Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Langsdorff and the Battle of the River Plate / by David Miller. "This compelling new study of the Battle of the River Plate concentrates on Kapitèan zur See Hans Langsdorff, the commander of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee - it is written from his point of view. The story of his mission at the start of the Second World War to prey on merchant shipping is graphically retold, and Langsdorff's command decisions are the primary focus of David Miller's gripping narrative. He considers in vivid detail the factors Langsdorff had to consider as he assessed the situation of his ship and choose his course of action. He describes the intelligence Langsdorff received and his knowledge of the position and strength of the forces of the Royal Navy that were arrayed against him. Langsdorff's interpretation of his mission and the tense calculations he had to make in order to carry it out are the essential elements of this dramatic story. Langsdorff, operating alone and thousands of miles away from home and with no prospect of support, had to grapple with the enormous burden of a lone command. He made grave mistakes, and these are ruthlessly exposed. But this fascinating re-examination of his actions and his leadership does nothing to diminish his reputation as a brave and honourable officer."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1939"(43)

Merchant adventurers : the voyage of discovery that transformed Tudor England /by James Evans. "In the spring of 1553 three ships sailed north-east from London into uncharted waters. The scale of their ambition was breathtaking. Drawing on the latest navigational science and the new spirit of enterprise and discovery sweeping the Tudor capital, they sought a northern passage to Asia and its riches. The success of the expedition depended on its two leaders: Sir Hugh Willoughby, a brave gentleman soldier, and Richard Chancellor, a brilliant young scientist and practical man of the sea. When their ships became separated in a storm, each had to fend for himself. Their fates were sharply divided. One returned to England, to recount extraordinary tales of the imperial court of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The tragic, mysterious story of the other two ships has to be pieced together through the surviving captain's log book, after he and his crew became lost and trapped by the advancing Arctic winter. This long neglected endeavour was one of the boldest in British history, and its impact was profound. Although the 'merchant adventurers' failed to reach China as they had hoped, their achievements would lay the foundations for England's expansion on a global stage. As James Evans' vivid account shows, their voyage also makes for a gripping story of daring, discovery, tragedy and adventure."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(987)"1553"

Great White Fleet : celebrating Canada Steamship Lines passenger ships /by John Henry ; foreword by the Right Honourable Paul Martin, PC, CC. The inland passenger steamers of the Canada Steamship Lines were collectively known as the Great White Fleet. The ships ranged from day excursion vessels to luxurious cruise ships. The passenger fleet at the company's inception in 1913 comprised 51 steamers and covered the waterways of the Great Lakes from Chicoutimi to Niagara and from Windsor to Duluth, taking passengers travelling for business and pleasure. This book relates the history of the Great White Fleet from 1913-1965. It contains many black and white photographs and colour reproductions of posters and other promotional material. A section on vessel data provides details of the passenger steamers mentioned in the book. [2013] • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 387.2/4309710904

It's about time : from calendars and clocks to moon cycles and light years -- a history /Liz Evers. "From the ice-age recordings of moon cycles and the earliest calendars, to modern wristwatches and quantum clocks, time and its effects have always enthralled mankind. We've spent centuries developing new ways of measuring time, describing it and quantifying it, and such methods have given rise to some of the most technically and aesthetically beautiful devices ever invented. This book is a tribute to timekeeping in its many forms and takes in the most significant creations as well as countless time trivia -- peppered with time-related anecdotes and quotes, this really is an essential handbook for anyone fascinated by the fourth dimension."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 529.77

Maritime Norfolk : Part two /Robert Malster. "Maritime Norfolk Part Two completes Robert Malster's comprehensive study of Norfolk's maritime history. In the first volume, we travelled from Wisbech to Kings Lynn and then round the coast to Caister on Sea. This latest title concentrates on Great Yarmouth, from the first establishment of a herring market on the gradually forming sandbank, through to the gas, oil and wind farm businesses it hosts today. On the journey through the centuries, we see the town's part in England's medieval fleets, the Royal Navy's North Sea Squadron operating from the port, the great days of the drifter fleets and the time of the trawlers fleets of Gorleston - and many more aspects of this part of Norfolk's maritime heritage."--Provided by the publisher 2013 • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 94(426.1)

Captain James Cook / Rob Mundle. A biography of Captain James Cook (1728-1779). As a sailor, the author highlights the sailing and navigational challenges faced by Cook on his voyages. Born in Yorkshire, Cook joined the Royal Navy in 1755, participating in the Seven Years War and mapping the Newfoundland coast before undertaking the three voyages of discovery in the Pacific which made him famous. Commanding the Endeavour, Cook's first voyage in 1768 was to observe the transit of Venus. He went on to circumnavigate and map the coastline of New Zealand before sailing west to make the first recorded European contact with the eastern coast of Australia. Cook returned to the Pacific in 1772 in command of the Resolution to search for the hypothetical Terra Australis, circumnavigating the globe at an extreme southern latitude, one of the earliest to cross the Antarctic circle. Commanding the Resolution again on his third voyage of discovery and in search of the North West Passage, Cook stopped in Hawaii in 1779 where he was killed. Includes a bibliography and glossary of sailing terms. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92COOK

Pierre Bernard Milius : last commander of the Baudin Expedition : the journal 1800-1804 /Pierre Bernard Milius ; translated from the French and annotated by Kate Pratt ; edited by Peter Hambly ; with an introduction by Anthony J. Brown. Milius, Pierre Bernard, 2013. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 92MILIUS

Sailor in the desert : the adventures of Phillip Gunn, DSM, RN in the Mesopotamia Campaign, 1915 /David Gunn. "Sailor in the Desert is the personal account of a Royal Navy sailor's experiences during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1915. As an able seaman on an armed sloop supporting the British expedition up the River Tigris, Philip Gunn's recollections give a rare perspective of this ill-fated campaign. At the outbreak of war, Phillip Gunn was serving on HMS Clio, a naval sloop fitted with sails and guns stationed in China and immediately tasked with hunting the soon-to-be-famous German cruiser Emden, but failed to prevent her escape. Gunn and Clio were next in action defending the Suez Canal against an attempted Turkish invasion before joining the expedition to invade Turkish-held Mesopotamia (Iraq). When the River Tigris became too shallow for Clio, Gunn took over a Calcutta River Police launch. He towed improvised gunboats to bombard the enemy in close support of the advancing land forces, whose assaults on enemy positions he witnessed. Though he repeatedly came under fire, it was malaria which finally struck him down during the pivotal Battle of Ctesiphon. He was fortunate to survive the journey back downriver. Sailor in the Desert is an authentic account drawn from Phillip Gunn's unpublished memoirs as well as conversations with the author, his son David. It is illustrated with archive photographs and colour paintings by Philip Gunn himself."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92GUNN

Dèonitz, U-boat, convoys : the British version of his memoirs from the Admiralty's secret Anti-Submarine Reports /Jak P. Mallmann Showell. "The memoirs of Admiral Karl Dèonitz, Ten Years and Twenty Days, are a fascinating first-hand account of the Battle of the Atlantic as seen from the headquarters of the U-boat fleet. Now, for the first time noted naval historian Jak P. Mallmann Showell has combined Dèonitz's memoirs in a parallel text with the British Admiralty's secret Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports to produce a unique view of the U-boat war as it was perceived at the time by both sides. The British Monthly Anti-Submarine Reports were classified documents issued only to senior officers hunting U-boats, and were supposed to have been returned to the Admiralty and destroyed at the end of the War, but by chance a set survived in the archives of the Royal Navy's Submarine Museum in Gosport, allowing the reader a hitherto unavailable insight into the British view of the Battle of the Atlantic as it was being fought. Together with the author's commentary adding information that was either unknown or too secret to reveal at the time, this book gives possibly the most complete contemporary account of the desperate struggle in the North Atlantic in the Second World War."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.9

Voyage to Gallipoli / Peter Plowman. At the commencement of World War I in 1914 Australia had only been a nation for 13 years and the RAN was only three years old (NZ had been a dominion for 7 years and had no independent navy). As young men rushed to enlist, the governments of both countries had to find ways of transporting them to a war being fought half a world away, and protecting them against German raiders en route. It was a massive undertaking. In Voyage to Gallipoli maritime historian Peter Plowman takes the story from the planning stages and the requisition of ships through to the Gallipoli landing of 25 April 1915. It covers the activities of the fledgling Royal Australian Navy and its role in the Australian capture of German protectorates (including New Guinea) in the South Pacific and the Battle of Cocos Island which saw the destruction of the German raider Emden. The book tells of the mobilization of troops and sailors, requisition and refitting of ships, one convoy false start, a number of voyages, various changes of plan and destination, and the assistance offered by ships of allied navies. Included are many newspaper accounts of various events (some by Banjo Paterson) in port and on board and quotes from diaries and memoirs of sailors and soldiers involved, giving descriptions of conditions on board - training, sport, exercise, living and eating conditions, hygiene, medical examinations and supervision, even 'crossing the line' festivities; also conditions for horses - details of convoy formations. By the time of the blooding of Anzac forces at Gallipoli, the force had been moulded very much 'on board' and 'in transit'. Two appendices give details of all the transport ships involved. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.455(496.1)

The principles of Arab navigation / edited by Anthony R. Constable and William Facey. "Throughout History, the Indian Ocean has been a zone of interaction between far-flung civilizations served by ports, and connected with the Mediterranean by the Gulf and Red Sea. The shows that were the vehicles of commercial and cultural exchange over this vast expanse of ocean ranged from small craft rarely venturing out of sight of land, to cargo vessels carrying navigators skilled in the art of deep sea sailing. These Arab, Persian and Indian seamen used the seasonal monsoon winds, and applied navigational techniques that relied on their ability to read the stars in the night sky - skills that had developed down the generations from time immemorial. This stellar navigation, based on measuring the altitude of the Pole Star to establish latitude and on the risings and settings of certain stars to find direction, grew into a complex art, belying the simplicity of the instruments used. Bringing together six scholars specializing in the maritime history and culture of the Arabs (Anthony R. Constable, William Facey, Yacoub Al-Hijji, Paul Lunde, Hassan Salih Shihab and Eric Staples), this book makes a new and vital contribution to the study of a nautical culture that has hitherto not received its due share of attention, and which is vital to an understanding of Indian Ocean history. Drawing on source material such as the guides by the renowned southern Arabian navigators Ahmad ibn Majid and Sulayman al-Mahri in the 15th and 16th centuries AD, as well as surviving logbooks of how captains in the early 20th, the volume covers the principal ideas, techniques, instruments and calculations used, deploying astronomy, geometry and mathematics to explain their methods. It includes an account of a practical attempt to apply these methods in 2010, on an adventurous voyage from Muscat to Singapore in a reconstructed early medieval dhow, and concludes with an analysis of sailing conditions in the Red Sea."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 527(267)"14/20"

Women, travel and identity : journeys by rail and sea, 1870-1940 /Emma Robinson-Tomsett. "The years between 1870 and 1940 are often considered a 'golden age' of travel: as larger and evermore sumptuous ships and trains were built, including the Orient Express, Blue Train, Lusitania and Normandie, journeying abroad became, and remains today, synonymous with chic, splendour and luxury. Utilising women's diaries and letters, art, advertising, fiction and etiquette guides, this book considers the journey's impact upon understandings of female identity, definitions of femininity, modernity, glamour, class, travel, tourism, leisure and sexual opportunity and threat during this period. It explores women's relationship with train and ship technology; cultural understandings of the journey; public expectations of women journeyers; how women journeyed in practice: their use of journey space, sociability with both Western and 'Other' non-Western journeyers, experience of love, sex and danger during the journey; and how women fashioned a journeyer identity which fused their existing domestic identities with new journey identities such as the journey chronicler. The journey is revealed to be an experience of sociability as much as mobility, dominated by ideas of respectability and reputation, class, power, vision and observation and home as well as the foreign and new."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(42)-055.2

Better conceiv'd than describ'd : the life and times of Captain James King (1750-84), Captain Cook's friend and colleague /Steve Ragnall. Better Conceiv'd than Describ'd is the first full biography of James King - the interesting, though tragically short-lived, Royal Navy Officer in the reign of George III. Captain James King's adventurous life saw him lay claim to Alaska in the name of George III, fight as a frigate captain in the American War of Independence and test the marine chronometer that revolutionised navigation. Starting in the small town of Clitheroe (in Lancashire), and taking us to the edges of the then known world on a great voyage of discovery, this book shows the development of James King not only as a sailor but also as an astronomer sponsored by the Board of Longitude, while also examining the death of Captain Cook at the hands of the Hawaiians. With cameo appearances from Horatio Nelson, the infamous William Bligh, society artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, diarist Fanny Burney and statesman Edmund Burke, this is a 'who's who' of Georgian society and shows the importance of patronage in the second half of the 18th century. 2013. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 92KING, JAMES

The watch repairer's manual / Henry B Fried. "As The New York Times wrote after his death, Henry B. Fried was 'widely acknowledged as the dean of American watchmakers.' In the revised, 1961 edition of his classic book The Watch Repairer's Manual, reprinted here, Fried addresses topics important to contemporary watch repairers, such as self-winding watches, waterproofing, calendar watches, alarm wristwatches, and chronographs. The Watch Repairer's Manual also includes a fine visual dictionary of exploded views in isometric, which are very helpful for ordering watch parts. One of the few modern books available on the techniques of watch repair and certainly the most esteemed, The Watch Repairer's Manual is outstanding for its sequence of presentation and its many useful illustrations, including enlarged details of alarm and self-winding watches. The consummate craftsman and master of details, Fried himself created the illustrations. From teaching others, Fried has learned that if you have a good understanding of how and why the mechanisms work, you will become better at fixing any problems you face - often without needing to consult a book. The Watch Repairer's Manual provides: helpful background material, such as full descriptions of the main divisions of the modern watch mechanisms, including the purpose and function of each unit; complete directions for cleaning and overhauling a watch movement for casing; a section devoted to general repairs and troubleshooting. For anyone interested in watch repair, this volume will serve as a working manual, a reference manual, and even a course of study. Assuming little previous knowledge on the part of the reader, Fried provides complete and clear detail on each operation. The Watch Repairer's Manual should be of great value to the student, hobbyist, watch collector, and instrument maker."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 681.11

Cotton : the fabric that made the modern world /Giorgio Riello. "Today's world textile and garment trade is valued at a staggering $425 billion. We are told that under the pressure of increasing globalisation, it is India and China that are the new world manufacturing powerhouses. However, this is not a new phenomenon: until the industrial revolution, Asia manufactured great quantities of colourful printed cottons that were sold to places as far afield as Japan, West Africa and Europe. Cotton explores this earlier globalised economy and its transformation after 1750 as cotton led the way in the industrialisation of Europe. By the early nineteenth century, India, China and the Ottoman Empire switched from world producers to buyers of European cotton textiles, a position that they retained for over two hundred years. This is a fascinating and insightful story which ranges from Asian and European technologies and African slavery to cotton plantations in the Americas and consumer desires across the globe."--Publisher information. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 382:677.21

Ate the dog yesterday : maritime casualties, calamities and catastrophes /by Graham Faiella. "The constant dangers that deep-sea sailing ships and sailors of the late 19th century and early 20th centuries faced were numerous and this book recounts the true-life dramas of their perils and misfortunes - the battles that they waged, and all too often lost - against the hazards of the sea. Life was tough for 19th century sailors in sail - shipboard work was hard and routinely dangerous. Crew members were frequently maimed or even killed by the sea, or by any number of dangers they faced while working their ships. It was the same for crews in all merchant sailing ships of that time: sailors bore the extraordinary hardships as nothing more nor less than their duty to obey their captains and drive their ships to a safe port to discharge or take on cargoes. Great disasters from around the world are featured including the Sir John Lawrence: loss of all crew and 730 pilgrims; the Oncle Joseph and the 'Damned Ship' Ortigia; the Princess Alice and Bywell Castle collision: tragedy on the Thames; the Camorta sunk in Bay of Bengal cyclone with 739 dead; the sinking of the Utopia at Gibraltar with over 500 lives lost; the Mohegan wrecked on the Manacles and the loss of the Stella in the Channel Islands when 112 people lost their lives. From remarkable voyages, mutinies, hoaxes, curiosities and disease, to Cape Horn passages, collisions and castaways, this book has a fund of amazing tales that will engross the reader."--Provided by the publisher. [2015]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61.085.3"18/19"

The voyages of the Discovery : the illustrated history of Scott's ship /Ann Savours. "Discovery was built for Captain Scott's first Antarctic expedition of 1901-04 and was launched more than 100 years ago in 1901, at Dundee. She had a long and intriguing career before her final voyage back there in 1986; this book tells the story of that chequered history. Despite a number of expeditions to the Southern Ocean during the nineteenth century, the continent of Antarctica remained mostly a mystery by the turn of the twentieth. To remedy this the Royal Geographical Society proposed a National Antarctic Expedition, and a purpose-built vessel, the Discovery, was designed. Based on a whale ship, she was massively built to withstand ice, and was equipped with a hoisting propeller and rudder. She set sail from Cowes of 6 August and six months later was in the Ross Sea. The southern sledging expedition, of Scott, Shackleton and Wilson, reached within 500 miles of the South Pole. In 1905, a year after her return to Britain, she was purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company and worked as a simple cargo carrier between London and their trading posts in the Canadian Arctic. Later she was sent to rescue Shackleton's men on Elephant Island. In 1925 she became a research ship, and in 1929-31 she was used to survey what became Australian Antarctic territory. Moored on the Thames Embankment, she survived the London blitz before returning to Dundee where she is now on permanent display."--From the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.123DISCOVERY

Horrible shipwreck! : A full, true and particular account of the melancholy loss of the British convict ship Amphitrite, the 31st August 1833, off Boulogne, when 108 female convicts, 12 children, and 13 seamen met with a watery grave, in sight of thousands, none being saved out of 136 souls but three! /Andrew C.A. Jampoler. The story of the Amphitrite, a British convict ship which sank off Boulogne on 31 August 1833 after running aground in bad weather. The ship, bound for New South Wales and carrying female covicts and children, sank in full view of the French coastline and the destruction of the vessel was watched by onlookers from the shore. The event received sensational press attention in which the British Consul was accused of negligence and Captain John Hunter was blamed for the loss of life arising from his failure to accept assistance and his fear that the convicts might escape. A maritime tragedy was transformed into a national scandal and resulted in an Admiralty Investigation chaired by Lieutenant Henry Ducie Chads. While focusing on the circumstances of the wreck of Amphitrite, the author explores the wider history of convict transportation, the use of prison hulks and on board conditions on a transport ship. The author details prevailing weather conditions, the ship's history and the lives of some of the convicts on board as well as those of the ship's surgeon James Forrester and his wife (on board at the time of the wreck) and Captain John Hunter. A detailed bibliography is provided. 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61.085.3AMPHITRITE

The postcard age : selections from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection /Lynda Klich and Benjamin Weiss. In the decades around 1900, postcards were Twitter, email, Flickr and Facebook, all wrapped into one. A postcard craze swept the world, and billions of cards were bought, mailed and pasted into albums. Many famous artists turned to the new medium, but one of the great pleasures and enigmas of postcards is how some of the most beautiful and interesting examples were made by artists whose names we barely know. Drawing on the riches of the Leonard A. Lauder Postcard Collection (probably the finest and most comprehensive collection of its type), this gorgeous book traces the historical and cultural themes--enthralling, exciting, and sometimes disturbing--of the modern age. The first general publication on the postcard as an artistic medium since the mid-1970s, The Postcard Age is organized thematically, with chapters devoted to urban life, the changing role of women, sports, celebrity, new technologies, the stylish collectors' cards of Art Nouveau and World War I. The result is at once a vivid picture of the concerns and pastimes of the turn of the century and a sampler from the Lauder's vast archives. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 069(744)(089.7)

Turner malarz çzywio±âow : przewodnik = Turner and the elements : guidebook /Magdalena Cubiânska. Czubiânska, Magdalena 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 7TURNER(036)

England's Medieval Navy 1066-1509 : ships, men & warfare /Susan Rose "We are accustomed to think of England in terms of Shakespeare's 'precious stone set in a silver sea', safe behind its watery ramparts with its naval strength resisting all invaders. To the English of an earlier period - from the 8th to the 11th centuries - such a notion would have seemed ridiculous. The sea, rather than being a defensive wall, was a highway by which successive waves of invaders arrived, bringing destruction and fear in their wake. Deploying a wide range of sources, this new book looks at how English kings after the Norman Conquest learnt to use the Navy of England, a term which at this time included all vessels whether Royal or private and no matter what their ostensible purpose - to increase and safety and prosperity of the kingdom. The design and building of ships and harbour facilities, the development of navigation, ship handling, and the world of the seaman are all described, while comparisons with the navies of England's closest neighbours, with particular focus on France and Scotland, are made, and notable battles including Damme, Dover, Sluys and La Rochelle included to explain the development of battle tactics and the use of arms during the period. The author shows, in this lucid and enlightening narrative, how the unspoken aim of successive monarchs was to begin to build 'the wall' of England, its naval defences, with a success which was to become so apparent in later centuries."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1066/1509"(42)

Preparing for blockade, 1885-1914 : naval contingency for economic warfare /by Stephen Cobb. "Today, the First World War is remembered chiefly for the carnage of the Western Front, but at the time the Royal Navy's blockade of Germany was a more frequent source of debate. For, even at a time of war, there were influential voices in Britain who baulked at a concept of economic warfare that hindered the free passage of goods on the high seas, and brought German society to the brink of famine. To further our understanding of these issues, this book looks at the background to the blockade, and the effects of its implementation in 1914. It argues that there was a widely shared, but largely unwritten, strategic culture within British naval circles which accepted that in a war with a major maritime power the British response would be to attack enemy trade. This is demonstrated by the fact that from at least the late 1880s the Royal Navy planned for the use of armed merchantmen to enforce an economic blockade of an enemy. This it did by entering into detailed arrangements with major British shipping companies for the design and subsidy of liners with the potential for use as merchant cruisers, and stockpiling their prospective armament."--Back cover. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1885/1914"(42:43)

War and trade in eighteenth-century Newfoundland / Olaf U. Janzen. Janzen, Olaf Uwe, 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. NN 4040

Slave portraiture in the Atlantic world / edited by Agnes Lugo-Ortiz, Angela Rosenthal. "Slave Portraiture in the Atlantic World is the first book to focus on the individualized portrayal of enslaved people from the time of Europe's full engagement with plantation slavery in the late sixteenth century to its final official abolition in Brazil in 1888"-- 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 75.041.5(261)

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