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Geolocations > Geolocations - Continents > Atlantic Ocean
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At 2.20am on 15th April
1912, the Titanic was
plunging 12, 000 feet to
the ocean floor.
Machinery, coal,
crystal goblets, pianos
and jewellery all tumble
through the dark water.
Hundreds of passengers
and crew remain trapped
below decks - hundreds
more will perish on the
surface. This is the
definitive chronology of
the Titanic`s final
hours, told in
fascinating detail and
offering a real-time
experience of one of the
greatest dramas of
twentieth century
history.
Availability: In Stock
£8.99
Available
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The 1866 transatlantic
yacht race was a match
that saw three yachts
battle their way across
the Atlantic in the dead
of winter in pursuit of a
$90, 000 prize. Six men
died in the brutal and
close-fought contest,
and the event changed the
perception of yachting
from a slightly effete
gentlemen`s pursuit into
something altogether more
rugged and adventurous.
The race also symbolized
the beginning of
America`s `gilded age`,
with its associated
obscene wealth and
largesse (the $90, 000
prize put up by the three
contestants is about $15
million in today`s
money), as well as the
thawing of relations
between the US and UK.
The narrative focuses on
the victorious yacht
Henrietta and her owner
James Gordon Bennett.
Bennett was the son of
the multimillionaire
proprietor of the New
York Herald, and a
notorious playboy. His
infamous stunts included
driving his carriage
through the streets of
New York naked, tipping
a railway porter $30,
000, and turning up at
his own engagement party
blind drunk and mistaking
the fire for a urinal,
which led to the coining
of the phrase `Gordon
Bennett!`.However,
Bennett was also a
serious yachtsman and had
served with distinction
during the civil war
aboard Henrietta, and he
was the only owner to be
aboard his own boat
during the race. Other
characters include
Bennett`s captain Samuel
Samuels (legendary
clipper skipper,
ex-convict and occasional
vaudeville actor),
financier Leonard Jerome,
aboard Henrietta as race
invigilator (he also
happened to be
grandfather to Winston
Churchill) and Stephen
Fisk, a journalist so
desperate to cover the
race that he evaded a
summons to appear as a
witness in court and
instead smuggled himself
aboard Henrietta in a
crate of champagne. Using
the framework of the race
to discuss the various
historical themes,
there`s ample drama, and
the diverse and eccentric
range of characters
ensure that this is a
book laced with plenty of
human interest, scandal
and adventure.
Availability: In Stock
£8.99
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”Majestic. Truly
gripping”. (Andrew
Roberts). The Battle of
the Atlantic was the
single most important -
and longest - campaign of
the Second World War. If
Britain lost this vital
supply route it lost the
war. In Jonathan
Dimbleby`s brilliant and
dramatic new account we
see how this epic
struggle for maritime
mastery played out, from
the politicians and
admirals to the men on
and under the sea and
their families waiting at
home. Filled with
haunting and hair-raising
stories of chases,
ambushes, sinkings,
stalkings, disasters and
rescues, The Battle of
the Atlantic is a
monumental work of
history as it was lived
and fought. ”Recounts
the horror and humanity
of life on those perilous
oceans”. (Independent).
”Dimbleby moves with
skill from scene to
scene, eavesdropping on
the great statesmen like
Churchill, the merchant
seamen who carried out
their orders, the U-boat
commanders who tried to
sink them and the
families of those who
lost their lives at
sea”. (Mail on Sunday).
Availability: In Stock
£8.99
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