The Sea and Ships
Compiled by Richard Seltzer B&R Samizdat Express - March 4, 2004
ISBN: 0-931968-76-3
Genre: Maritime History and Literature
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - March 28, 2004
The lure of the sea is unmistakable. The mysteries that it hides and the adventures that it promises are infinite. The oceans of this world have served as a seemingly unending source of food and as a roadway connecting peoples and continents. The myths and legends surrounding the sea are as numerous as the true life accounts of explorers, pirates, sailors, and fisherman who have plied the waves in search of fame and fish. The essence of the wonder that mankind holds toward the sea has been captured in Richard Seltzer's CD collection of books on the sea, aptly entitled: The Sea and Ship.
This anthology includes more than 175 books, both fiction and nonfiction, that deal with the sea. The entire collection is housed on a single CD that cost less than the average hardback book. In this collection you will find fiction titles from such well-known authors as:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Rime of the Ancient Mariner
In addition to the wealth of fiction titles, this collection includes stories and histories related to shipwrecks and maritime disasters, such as The Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters, edited by Logan Marshall. This collection also includes stories of the supernatural, books for children, (including The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting), and books on the creatures of the deep (i.e., sea creatures!). A large collection of history books is also an integral part of this collection. Covering topics ranging from pirates to the explorations of such men as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Charles Darwin and Captain James Cook, this nonfiction component of the collection is broad in scope. From missionaries and pilgrims, to war heros, like Horatio Lord Nelson, the stories of the men and women who sailed the seas throughout time are fascinating and often as exciting and adventurous (if not more so) than their fictional equivalent. This collection of history texts, will be of interest to both students and readers seeking books that are informative and entertaining. Additionally, this collection includes a wealth of books and stories based on the legends, myths, and religious stories that concern the sea. These stories range from the Biblical story of Jonah to Njal's Saga, an Icelandic story.
The Sea and Ship is an incredible collection of books on the sea and maritime history. The mix of fiction and nonfiction books will keep you reading for years, and it will serve as an excellent reference collection for anyone interested in maritime lore. The only thing that this collection is missing, to make it complete, is a book of sea shanties. However, Seltzer is continually updating his collections, so I would not be surprised to find that a newer version of this collection includes such a volume of songs. You can check the online index for a list of all the books contained on the current version of this collection. If not, check out The Contemplator's collection of The Sea Shanties and Songs of the Sea. The Contemplator website is an excellent online folk music resource.
To read the books in this collection, you will need a PC with Windows, and a web browser or a word processing program such as Word or WordPerfect. All the books in this collection are presented in plain text format, making them easy to read using screen readers or to enlarge the text for easy reading by those with low vision. In addition, this collection includes a copy of the ReadPlease screen reading software program that will read the text of the books, out loud to you, via your computer's speakers.
Related Reviews:
The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower, by C. Northcote Parkinson
This fictional biography of the great Royal Navy hero, Horatio Hornblower, will have you asking yourself, "Was Hornblower just a work of fiction, or did he really exist?"
The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd, by Richard Zacks.
Zacks separates the fiction from the fact surrounding the life and adventures of Captain Kidd in this mesmerizing history of a man who was erroneously hung for the crime of piracy.
Sailing Alone Around the World, by Joshua Slocum.
This is the story of Joshua Slocum's epic journey as he single-handedly sailed around the world in a 34-foot sloop called the Spray.
