2

I have tried to find well researched and detailed books, but all I seem to be able to find are books about model ships or fiction books about sailors. As a layman, I’ve entertained the idea that I just haven’t found the right places to look yet or I’m not using the correct search terms. I’ve looked on numerous online book retailing websites, review sites, checked the few shops open around my area and my library is closed indefinitely.

The kind of books I’m specifically interested in would ideally give me not just an overview of sailing ships and the Age of Sail, but will go into detail about the anatomy of various ship types and ships from different cultures, as well as the history behind them and maybe even their primary uses.

I would also be interested in accompanying my reading with encyclopaedias that contain diagrams, pictures and nautical glossary with which to build my research.

Improve this question
1
  • 5
    I’m voting to close this question because reference requests are explicitly off topic.
    – Pieter Geerkens
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 3:58

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
0

On ships:

Bjorn Landstrom, The ship. An illustrated history. From the primitive raft to the nuclear powered submarine. Doubleday, NY, 1961.

There is a shorter version by the same author: Sailing ships. In words and pictures from papyrus boats to full-riggers, Doubleday NY 1969.

On seamanship:

John Harland, Seamanship in the age of sail, Conway Maritime press, 1984.

Brian Tunstall, Naval warfare in the age of sail. Evolution of fighting tactics, 1650-1815.

Some good old books have been reprinted, for example,

Darcy Lever, The young sea officer's sheet anchor, original published in 1819, reprint by Dover 1998. (This is a textbook for young officers, mostly oriented on the East India company).

These are good and well researched books which address seamanship in general (Western European square rigged ships). But there are many on more specialized aspects, like navigation, knots, small boats, naval architecture, history of ship building, ship replicas, marine archaeology etc.

"Age of sail" was really very long, almost as long as the history of humankind itself. Usually the books titled "age of sail" address Western Europe in 17-19 centuries, but there is specialized literature on some other periods as well, especially on Middle age, classical Greece and Rome, Pacific Ocean islanders seamanship etc. You should narrow the focus of your question.

Improve this answer
6
  • Actually, the 'Age of Sail' is used (as the tag states) to refer to a period of European history between 1650 and 1850 (but can be taken as the slightly wider 1571–1862) when square-rigged sailing ships dominated trade and military use.
    – Steve Bird
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 7:23
  • @Steve Bird: As I wrote, I meant the meaning of this expression as a part of the title of books, in particular 2 books I mentioned. Not the meaning of the tag on this web site.
    – Alex
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 12:24
  • 1
    The term "Age of Sail" as used in both of the quoted books is within the slightly wider date range that I mentioned. Harland's book is 1600-1860 and Tunstall/Tracy's book is 1650-1815. Neither of those is "almost as long as the history of humankind itself" as you stated.
    – Steve Bird
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 12:29
  • @Steve Bird: This is EXACTLY what I said: the books understand "age of sail" in a very restricted sense. While in fact sail was a principal mean of transportation during the whole history of humankind until the end of 19 century.
    – Alex
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 12:58
  • 2
    No, you're trying to redefine the term "Age of Sail" to mean something else. Those books are using the term correctly (i.e. within the accepted meaning of the term used by naval historians), while you are trying to use it to mean the whole of history. The "Age of Sail" does not mean any time someone put a sail on a vessel.
    – Steve Bird
    Commented Aug 9, 2020 at 13:07

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.