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

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

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

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

“Outstanding . . . anyone with an interest in the major ships of the grand Fleet or shipbuilding on the Clyde will want to own it.”—Warship 2012   Between 1906 and 1920, the Clydebank shipyard of John Brown & Sons built five battlecruisers, each one bigger than the last, culminating in the mighty Hood, the largest warship of her day. If Tiger is regarded as a modification of the Lion class design, this represents every step in the evolution of these charismatic, and controversial, ships. Like most shipyards of the time, Clydebank employed professional photographers to record the whole process of construction, using large-plate cameras that produced pictures of stunning clarity and detail; but unlike most shipyard photography, Clydebank’s collection has survived, although very few of the images have ever been published. For this book, some two hundred of the most telling of these were carefully selected, and scanned to the highest standards, depicting in unprecedented detail every aspect of the building and fitting out of Inflexible, Australia, Tiger, Repulse and Hood.   Probably more has been written about battlecruisers than any other warship type, and as modelmaking subjects they have a devoted following, so any new book has to make a real contribution. This pictorial collection, with its lengthy and informative captions, and an authoritative introduction by Ian Johnston, offers ship modelers and enthusiasts a wealth of visual information simply unobtainable elsewhere.   “A superb book combining some useful text on the ships and their construction with an amazing collection of pictures.”—History of War Read more

Looking for the perfect book for a young history lover? Ever wondered about the legendary ship that set sail on its first — and final — voyage over a century ago?Step aboard Titanic and explore the fascinating story of one of history’s most famous ships with this exciting collection of fun facts, trivia, and unbelievable true stories. From its grand design and luxurious rooms to the heroic passengers and the tragic night it sank, this book takes you on an unforgettable journey through the history of the Titanic! 🚢🌊 What will you discover inside this book?🔍 Learn incredible facts about how the Titanic was built, its famous passengers, and the luxury it offered.🧊 Uncover the dramatic events of the iceberg collision and what really happened that fateful night.💡 Test your knowledge with fun trivia questions about the ship, the crew, and the survivors’ incredible stories.🔎 Explore the discovery of the Titanic wreck and the mysteries that still surround it today.Perfect for curious kids and history buffs alike, this book brings the world of the Titanic to life in a fun and easy-to-read way. Whether you’re reading alone or sharing with family and friends, you’ll be amazed by the true story of the ship that still captures imaginations today!🎁 Don’t wait — scroll up and hit Buy Now! Dive into history and uncover the incredible story of the Titanic! ⚓📖 Read more

In this New York Times bestseller, the author of A Night to Remember and The Miracle of Dunkirk revisits the Titanic disaster.   Walter Lord’s A Night to Remember was a landmark work that recounted the harrowing events of April 14, 1912, when the British ocean liner RMS Titanic went down in the North Atlantic Ocean, a book that inspired a classic movie of the same name. In The Night Lives On, Lord takes the exploration further, revealing information about the ship’s last hours that emerged in the decades that followed, and separating myths from facts.   Was the ship really christened before setting sail on its maiden voyage? What song did the band play as water spilled over the bow? How did the ship’s 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? Lord answers these questions and more, in a gripping investigation of the night when approximately 1,500 victims were lost to the sea.   Read more

Here is a survivor's vivid account of the greatest maritime disaster in history. The information contained in Gracie's account is available from no other source. He provides details of those final moments, including names of passengers pulled from the ocean and of those men who, in a panic, jumped into lifeboats as they were being lowered, causing injury and further danger to life. Walter Lord, author of A Night to Remember, comments that Gracie's book—written shortly before he died from the exposure he suffered on that night—is "invaluable for chasing down who went in what boat," and calls Gracie "an indefatigable detective." Read more

Captain Merriman is back in "A Rip Roaring Odyssey!" From the son of the original author, the saga of the Merriman family continues.Barely months after returning from the Adriatic, Captain Sir James Merriman is enjoying some rare time with his wife and children. But his nation is exhausted by an apparently endless war and Napoleon’s continental system is denying Britain crucial supplies. Worse still, the French 80-gun ship Hercule has captured numerous British ships near the Cape of Good Hope. Captained by a wily veteran known as the lone wolf, the Hercule presents Merriman with his greatest adversary yet.Joining his loyal first officer Alfred Shrigley aboard the newly-refitted Thunder, Merriman journeys south to capture or destroy the Hercule. An unexpected diversion leads him onto Portuguese soil and a crucial rendezvous with an old friend – the resourceful double agent, Charles Moreau. With no time to lose, Merriman must meld inexperienced men and hardened veterans into an effective fighting outfit. Along the way, he and his crew encounter slave ships, pirates, disease, storms and numerous allies and enemies before a fateful clash with their elusive nemesis. Read more

None

Updated 2025 Edition.In the year 1801, Captain James Merriman aboard his ship Lord Stevenage is despatched to South America along with a small flotilla. A passenger by the name of George Humphries - part of the extensive network of English spies and agents controlled by a department of the Treasury – has orders for Merriman to seek out intelligence about England's enemies, particularly France and Spain.Merriman and crew are also to try and find one Don Carlos Galiano whom he had narrowly missed capturing in the West Indies several years previously. Galiano is known to be behind smuggling and privateer activities in south Atlantic waters and is rumoured to be in Montevideo.There are battles with a French frigate and a Spanish one with an assortment of privateers - little more than pirates - who prey on shipping of any nation in the south Atlantic.But another secret purpose behind this voyage is to recover important documents and treasure from a wrecked Indiaman in Brazil, the location of which is unknown apart from some very incoherent details from the sole surviving crew member.Can Merriman be successful in all that with the French, Spanish and even the native population is against him? Read more

The multifront trade war, which started with solar panels and washing machines, quickly expanded to additional battles. Retaliatory tariffs were imposed, and the flow of global trade the world once knew was changed. Headlines reporting the China tariffs “on hold,” “truces announced,” or threats of additional tariffs being imposed feed the uncertainty, which roils markets to historic highs and dramatic selloffs.So how can one get a sense of the true status of trade and the good faith being pledged by countries like China?Through the trade flows!With 90 percent of the world’s economy moved by maritime transport, the ocean highway is the best way for anyone to gauge the status of trade talks as well as monitor the flow of trade. Lori Ann LaRocco takes readers inside the world of global trade and shows us: Containers and tankers don’t lie.This new book cuts through the political rhetoric and reminds us just how dangerous for the world economy and security a continuing trade war could be. Read the facts and learn some of the strategies business leaders are employing to navigate the trade wars. Read more

"The thorough and competent account herein of over-all PT boat operations in World War II, compiled by Captain Robert Bulkley, a distinguished PT boat commander, should prove of wide interest. The widest use of the sea, integrated fully into our national strength, is as important to America in the age of nuclear power and space travel as in those stirring days of the birth of the Republic."President John Fitzgerald KennedyRobert Johns Bulkley (1880 – 1965) was a United States Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives, and in the United States Senate from 1930 until 1939.A graduate of Harvard University for undergraduate studies and law school, Bulkley commenced the practice of law in Cleveland, Ohio in 1906. Bulkley served two terms in the House from 1911-1915 from the 21st District on Cleveland's East Side. During World War One he served as chief of the legal section of the War Industries Board. He was later elected to the U.S. Senate in 1930 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Theodore E. Burton. Bulkley was re-elected in 1932, but lost a bid for a second full term in 1938 to Robert A. Taft. After his term in the Senate ended, he resumed his practice of law. Read more

The classic reference on the technical history of British capital ship design and construction during the dreadnought era.   A century ago at Jutland, Dogger Bank, Heligoland Bight, and the first battle for the Falklands, mighty squadrons of these great armored ships fought their German counterparts for command of the seas. Beginning with Dreadnought, this book continues to the end of the First World War, and all of the fifty dreadnoughts, “super-dreadnoughts,” and battlecruisers that served the Royal Navy during this era are described and superbly illustrated with photographs and line drawings.   Each class of ship is described in detail so that design origins, and technical and operational factors, are discussed alongside characteristics, with special emphasis on armament, armor, and machinery. Fully detailed data tables are included for every class, and more than 500 photographs and line drawings illustrate the text. A delight for the historian, enthusiast and ship modeler, this volume is regarded as an essential reference work for this most significant era in naval history and ship design. Read more

The definitive history of the Battle of the Atlantic by a distinguished Royal Navy escort commander.Perfect for fans of Jonathan Dimbleby, Terence Robertson, Marc Milner and John Winton.The Battle of the Atlantic was a remarkable conflict which started on the first day of the Second World War and was still being waged on the last.This book provides a fascinating history of the struggle which raged between 1939 and 1945 and on which the outcome of the war depended. No major offensive operation against the mainland of Europe could be undertaken until the Atlantic battle had been won, and the material imports needed for Great Britain’s survival were assured.Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Gretton — a distinguished Royal Navy escort commander — has written an authoritative history of the war he fought. The subjects range from merchant shipping to intelligence, the role of Operational Research, the battle for maritime air in Whitehall, the contribution of the Royal Canadian Navy, and the strategies employed by the convoys to defeat the ‘wolf pack’ system of attack by the U-boats — interspersed with narrative chapters which illustrate the points he has been making. Above all, he describes the courage of the Allied merchant seamen who carried out their dangerous work with devotion.Battle of the Atlantic: The War against Allied Shipping 1939–1945 combines Peter Gretton’s expert analysis of the records with his own experience to take the reader to the heart of the action. Peter Gretton’s son Vice-Admiral Mike Gretton provides a Foreword to explain the book’s publication 40 years after it was written, and Professor Marc Milner’s Afterword provides a commentary with historical developments since the 1980s.‘Having played no small part in the Allied victory over the U-boat threat Peter Gretton understood the role of history was not to record the past, but to inform the present, and prepare for the future. His understanding of the Battle of the Atlantic developed through a combination of hard-won experience and deep reflection, constantly enhancing the performance of men, ships, formations and systems as the battle approached a climax. He continued this work throughout his post-war career, both naval and civilian, conducting and encouraging serious scholarship. These are his final thoughts on the single most important campaign of the Second World War, a campaign with which his name will always be linked.’ Professor Andrew Lambert‘A fascinating, previously unpublished detailed account of the Battle of the Atlantic by a highly decorated escort commander who participated in much of the action he describes. In this thoughtful work, based on research and memory, Admiral Gretton's views on the merit of convoy protection during the war have been validated by subsequent maritime historians. This book is an important addition to the historical record of the Battle of the Atlantic.’ David Collins, The Naval Review‘The combination of research, reflection and memory marks this … a unique document in the history — and the historiography — of the Battle of the Atlantic’ Professor Marc Milner‘provides not only a valuable insight into the numerous actions of Allied seamen when pitted against the might of the German Kriegsmarine, but also reminds us of the immense cost of human conflict.’ Victoria Schofield Read more

“Titanic meets Tom Clancy technology” in this national-bestselling account of the SS Central America’s wreckage and discovery (People).  September 1875. With nearly six hundred passengers returning from the California Gold Rush, the side-wheel steamer SS Central America encountered a violent storm and sank two hundred miles off the Carolina coast. More than four hundred lives and twenty-one tons of gold were lost. It was a tragedy lost in legend for more than a century—until a brilliant young engineer named Tommy Thompson set out to find the wreck.   Driven by scientific curiosity and resentful of the term “treasure hunt,” Thompson searched the deep-ocean floor using historical accounts, cutting-edge sonar technology, and an underwater robot of his own design. Navigating greedy investors, impatient crewmembers, and a competing salvage team, Thompson finally located the wreck in 1989 and sailed into Norfolk with her recovered treasure: gold coins, bars, nuggets, and dust, plus steamer trunks filled with period clothes, newspapers, books, and journals.   A great American adventure story, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea is also a fascinating account of the science, technology, and engineering that opened Earth’s final frontier, providing “white-knuckle reading, as exciting as anything . . . in The Perfect Storm” (Los Angeles Times Book Review).   “A complex, bittersweet history of two centuries of American entrepreneurship, linked by the mad quest for gold.” —Entertainment Weekly   “A ripping true tale of danger and discovery at sea.” —The Washington Post   “What a yarn! . . . If you sign on for the cruise, go in knowing that you’re going to miss meals and a lot of sleep.” —Newsweek Read more