Author:Julian Stockwin
Lt Cdr Julian Stockwin shares his love and knowledge of the sea in this entertaining collection of maritime stories and little-known trivia. Featuring nautical facts and feats, including superstitions at sea, the history of animals on the waves - until 1975 when all animals were banned from Royal Navy ships - and how the inventor of the umbrella helped man the British Navy, it is packed with informative tales. Focusing on the glory days of tall ships he explores marine myths and unearths the truth behind commonly held beliefs about the sea, such as whether Lord Nelson's body was really pickled in rum to transport it back to England after his death at Trafalgar. Interspersed throughout are salty sayings showing the modern words and phrases that originate from the mariners of old - 'cut of his jib', 'high and dry', 'the coast is clear', 'first rate' and 'slush fund'. Accompanied by nostalgic black and white line drawings Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany is a charming giftbook guaranteed to appeal to the sailing enthusiast, but also amuse and inform even the staunchest landlubber.
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—— Booksville BookclubA moving testimony to the courage, endurance and painfully premature maturity of the young victims of the Holocaust
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—— ELLE magazineA graceful study
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—— Mark Damazer , New StatesmanMajestic and cliché-defying
—— Sheena McDonald , HeraldPresents the true nature of the time, poised in hope
—— Discover BritainMarvellous
—— John Lichfield , Independent on SundayFor anybody wanting to understand this time period, including individuals with a keen interest in the events of the Great War, this is a must read book which helps portray a rather different picture to what many might suspect
—— The History BlogEmmerson has done his homework. His book girdles the earth in an impressive fashion and conjures up a world we have lost
—— Piers Brendon , IndependentWith a few deft strokes, Emmerson conjures an air of looming catastrophe
—— Ian Thomson , ObserverA fascinating tour that reveals a truly global society emerging for the first time in human history
—— ChoiceThe old empires were starting to implode and the centres could no longer hold. In an ambitious book, Emmerson catches their last vital sparks in the year before darkness fell
—— Iain Finlayson , The TimesLeaves readers with an astonishing panorama of bustling human activity in places as different and as far apart as London and Winnipeg, Tokyo and Detroit
—— Christopher Smith , Eastern Daily PressWhere Emmerson really scores is in the nuggets of detail
—— Caroline Jowett , Daily ExpressAn epic, sprawling panorama of a book, intended to show the moving world as it was, to bring the past to life in order to clarify the present. It’s a monumentally ambitious aim. The remarkable thing is, he pulls it off
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—— Kathryn Hughes , GuardianA consistently brilliant survey… The conception of 1913 can thus be described as a smart idea. Its consummation is, frankly, astonishing… A world that was about to embrace death is brought to life with wit, sharpness and occasional delicacy
—— Hugh MacDonald , HeraldThis ambitious panorama of a world on the brink throws up comparisons that are constantly provocative and fascinating
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—— Good Book GuideMagnificent
—— Christopher Clark , London Review of Books[Emmerson’s] entertaining tour d’horizon is both witty and charming.
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—— Good Book GuideBrings the fantasies, anxieties and passions of city-dwellers immediately prior to the First World War eloquently to life
—— Joanna Bourke , BBC History MagazineEmmerson provides a real sense of 1913 by combining details of individual lives with sweeping international trends: one of the great pleasures of this book is to see parallels between then and now
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—— Alastair Mabbott , HeraldA series of vivid vignettes... Offers fascinating glimpses of everyday life
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—— Ben Macintyre , The Timesa fascinating original portrait of a man and his country
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