April 2023 MBR The Nautical Shelf

The Nautical Shelf

Early Ships and Seafaring: European Water Transport
Sean McGrail
Pen & Sword Books
c/o Casemate (US distribution)
www.casematepublishers.com
https://www.penandswordbooks.com
9781399019453, $32.95, PB, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Early-Ships-Seafaring-European-Transport/dp/1399019457

Synopsis: "Early Ships and Seafaring: Water Transport Within Europe" builds on Professor Se n McGrail's 2006 volume "Ancient Boats and Ships" by delving deeper into the construction and use of boats and ships between the stone age and AD1500 in order to provide up to date information. Regions covered will include the Mediterranean and Atlantic Europe.

"Early Ships and Seafaring: Water Transport Within Europe" is an interesting and informative volume easily accessible to students and non-professional readers with little or no knowledge of the building and uses of boats, whether ancient or modern.

Professor McGrail deftly introduces the reader to this relatively new ancient history discipline through the theory and techniques used in the study of early boats as well as the many different types of evidence available to us, including archaeological, documentary, iconographic, experimental and ethnographic, and the natural, physical laws.

Critique: Newly available in this paperback edition (as well as in a digital book format - Kindle $14.77) for students, academia, and anyone with an interest in the subject, "Early Ships and Seafaring: European Water Transport" is an ideal and highly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and university library Maritime History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Professor Se n McGrail served in the Royal Navy as a seaman officer from 1946 to 1968; from 1952 he flew as a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. He graduated with a BA at the University of Bristol in 1971, and in 1978 gained a Ph.D. at University College, London with a thesis on The Logboats of England and Wales. In 1988 he was awarded a D.Sc. by the University of Oxford. (https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/9781-4419-0465-2_639)

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