The history beneath our hulls
Shipwrecks of the Solent by Richard M Jones
This slim volume of maritime history is a fascinating book to have by your side when you're crossing the busy Solent sea area.
Telegraph readers will no doubt remember the Singapore-flagged car carrier Hoegh Osaka, which came to grief in the Solent in 2015. Its master and pilot were praised for their quick thinking in deliberately grounding the ship after it took a sudden 'life-threatening' list.
Other vessels detailed in Shipwrecks of the Solent were less fortunate, including Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose, and more recently the cement-laden cargo ship Flag Theofano, which sadly sank without even a distress call.
It's a sobering reminder of how challenging seafaring can be, even so close to the English coast.
Shipwrecks of the Solent
By Richard M Jones
Amberley, £15.99
ISBN: 978 13981 17501
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Bicentenary books about a beloved body
One Crew, by Helen Doe, and 200 Years of Lifesaving at Sea, by MirrorpixThe RNLI celebrated its 200th anniversary on 4 March this year. To mark the occasion, two attractive new books have been published: an official history and a 'life in pictures'.
Powerful academic appraisal of life at sea
Sea-Time: an ethnographic adventure, by Helen SampsonFew people have done more than Professor Helen Sampson to raise awareness and understanding of the lives of the world's seafarers.
Health reminder for maritime men
Sailing Through Life, by Nick ArdleyThis book is a helpful reminder to those working in the male-dominated seafaring industry that going for a checkup could save your life.
Why maritime history is everyone's history
The Millennium Maritime Trade Revolution 700-1700, by Nick CollinsNick Collins' latest book is a continuation of his previous work How Maritime Trade and the Indian Subcontinent Shaped the World, which was reviewed in the August 2022 Telegraph.