The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks

by James P. Delgado

An immersive dive into the meaning and mystique of shipwrecksThe sea is the largest museum on earth, with more than a million lost ships resting in its depths. Those shipwrecks date back thousands of years, some from civilizations long vanished, others from more recent history. Some are famous, others obscure and unremembered but each has a story to tell.

In The Great Museum of the Sea, archaeologist, museum director, television host, journalist, and award-winning author James Delgado takes the reader on a personal tour of the world's wrecks, including many of the more than a hundred lost ships he has personally discovered and investigated, including Titanic, USS Arizona, and the slave ship Clotilda. The Great Museum of the Sea vividly explains how and why ships experience catastrophe at sea, and why their remains have captured our imagination for millennia. Shipwrecks engage us in many ways--we treat them as tombs, but also recover them for museums and memorials, and salvage them for treasure. Authoritative and informed by decades of shipwreck expeditions, Delgado's account offers an insider's perspective, taking the reader into the deep and behind the scenes.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology

328 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2025

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got the audiobook as an arc for review.

Found the book fascinating as I hardly knew anything about shipwrecks and it's important history and what not to do with them. I liked the narration and I got very invested even if it hadn't been one of my interests before.

[Ashley Tovar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was able to enjoy the ARC of this book on audio. I absolutely love highly specific niche non fiction written by someone who has decades of real life experience in the subject. This subject matter was almost entirely unknown to me & I was very impressed with how much I was able to learn & how interesting the content is. This is really the kind of book that makes me insufferable to socialize with. The authors depth of knowledge not being documented in book form for others to learn from would have been a real loss. The variety of content woven into this topic kept the book interesting all the way through.

Big thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for allowing me to enjoy this ARC. 

[Kaysie Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was super interesting! Always cool learning about scary ships at the bottom of the ocean and different ship wrecks. 😊 the story flowed really well and switched between topics easily. The narration was also great it was giving history channel voiceover and the vibes were great!

[TAbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and James P. Delgado for providing me with an arc of this book.

I have been picking up as many non-fictions about shipwrecks as I can get my hands on since reading Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship by Kurson Robert in 2024, so when this book popped up on my dashboard I knew I had to request a copy.
This book delves into the vast history, impact, and opportunity caused and provided by shipwrecks throughout time. While I did go into this book with the incorrect idea that we would be learning, in detail, the lives and stories of shipwrecks around the world, this book was much more an overview of shipwrecks throughout time and their impact on the world both in the time that they sank, and now.
While I had seen The Raft of the Medusa in the Louvre back in 2023, I did not know the backstory of the painting until listening to the chapters Delgado dedicated to discussing popular art inspired by shipwrecks, including paintings, books, and music. I loved learning the backstories of these pieces and gained a new appreciation for both the art pieces and this book as a result.
I also really enjoyed the discussions of the environmental impact of shipwrecks, both positively and negatively. Delgato brought to light the issue of oil trapped in engines that can slowly be released into our oceans as a result of erosion, but also the purposeful scuttling of boats as an artificial reef and their impact on organism growth.
While I did not enjoy the narrator of this book, believing the dictation sounded robotic, the content of this book was fascinating, and I have already recommended it to a friend!

[Alyssa Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't what I expected! But as a history nerd I loved and appreciated Delgado's commitment to giving dignity to the history and victims of shipwrecks often romanticized. I agree that is is very important to identify that shipwrecks are graveyards first and deserve the respect of peace as often as possible. I did find myself a little curious about his perceived perspective on antiquity ownership, as I am a firm believer in the country of origin being returned artifacts whenever it is safe to do so, and it seemed he was on the other side of this debate.

But, overall, if you are curious about this small piece of the ocean world, please consider it! The audio was highly engaging and displayed the author's expertise and passion for his field of study.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the Advance Reader's Copy (audiobook) in exchange for an honest review!

[Nina Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ALC of this book thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Media. My review is voluntary.

This audiobook takes a deep dive into all aspects of shipwrecks, including the difficulty in finding them, how they affect social, cultural, and historical aspects of humanity, the difficulties and challenges that come with exploring them and bringing up bodies, how wrecks happen, and their influence on the environment.

It's a great and broad story if you enjoy information like this. It truly is interesting and the personal anecdotes and specific examples of ships was incredibly interesting.

However, I did find it a bit repetitive in some areas, and the topics bounce around a little. Additionally, I think the topic is a bit misleading. While I enjoyed it, I expected more information about specific shipwrecks and deep dives into those ships, and not about shipwrecks as a whole.

[Critter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC.

I feel that I had different expectations going into this book than what was delivered. I was thinking this would be about the specific shipwrecks named in the synopsis, but this book is way more of an overview of shipwrecks in general and their impacts on history. I do think this book was a bit repetitive at times and I'm not sure the narrator was the perfect fit for this one. We do get to see a lot of interesting information on the history of shipwrecks and their impacts throughout history as well as the author's own experiences.

[Carlos · Rating 1 out of 5]

While occasionally interesting, this work cries out for a better editor. Delgado has interesting tales from the more than 50 years of working in underwater archeology. However, the work lacks any cohesive structure leading to random anecdotes following one another, and, with few exceptions, no attempt to form cohesive stories. While the reader can certainly gleam interesting tidbits here and there, they will have to put up with a fair amount of chaos for that meager harvest.

[Vinny Badolato · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, entertaining, but also quite repetitive at times. I learned new information about wreaks and new techniques to document them. A lot of this is the author’s personal work and stories and I was looking for more. But I enjoyed the read.

[Janessa Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fascinating book about shipwrecks and their discovery, costs, and legacy.

[Gail Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about shipwrecks

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good maritime content but the narration sounded like AI-generated: no inflection, monotonous and annoying.

[Lindsay pinkcowlandreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into this audiobook I anticipated some in depth looks into specific major shipwrecks throughout history, what I got was a generic overview of the history of shipwrecks and those who find and research them. Though this was not what I anticipated, I did find the information provided fascinating and it was delivered fluidly.
 
This is a great book for those interested in the ins and outs of shipwrecks and their effect on history.
 
The audiobook narrated by David Marantz and enjoyed his reading voice and modulation. It was a perfect fit for the topic and made the book very listenable.