and offers a unique point of view on this maritime disaster. Read more

Book Trailer Video: https://bit.ly/MAYDAYbookTrailer-New“From start to finish, this one will keep you on the edge of your floatable seat cushion."-Steve Berry, New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author.Acclaimed as the modern-day version of Titanic, MAYDAY is a riveting Aviation Thriller with a new twist. Fasten your seat belt and raise your tray table because the ride is about to get terrifying.Ever wonder what really happens in the cockpit during a life-threatening emergency? Dan takes his readers where no passenger is ever allowed to go – past the armored steel cockpit door and into the pilot seat – transporting them on a terrifying journey that has a chilling resemblance to recent actual events.The Tech-Liner—appropriately christened the Spirit of Silicon Valley—is the most advanced airliner ever built. Its speed and luxurious amenities could usher in a new golden age of air travel. Struggling Alpha Airlines is betting its future on the new jet.On its maiden voyage—packed with VIPs from government, industry, and banking—this state-of-the-art plane is a prime target for attack. Capt. Mark Smith, Alpha Airlines Chief Pilot, will need to draw on all his decades of experience to make sure that never happens. At thirty-five thousand feet above the ocean, things spin wildly out of control. Smith will need a decidedly old-school strategy to save this high-tech marvel.Learn what has the FAA so nervous in this fictional airline thriller. Only an experienced pilot like Captain Stratman could bring such authenticity and frightening realism to this aviation mystery tale.MAYDAY is book #1 in the Best-Selling Capt. Mark Smith series. Follow the exploits of Mark and his beautiful ex-wife Noelle by getting the entire series: Book #1 – MAYDAY, Book #2 – HURRICANE, Book #3 – BETRAYAL Read more

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A white-knuckle tale of polar exploration and heroism in the Gilded Age from the New York Times bestselling author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers. • “A splendid book in every way…a marvelous nonfiction thriller.” —The Wall Street JournalOn July 8, 1879, Captain George Washington De Long and his team of thirty-two men set sail from San Francisco on the USS Jeanette. Heading deep into uncharted Arctic waters, they carried the aspirations of a young country burning to be the first nation to reach the North Pole. Two years into the harrowing voyage, the Jeannette's hull was breached by an impassable stretch of pack ice, forcing the crew to abandon ship amid torrents of rushing of water. Hours later, theship had sunk below the surface, marooning the men a thousand miles north of Siberia, where they faced a terrifying march with minimal supplies across the endless ice pack. Enduring everything from snow blindness and polar bears to ferocious storms and labyrinths of ice, the crew battled madness and starvation as they struggled desperately to survive. With thrilling twists and turns, In The Kingdom of Ice is a spellbinding tale of heroism and determination in the most brutal place on Earth. Read more

From the author of Mayflower, Valiant Ambition, and In the Hurricane's Eye--the riveting bestseller tells the story of the true events that inspired Melville's Moby-Dick.  Winner of the National Book Award, Nathaniel Philbrick's book is a fantastic saga of survival and adventure, steeped in the lore of whaling, with deep resonance in American literature and history. In 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale, leaving the desperate crew to drift for more than ninety days in three tiny boats. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents and vivid details about the Nantucket whaling tradition to reveal the chilling facts of this infamous maritime disaster. In the Heart of the Sea, recently adapted into a major feature film starring Chris Hemsworth, is a book for the ages. Read more

The complete and definitive New York Times–bestselling chronicle of the Titanic including survivors’ stories and extensive research separating fact from myth. In just two hours and forty minutes, 1,500 souls were lost at sea when the RMS Titanic succumbed to the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Based on interviews with sixty-three survivors, A Night to Remember tells the story of that fateful night, offering a meticulous and engrossing look at one of the twentieth century’s most infamous disasters. In The Night Lives On, Lord revisits the unsinkable ship, diving into the multitude of theories—both factual and fanciful—about the Titanic’s last hours. Was the ship really christened before setting sail on its maiden voyage? How did its wireless operators fail so badly, and why did the nearby Californian, just ten miles away when the Titanic struck the iceberg, not come to the rescue? Together for the first time, Lord’s classic bestseller A Night to Remember and his subsequent study The Night Lives On offer remarkable insight into the maritime catastrophe that continues to fascinate and horrify a full century later. Read more

The definitive story of submarines and the heroism of the men who sailed them, from their invention to the end of the Second World War.Essential reading for fans of James D. Hornfischer, Eugene B. Fluckey, and James M. Scott.When submarines first joined the fighting fleets of the world in the early 20th century, they were unimpressive, unseaworthy craft armed with unreliable, low-performance weapons.Even at the outbreak of the First World War, they had not entirely shed that reputation. Yet, by the war’s end, Britain — the world’s greatest naval power at the time — had been brought to the brink of defeat by submarines in the hands of her enemies.Submariners had risen to the front ranks of fighting seamen, revolutionising naval warfare. By the Second World War, they had become one of the most effective arms of sea warfare.But how did submarines evolve into some of the most fearsome fighting vessels of the 20th century? And what was it like to be submerged within their hulls during the heat of battle?Fighting Under the Sea draws on a wealth of sources to reveal the impact of submariners and their boats beneath the waves, whether British, German, or American. Read more

An unsinkable ship. A blood-soaked secret. And something hungry beneath the decks.April 10th, 1912: Titanic begins her maiden voyage with an ancient evil hiding deep in her cargo hold. By the time the sun rises on the second day, passengers are missing, drained of blood, or returning with a hunger they can’t explain.Something is feeding in the dark below deck.Dr. Benjamin York, a weary assistant surgeon, only wants a fresh start—but a strange illness spreading through steerage demands his attention.Fiona Lynch, a third-class passenger fleeing her past, just wants to get her son to safety—but the ship is filling with shadows. Together, they uncover a terrifying truth: a monstrous presence is turning Titanic’s final hours into a slaughter.Blood & Salt is a gripping blend of supernatural horror and historical tragedy—an alternate history where vampires stalk the Ship of Dreams. Read more

A comprehensive history of the modern battleship, from its development through its most brutal battles to its eventual twilight.This account of the most influential ships of the twentieth century deserves to be essential reading for fans of N.A.M. Rodger, Mark Stille, and Ian W. Toll.Donald Macintyre, the famous U-boat hunter and renowned naval historian, takes readers on a journey through naval construction and armament, exploring how the ironclads of the American Civil War revolutionised thinking in naval design and ultimately led to the emergence of HMS Dreadnought and the age of the battleships.Key pivotal engagements, including Tsushima and Jutland, as well as the battleship’s swan song at Surigao Strait, are detailed with in-depth historical analysis and brought to life with firsthand narratives of ferocious combat.The Thunder of the Guns investigates a century of battleship warfare, explaining how figures like Jacky Fisher were instrumental in their development. Through covering key battles and tactics of both World Wars, Macintyre offers insight into how different navies utilised these behemoths of the high seas. Read more

From masterful storyteller Michael J. Tougias comes a new, heart-stopping true-life tale of maritime disaster, his most thrilling and amazing story yet. In May 2005, Tom Tighe, captain of a forty-five-foot-long sailboat named the Almeisan, and his first mate, Loch Reidy, welcomed three new crewmembers for a five-day voyage from Connecticut across the blue waters of the Gulf Stream to sun-drenched Bermuda. The new crew included forty-six-year-old Kathy Gilchrist, seventy-year-old Ron Burd, and thirty-four-year-old Chris Ferrer. Although Tighe had made the trip forty-eight times, with Reidy accompanying him on twenty of those voyages, the rest of the crew had joined to learn more about offshore sailing. Four days into the voyage, an enormous storm struck, sweeping two of the crew into the towering sea. The remaining crewmembers managed to stay aboard the vessel as it was slowly torn apart by the rampaging ocean. Overboard! follows the simultaneous desperate struggles of both those still on the boat and those fighting for their lives in the sea. The Coast Guard, alerted to the Almeisan’s distress, rushed to the storm-tossed scene. Their ensuing search and rescue mission proved so spectacularly difficult and dangerous that it was later selected—from among thousands of incidents—as the Guard’s search and rescue case of the year. Highly trained helicopter pilots and rescue swimmers alike found themselves in almost as much trouble as those trapped by the ferocious ocean. By turns tragic, thrilling, and deeply inspiring, Overboard! is a riveting, fast-paced story of death and survival at sea—amazing, unforgettable, and all true. Read more

Afghanistan 1879. Army Captain, Edward Merriman – the Great Grandson of Admiral Sir James Merriman – is fighting for his life. Pinned down by snipers, surrounded by dead and dying men, the chances of surviving the day are looking bleak.With bayonets fixed they make ready for their last stand. The clash of steel on steel and screams of the dying are interrupted by a bugle call and a volley of rifle fire. Major-General Roberts’ army column heading for Kabul arrives just in time to fend off a massacre.Injured and exhausted, Merriman is ordered back to Allahabad where bad news about his family and bride-to-be awaits. With leave to sort his affairs authorised, he heads to Singapore to see his brother and to find a ship bound for Calcutta and onward home to England.He boards the Eastern Light, an iron-built, three-masted barquentine along with some very dubious passengers. Tempers flare as a drunken bully strikes his wife and a Japanese Samurai threatens to remove his head. Merriman takes control of the situation and hopes for an eventless journey. But as the ship enters Pirate infested waters and a storm brews, Merriman has no idea just how much trouble is ahead.Publishers note: Whilst this book is part of the Merriman Chronicles series of books, it can easily be read as a standalone novel. Being set so many years later than the original protagonist (Admiral Sir James Abel Merriman) the family name and good standing is continued, yet follows the path of the Merriman family into a new era and away from The Royal Navy. There are undoubtedly many stories yet to be uncovered. As time, research and funding allows, we can look forward to more adventures of this illustrious and well respected British Family. Read more

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A suspenseful behind-the-scenes look at the dysfunction that contributed to one of the worst tragedies in modern aviation: the 2018 and 2019 crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX. An "authoritative, gripping and finely detailed narrative that charts the decline of one of the great American companies" (New York Times Book Review), from the award-winning reporter for Bloomberg.Boeing is a century-old titan of industry. It played a major role in the early days of commercial flight, World War II bombing missions, and moon landings. The planemaker remains a cornerstone of the U.S. economy, as well as a linchpin in the awesome routine of modern air travel. But in 2018 and 2019, two crashes of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 killed 346 people. The crashes exposed a shocking pattern of malfeasance, leading to the biggest crisis in the company’s history—and one of the costliest corporate scandals ever.  How did things go so horribly wrong at Boeing? Flying Blind is the definitive exposé of the disasters that transfixed the world. Drawing from exclusive interviews with current and former employees of Boeing and the FAA; industry executives and analysts; and family members of the victims, it reveals how a broken corporate culture paved the way for catastrophe. It shows how in the race to beat the competition and reward top executives, Boeing skimped on testing, pressured employees to meet unrealistic deadlines, and convinced regulators to put planes into service without properly equipping them or their pilots for flight. It examines how the company, once a treasured American innovator, became obsessed with the bottom line, putting shareholders over customers, employees, and communities. By Bloomberg investigative journalist Peter Robison, who covered Boeing as a beat reporter during the company’s fateful merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late ‘90s, this is the story of a business gone wildly off course. At once riveting and disturbing, it shows how an iconic company fell prey to a win-at-all-costs mentality, threatening an industry and endangering countless lives. Read more

Glamour, danger, liberation: in a Mad Men–era of commercial flight, Pan Am World Airways attracted the kind of young woman who wanted out, and wanted up Required to have a college education, speak two languages, and possess the political savvy of a Foreign Service officer, a jet-age stewardess serving on iconic Pan Am between 1966 and 1975 also had to be between 5′3" and 5′9", between 105 and 140 pounds, and under 26 years of age at the time of hire.Cooke’s intimate storytelling weaves together the real-life stories of a memorable cast of characters, from small-town girl Lynne Totten, a science major who decided life in a lab was not for her, to Hazel Bowie, one of the relatively few Black stewardesses of the era, as they embraced the liberation of their new jet-set life. Cooke brings to light the story of Pan Am stewardesses’ role in the Vietnam War, as the airline added runs from Saigon to Hong Kong for planeloads of weary young soldiers straight from the battlefields, who were off for five days of R&R, and then flown back to war. Finally, with Operation Babylift—the dramatic evacuation of 2,000 children during the fall of Saigon—the book’s special cast of stewardesses unites to play an extraordinary role on the world stage.  Read more

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER  *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION* 'The beauty of The Wager unfurls like a great sail... one of the finest nonfiction books I’ve ever read' Guardian ‘The greatest sea story ever told’ Spectator'I cannot think of anyone who would not love this book . . . It is an extraordinary true story, beautifully written' Richard Osman‘A cracking yarn… Grann’s taste for desperate predicaments finds its fullest expression here’ ObserverFrom the international bestselling author of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE LOST CITY OF Z, a mesmerising story of shipwreck, mutiny and murder, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.   On 28th January 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon, the Wager was wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The crew, marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing 2,500 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes.   Then, six months later, another, even more decrepit, craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways and they had a very different story to tell. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes – they were mutineers. The first group responded with counter-charges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous captain and his henchmen. While stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death—for whomever the court found guilty could hang.   Read more

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A technical history of the ship from 1600 to 1850 through models, with informative illustrations and text, by the author of Warships of the Napoleonic Era. The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, houses the largest collection of scale ship models in the world. Many of the models are official, contemporary artifacts made by the craftsmen of the Royal Navy or the shipbuilders themselves, ranging from the mid-seventeenth century to the present day. As such they represent a three-dimensional archive of unique importance and authority. Treated as historical evidence, they offer more detail than even the best plans, and demonstrate exactly what the ships looked like in a way that even the finest marine painter could not achieve. This book tells the story of the evolution of the cruising ship under sail. It includes many model photos, all in full color, as well as close-up and detail views. These are captioned in depth, but many are also annotated to focus attention on interesting or unusual features. Although pictorial in emphasis, The Sailing Frigate weaves the pictures into an authoritative text, producing an unusual and attractive form of technical history. While the series will be of particular interest to ship modelers, all those with an interest in ship design and development will be attracted to the in-depth analysis of these beautifully presented books. Read more

Jump inside the cockpit of an airplane and take an exhilarating trip across the United States. With a 34-year experience in aviation, your pilot will land safely at your destination.In this gripping follow-up to his bestselling memoir, Hangmen, Dale Arenson lets you in his early days at the helm of an airplane. He also shares incredible stories of learning and survival. From the first day in his Cessna 140 to being at an airshow with the legendary Bob Hoover, each moment of this new chapter in his life is an adventure.The outlaw biker becomes a construction worker, then a salesman, until he fulfills his dream of working as a professional pilot. His unorthodox path to success nearly gets him killed many times, but he perseveres.Better Lucky Than Good is an inspirational story full of drama, humor, and fun flying stories. It will keep you at the edge of your seat, make you laugh and cry, and inspire you to follow your own dream. Read more