Breverton's Nautical Curiosities: A Book of the Sea

by Terry Breverton

Breverton's Nautical Curiosities is about ships, people and the sea. However, unlike many other nautical compendiums, the focus of this book is on the unusual, the overlooked or the downright extraordinary. Thus, someone most of us do not know, Admiral William Brown, is given equal coverage to Admiral Nelson. Without Admiral Brown releasing Garibaldi, modern Italy might not exist. And without the barely known genius John Ericsson designing the Monitor, the Confederacy might have won the American Civil War. Readers will be stimulated to read more about the remarkable men - explorers, admirals and trawlermen - who have shaped our world. The sea has had a remarkable effect upon our language. We hear the terms 'steer clear of', 'hit the deck', 'don't rock the boat', 'to harbour a grudge' and the like, and give little thought to them. In the pages of this book, the reader will find the origin of 'bumpkin', a 'brace of shakes', 'born with a silver spoon', 'booby prize', 'to take on board', 'above board', 'bombed' (in the sense of being drunk), the 'blues', 'blind-side', 'blind drunk', 'the pot calling the kettle black', 'reach the bitter end', 'wasters', 'ahoy', 'all at sea', 'to keep aloof', 'piss-artist', 'taken aback', 'barbecue" and 'bamboozle'. Other colourful terms, which have passed out of common usage, such as 'bring one's arse to anchor' (sit down), 'belly timber' (food) and 'bog orange' (potato) are also included, as well as important pirate haunts, technical terms, famous battles, maritime inventors and ship speed records.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Reference, Maritime, Nautical, Nature

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2010

Reviews

[GONZA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like whatever Breverton, plus I bought this one at the nautical museum in London, just before going up to see Meridian zero :)

[Denise Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn’t often say a book has changed my life, however, this book has certainly made me take a good long look at humans and their actions.

The first part of the book was hugely interesting, if you are into your pirates or what life was like in the 16th, 17th, 18th century at sea, this is certainly a book you should read. So much interesting facts and stories, where we get some of our slang from (no where to swing a cat) and some interesting facts about pirates and flags (nothing like the Hollywood movies we have seen).

The second part of the book was interesting as it goes into detail about the life of the sea and the creatures that live in it. That part was lovely. Reading about our natural wildlife and how important they are.

The third and final part of the book is heartbreaking. That we humans are destroying the sea, the sea life and the planet. How we fish and how our waste are killing billions of marine life every single year and how things are going to get worse unless we change the way we deal with our waste and how we eat.

I’m not telling everyone how we should act, it’s up to yourselves, however, if you live on the coast and in England, you might want to read this. You’ll certainly change what you eat, how you dispose of your rubbish and will be looking up local beach clean ups once you have finished the last page.

I would recommend this book massively on not just an eco wake up call but just for general facts and how navy punishments have changed, probably for the better.

Some fun facts about life at sea and even some mythology in there. Great book.

I cannot recommend this book enough, so if you’re looking for something different to read, pick this bad boy up, I can guarantee you’ll find it difficult to put down!

[Zenith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but to me it's just unreadable. I think it would be suited in a waiting room or as a coffee table book for when you just want to pick up a few facts or read something for 10-15 minutes at most. It's not a bad book by any means but I just didn't like its structure.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was phenomenal. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the random information relating to nautical life. The only complaint I have is that I wish it went more into the lore of the seas. The book was broken up well into different sections of information to help the reader grasp certain topics at different times. I read it cover to cover, however, I think I would have gotten more enjoyment out of it by just reading a few pages at a time as I became bored with some of the information. I think my favorite section was the Ocean Environment as I would love to help clean up the seas and help make our planet healthier again. I agree with Breverton and many scientists that if we don't take care of our seas, our planet is doomed. Overall, it was an enjoyable book and if nautical nonsense be something you wish you should definitely pick this one up!

[Bren Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the historical pieces very much. I love books that point to me to further research and reading. My only take away were his comments on overpopulation. I thoroughly disagree with his remarks because I believe mankind may be the source of problems, but also have faith that we can be the answer as well. Who would you get rid of? Are you going to volunteer yourself? In that sense, I thoroughly agree with G.K. Chesterton ... "To be, that is the answer!"

The exerpts at the end of the book on sea life were interesting. I think the articles on issues of overfishing were informative, but would have liked to see more on possible solutions.

[Neil Crowle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely interesting and informative book, although some of the information is repeated in parts. Three quarters of the text is about nautical terminology, history, types of ships and sea animals, and the sea environment and is pretty enthralling. The last quarter talks about environmental issues and paints a gloomy picture of where the world will be if mankind does not stop its many activities which cause great harm to the sea.

[Matt Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've learnt a lot of great facts that I never knew about life at sea. This book specialises in quirky facts rather than long drawn out essays. I would recommend this book for someone who is interested in naval history & piracy over marine wildlife. I plan on picking up more books by Terry Breverton in the future!

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Including racist & homophobic terms was certainly a choice, but it was the writing & incorrect information that made reading this book a slog. At one point, he says that a man who died in the 1700s had tragically lost two sons in the American Civil War for independence. If you can’t get the basic stuff right, how can you be trusted with anything else?

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a book you would sit and read cover to cover, but the perfect book to have to occasionally pick up and read an intriguing and unexpected tidbit.

Overall an enjoyable read for those who like strange facts and unexpected information.

[Pixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A trivia book jam-packed with interesting facts about ships, sailing, and the sea, with vintage illustrations. Anyone who likes those topics, as well as any fans of history or books set in historical times, would be entertained by this book.

[Cori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book! Tantalizing art and interesting research. I want several of his books for a coffee table set!

[Jason Goodrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book, more to be read as and when and admired as a source book.

[M.T. Ceres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this for Christmas and can honestly say, I am really enjoying it, as I did the Phantasmagoria.
Great concept, well presented and researched, and also more than a little quirky - which I love.

[Joshua Mansfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and fun tidbits of information

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book which really spiked my interest in certain stages of maritime History. It's broken into a load of very detailed sections with a comprehensive glossary which is very important in this type of book. I did like the beginning much better than the end, as it went into marine biology territory and I wasn't really keen on learning about that. This book in general was concise, information and gave interesting facts in academic-lite paragraphs but like so many books wrote for the layman, it had some gruesome details in there to keep it interesting.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is excellent and had a lot of interesting information about the sea, ships, sea creatures, historical figures, sea battles, famous and infamous pirates and just about anything you can imagine concerning the sea and sailing.

I couldn't *read* it cover to cover, though. I skimmed through and read the entries that were most interesting to me (and there were many). It *will* be a good book for me to have on hand for reference, however.

I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in things nautical.

[Gianni · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is the origin of the distress call Mayday"? How did the cod change the world? Where was history's most devastating wave? How did the War of Jenkin's Ear start? Who was the bloodiest pirate ever to have sailed? Where would you find the poop deck?

[Gulshan Naqvee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Million stars to this one. Since I own this book, I will be reading and re-reading it for thousand times more. I'm keeping it on my office table besides a ton of required things and tend to take a peek every now and then when I need a break. It so informative and full of surprises for me.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book for those who love the sea. Packed full of useful seafaring terms and their origins as well as facts about the ocean. I loved this little book to bits.

[Jack Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Full of great information. Did you know that pirate did not make people walk the plank?

[Zombaby Cera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting glossary of sorts. My favorite part was the index of vocabulary and slang. Also the culinary chapter was amusing and unexpectedly humorous!

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Far too repetitive on the environmental theme; anyone who was willing to read through the entire book has seen the same arguments and statistics at least ten times.

[Wayne Farmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you could possibly want to know about the Sea and life on the ocean waves throughout history. A brilliant book to delve into every now and again and full of interesting facts.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Interesting in some places, dull in other.