Ships of Discovery and Exploration - Softcover

Paine, Lincoln P.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395984157 ISBN 13: 9780395984154

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade), 2000

Synopsis

Lincoln P. Paine's SHIPS OF THE WORLD: AN HISTORICAL HISTORICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA was honored as one of the best reference books of the year by the New York Public Library, and Library Journal described it as "clearly the most fascinating book of the year." Now, in two equally fascinating new books, Paine focuses on two of the most interesting areas of maritime history: WARSHIPS OF THE WORLD TO 1900 and SHIPS OF DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION.

SHIPS OF DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION tells the stories of 125 vessels that have played important roles in voyages of geographical exploration and scientific discovery, from early Polynesian double canoes to the most technically sophisticated submersibles. Each ship is described in a vivid short essay that captures its personality as well as its physical characteristics, construction, and history. Drawings, paintings, and photographs show the grandeur and grace of these oceangoing vessels, maps help the reader follow the routes of great seafarers and naval campaigns, and chronologies offer a perspective on underwater archaeology sites, maritime technology, exploration, and disasters at sea.

About this title

Review:

"I have always enjoyed reading the novels of Howard Frank Mosher, and I was especially taken by The Fall of the Year, which brings together in one book all of his considerable strengths. His principal character, Father George Lecoeur, is easily among his most durable creations. Mosher's language--always a pleasure to read--attains a level of astonishing grace and beauty here as he brings Kingdom County to life once again. Mosher writes with a narrative power and moral intensity that recall John Steinbeck at his best, and it is high time he were ranked among the finest writers of our time."-- Jay Parini, author of Robert Frost: A Life"Few writers create characters as wondrous and idiosyncratic as Howard Frank Mosher--and fewer still offer us stories with as much grace and humor and heart. He is, pure and simple, one of the very best we have."-- Chris Bohjalian, author of Midwives and The Law of Similars"I have been a fan of Howard Frank Mosher since his astonishing Where the Rivers Flow North. He is a wonderful writer, and in the Fall of the Year he takes the gritty materials of Kingdom County and builds a novel of enchantment. The chapter called "The Daredevil" is one of the grandest set-pieces I have read in years. -- Ward Just, author of A Dangerous Friend"Howard Frank Mosher is, for my money, the most natural storyteller around, and any new book of his is cause for joyous celebration. The Fall of the Year, which is impossible to read without recalling the best tales of Washington Irving and Mark Twain, is no exception." -- Richard Russo"The Fall of the Year is a lyrical celebration of the natural world and the mysteries of human nature. As intelligent as it is generous, this issuperb storytelling, a delightful novel filled with humor and grace, real people and miracles, love and loss." -- Alice Hoffman, author of Here on Earth and Practical Magic"I read The Fall of the Year by lantern light in a tent thirty miles from Cody, Wyoming, but I expect the effect would have been as magical as if I'd been home. As young Frank Bennett peels the layers from the history of Kingdom Common, a place where the rivers flow north and the evening skyglow is either an illusion or the distant reflection of Montreal, we see the secrets of the human heart in his lost village, the ugly and beautiful truths which vex and redeem us. The interplay of village characters in the light and dark times of Frank's awakening make this a special book. Let me just say it: I love Howard Mosher's writing." -- Ron Carlson, Author of The Hotel Eden and Betrayed by F. Scott Fitzgerald"Howard Frank Mosher continues to bring alive Kingdom County, Vermont, not just with a cast of endearing and entertaining people, but with such an eye for nature that the reader can hear maple leaves shiver in the wind, brook trout splash in a forest pool. But this time, he's thrown together the most wonderful mixture of ingredients: love, magic, mystery, humor and sadness, all simmering in the same book. Imagine what would happen if Grandma Moses and William Faulkner got together and invented a town." -- Cathie Pelletier, author of Beaming Sonny Home, The Funeral Makers, and Once Upon a Time on the Banks

About the Author:

Lincoln P. Paine, formerly editor of Sea History magazine and director of the Schooners Foundation, is a member of the national advisory board of the American Sail Training Association. He lives with his family in Portland, Maine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (Trade)
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0395984157
• ISBN 13: 9780395984154
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208