Wednesday, March 15, 2023

The World's Greatest Sea Mysteries by Michael and Mollie Hardwick

 
First Line from Introduction: The world is made up of four elements, said Aristotle: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
 
Who knows? Perhaps my lifelong interest in maritime history is due to the Navy men in my family, which is why I picked up Michael and Mollie Hardwick's The World's Greatest Sea Mysteries.
 
Originally published in 1967, the Hardwicks cover a wide range of maritime mysteries in twenty-eight chapters. The book's emphasis is slanted to British readers, and-- due to it being over fifty years old-- it does occasionally feel dated, but it still held my interest throughout.

The precariousness of life can be seen in letters returned to senders marked "Sailed for England" or the much more dire "SHIP FOUNDERED". Readers can learn about men who had similar experiences with whales as Jonah. There are pirates, lost treasures, and men disappearing in their attempts to find the Northwest Passage. Perhaps the most unsettling to me were the floating derelict ships, but the most mystifying was the racehorse found on an uninhabited island many miles from the mainland.

If you have an interest in the sea and its centuries-worth of mysteries, you should be able to find several items of interest in this book.

The World's Greatest Sea Mysteries by Michael and Mollie Hardwick
eISBN: 9781800555921
Sapere Books © 2022
Originally published in 1967.
eBook, 301 pages
 
Non-Fiction
Rating: B
Source: Net Galley 

8 comments:

  1. That does sound interesting, Cathy. I have to admit I don't have a deep knowledge of seafaring mysteries, but they intrigue me. There's so much out there, too, since humans have such a long history of going out to sea.

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    1. Yes, humans have been going out to sea for thousands of years, so there are literally thousands of experiences to learn about.

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  2. This sounds right up my street! Not mysteries exactly but I remember reading A Book of Sea Journeys by Ludovic Kennedy years ago and loving it. Something he quoted about unprotected girls being preyed upon by sailors chilled me to the bone. Oh, I've just spotted that your book here is only 99p for Kindle so now I have it. LOL

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    1. That was quick! LOL I hope you enjoy it.

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    2. I don't let the grass grow under my feet, as they say. LOL! I meant to say, Denis will probably know who Ludovic Kennedy is.

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    3. I'm sure he does. Now all I have to do is to remember to ask him!

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  3. My interest in maritime history derived directly from reading In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick after hearing him speak about that story. So I'll definitely look into this one.

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    1. I was interested well before I read Philbrick's Sea of Glory, but that book ranks as one of my all-time favorites, and I got to ask him about it when he appeared at The Poisoned Pen.

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