The Seafarers

The British Isles are remarkable for the extraordinary diversity of seabird life that they support: spectacular colonies of charismatic Arctic terns, elegant fulmars and stoic eiders, to name just a few.

Discusses the lives and deeds of Henry Every, Stede Bonnet, John Rackam, Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and other pirates.

THE SEAFARERS, a novella written by Nevil Shute in the years 1946-47 and published now for the first time, dramatizes one of his most important themes: the life-giving joy of productive work. The story line is elegantly simple. As World War II winds down, Donald Wolfe (a senior naval lieutenant) and Jean Porter (a boat's crew Wren) meet when he brings his motor gunboat to Portland harbor to be dismantled and disarmed. They admire each other's dedication and cheerful competence; their first date is promising, and both hope for a romance. But when they meet again in peacetime, away from the sea, they seem to have much less in common. Without the work they love, their differences are magnified. Puzzled and disappointed, they part, regretfully--but not permanently.

The sacred mysteries essential to Viking survival will be lost if Inge Andersdottir cannot find a daughter to inherit the ancient wisdom. Inge and her husband Karl-Eirik adopt Thora, a young thrall with skaldic (poetic) powers and more. Thora kills a glasscaster and the king condemns her to Lesser Outlawry: a long season of exile to the rivers of Russia and then Istanbul - on Karl's boat, The Seafarer. Reluctantly, Inge agrees to go along and finds a stormy voyage – a grueling portage, an encounter with the Overlord of Kiev, her former lover, with a suspected Greek spy and an attack by the savage Pechenegs. The crew must deal with an unexpected change in captains. Thora is captured and put into an Arab harem. It is up to Inge and her wondrous skills to save the boat, the crew and her daughter.

Based on substantial ethnographic, textual and archival research, this interesting book offers a new perspective on the anthropology of the western Indian Ocean. Writing in a clear, engaging style, and covering an impressive range of theoretical terrain, Simpson critically explores the relationships between people and things that give life to the region and drive shifting patterns of social change among Muslims in the highly-politicized state of Gujarat. Scholars of the Indian Ocean, Muslim society in South Asia, and Hindu nationalism, as well as anthropologists in general, will find this a fascinating read and a major contribution to research in this area.

This book presents a diachronic study of seafaring, seafarers and maritime interactions during the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages of the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus, Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt)

Text and photographs describe the great passenger liners that traveled between the United States and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century.