Out of the Depths explores all aspects of shipwrecks across 4,000 years, examining their historical context and significance, and showing how shipwrecks can be time capsules, shedding new light on long-departed societies and civilizations. Alan G. Jamieson not only informs readers of the technological developments over the last sixty years that have made the true appreciation of shipwrecks possible, but covers shipwrecks in culture, maritime archaeology, treasure hunters and their environmental impacts. Although shipwrecks have become less common in recent decades, their implications have become more since the 1960s, foundering supertankers have caused massive environmental disasters, and in 2021 the blocking of the Suez Canal by the giant container ship Ever Given had a serious impact on global trade.
This is a thoroughly researched and smoothly written history of shipwrecks. For anyone interested in the history of ships that find themselves on the bottom of the oceans, seas and rivers of the world this is the book to read.
I found that reading too much all at once was actually slightly depressing. I suggest a slow placed meander rather than a storm-tossed scurry through this text. The book is well worth the effort to remain dry as so many, too many, ships meet their fate.
I can never resist a good book on shipwrecks, and this one didn’t disappoint! The narrator was engaging, I liked how the book was broken up into three sections, and the author provided a wealth of information from the very first known shipwreck in ancient Egypt to today. I wish he had explored a few more modern shipwrecks like the El Faro but that was an extremely minor qualm because he went into great detail of modern shipwrecks + oil = terrible natural disasters (poor France…). I’m so excited to see more books about shipwrecks being published!