A Short History of Seafaring

by Brian Lavery

A fascinating journey through more than 5,000 years of seafaring history in this essential guide to the most impressive seafaring tales, explorers, and maritime environments. For more than 5,000 years, the seas have challenged, rewarded, and punished the brave sailors who set forth to explore it. This history of the seas and sailing tells the remarkable story of those individuals - whether they lived to tell the tale themselves
or not. From the early Polynesian seafarers and the first full circumnavigations of the globe, to explorers picking their way through the coral reefs of the West Indies, this book tells the compelling story of life at sea that lies behind man's search for new lands, new trade, conquest, and uncharted waters. Charting the great milestones of nautical history from the discovery of America to the establishment of the Royal Navy, the naval history of the American Civil War, the Battle of Midway and modern piracy the book sets all of them in their cultural and historical context. The Conquest of the Ocean is a unique compendium of awe-inspiring tales of epic sea voyages and great feats of seamanship, navigation, endurance, and ingenuity.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Maritime, Naval History

400 pages, Paperback

Published May 2, 2019

About the author

Brian Lavery is a British naval historian, author, and Curator Emeritus at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Reviews

[Ariel Butters · Rating 2 out of 5]

IDK, man. The vibes of this book were very colonial. I’m not sure why one yacht race is given as much space as the entire history of the Vikings. It felt like a lot of the history was told through war, as if ships weren’t used for other things. But I think the bullet points were there (even if they weren’t the most measured takes), and I liked the diagrams in between chapters.

[Andrew Champagne · Rating 2 out of 5]

a very western-centric history of seafaring

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars I thought a broad history of seafaring would be right up my alley, but this book was a bit too broad for my taste. To cover such a broad stretch of history, the author decided to choose one primary source description of a given time period. I think that could have worked, but still needed more context. The section on the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II was from the perspective of an American sailor who served as a liaison on British ships. This allowed the author to tell several different stories, but it neglected the overall impact of that struggle. The author did not shy away from the difficult aspects of naval history, such as slave ships or the explorer’s impact on native people of the Americas. I did learn some new stories as well. I appreciated the sections on the technical improvements as well.

[Wynand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Would recommend for anyone planning on working out at sea in any format or industry, or just anyone with an interest in world history.

This book gives an insight into the unfolding of man’s relationship with the oceans and waterways of our planet. Even though every snippet covered is very brief, it gives the reader a springboard from which to further explore significant historic events and achievements.

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, covers maritime history from a variety of viewpoints and perspectives.

[H · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Whoever commands the sea, commands the trade. Whoever commands the trade of the world, commands the riches of the world, and, consequently, the world itself”-Sir Walter Raleigh

Spends a little bit too much time on military engagements for a book about seafaring. The battle of Jutland, the battle of the Atlantic, and Midway are forgivable, but D-day and the Falklands War are out of place; especially since it excludes other notable sea-going events such as the Franklin expedition and the Titanic sinking.

The early chapters are the best. Starting out with the first ocean sailors reframes the oceans as dangerous waters. With technologies such as GPS being so prevalent in the modern age, it’s easy to forget how scary it must have been for the first sailors to venture out into the open ocean. The Age of Exploration and the Age of Empires are the best sections, with notable chapters discussing the circumnavigation of the earth by de Gama, the wreck of the Batavia off the west coast of Australia, the exploration of the Pacific and Australia by James Cook, the chapter on whale hunting (a cruel business), and John Paul Jones’s exploits and the creation of the US Navy. The initial dominance of Portugal, Spain, and the Dutch followed by the ascendancy of Britain and France on the high seas was a theme throughout these sections.

The Book starts to fall off during the age of steam, but there’s still good chapters on Admiral Perry’s expedition to Japan, the commerce raiding of the CSS Alabama, the races of clippers racing to deliver the first crop of tea from Asia to Britain, and the clipper expeditions from the UK to Australia were the highlights.

The last two sections titled “The Wars on the Oceans” and “The Global Ocean” are the weakest (with the later being the weakest section in the entire book).

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a DK book. You can tell form the small font and black and white illustrations and pictures. It covers key historical facts and covers them well. to appeal to a larger audience it should have colour pictures. That would bring the facts to life.
It does show the great feats of sea faring and the trials and tribulations a seaman has to endure. It fits the bill for a person who loves to understand the history of sea travel, battles and endurance of the crew and captain at sea through torrid times. It gives a snapshot of the past and a glimpse of the current way crews on boats operate, not much has changed.
It is still a battle against mother of the sea.

[Freddie Domaille · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good breadth of topics, clearly trying to give the attention deserved by each time, place, and subject matter.
Personally, I'm mostly interested in seafaring in the 1700s and prior, so obviously I enjoyed those sections the most, but that also meant that much of the more modern history was new to me, which kept it entertaining.
Also, it has the perfect amount of photos, illustrations, and diagrams (even if there are a few double-page spreads positioned bizarrely in the middle of a sentence).

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whole lotta boats .. I mean ships

[Pieter Rossouw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text is incredibly small in some areas and the general lay out of the book feels amateur. Good interesting read.

[Toni Kokkonen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A lot of short takes in different historical events with interesting albeit almost children’s book takes of types of ships etc.

[Joe Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and started many conversations in my class about boats, pirates and history.

Lovely little book. Fully recommend.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Concise, interesting, and engaging overview of the absolutely massive topic of seafaring across cultures and eras.