Few people would want to test their mettle in an ice-encrusted boat with Ernest Shackleton; sail the Straits of Magellan with Joshua Slocum; or watch with Owen Chase as an angry whale sends his ship to the bottom; thousands of miles from the nearest land. But it's quite another thing to read these true accounts while settled into a favorite chair. Shackleton and Chase persevered in the face of travails that would have given even Job pause. Their stoic accounts are stronger and more dramatic for their total lack of affection; their frankness; and their lack of ego. Their gripping stories are custom made for the imaginative reader who seeks adventure in a more controlled environment; safe and warm; and well fed. Civilized readers with their armchairs anchored firmly to the living room floor.Rich in drama and history; here are fifteen stories that will entertain; inform; and inspire--enduring stories that have attracted generations of readers.With contributions from:William ShakespeareAaron SmithJoseph ConradErskine ChildersJoshua SlocumJames Fenimore CooperHerman MelvilleRichard Henry DanaJerome K. JeromeEdgar Allan PoeRichard HakluytRobert Louis StevensonOwen ChaseErnest Shackleton
#1168848 in Books Running Press 2008-09-02Format: UnabridgedOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 .90 x 11.70 x 10.90l; 3.54 #File Name: 0762435046192 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Tough To Review For MeBy ApollosFirst of all; I'm rating the book right now based only on the photographic part of it; I have not yet read any of the text.I'm a BIG fan of Dr. Ballard. I'm awed by his technical knowledge and skills... also his courage... that have enabled him to discover the Titanic and other lost ship wrecks. Also because of his steadfastness that the ship should NOT have been plundered for artifacts for any reason.But I have to agree with reviewer "Stanwyck" - the pics are really not of very good quality overall. Some are pretty good; but many are grainy and fuzzy; and many of them are so dark you can hardly make out what is there. Yes; I know that Titanic sits in pitch black darkness at the bottom of the Atlantic. Nonetheless; if some photographs are so dark that you can barely make out what's in them; and others are grainy and out of focus; then one has to question their value to the general public.On the other hand; I've often wondered what it would be like to be in one of the submersibles; looking out the window directly at the side of the ship and being only inches away from one of the boat davits or one of the windows on Titanic's side -- close enough to reach out and touch them if it were possible to do so. This book; in my opinion; gets you as close to doing that as you will ever come. While the photographs are not of the quality we'd like for them to be; they still show the ship and parts of the debris field VERY UPCLOSE and VERY REAL LOOKING!I would give the book no more than 2 stars for image quality. But I would give it 5 stars easily with respect to the emotional effect produced by these awesome images. I'm a huge Titanic buff and I can say that I am glad that I ordered the book; but I probably would not recommend it to others unless their emotional attachment to Titanic exceeds their expectation of image quality.One other thing... be careful about opening and holding the book. It's a large; heavy book; and that alone puts additional stress on the binding. This one that I ordered was classified as being "New;" but I've already seen some places that look like the binding is already trying to give way.21 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Haunting Photos of the Ship of GhostsBy Bruce TrinqueRobert Ballard; the author of "Titanic: The Last Great Images"; will ever be associated with the great; lost ship. It was Ballard who was the driving force behind the 1985 expedition that found the sunken vessel; and since then his voice has been steady in its opposition to the destructive exploitation of the wreck."Titanic: The Last Great Images" serves in part as an account of his 2004 return to the site to make further explorations with Remotely Operated Vehicles equipped with high resolution television cameras. Many of the photographs in the book -- "the last great images" -- stem from that mission. They are intensely powerful images; documenting in extraordinary detail the present condition of the wreck. Ballard is sharply; although not stridently; critical of damage done over the previous two decades by other expeditions; perhaps more the result of accidents rather than deliberate intent; but destructive nonetheless. The damage is worst in those areas most frequently visited by such expeditions; but Ballard is quick to point out that even natural processes; left to themselves; will eventually reduce the wreck to a pile of unrecognizable debris (hence; I suppose; the notion of these images being "the last"); perhaps in a century's time. But Ballard does not merely report woe; he notes that the extent of damage is not as great as some have claimed and that the reduced pace of visiting expeditions has meant less damage being inflicted. Ballard's great hope; firmly expressed in this book; is that legal action will be undertaken to protect the wreck from human activity; and that steps might eventually be made towards preserving it from extensive natural decay; so that someday it might serve as an underwater marine museum; visited only through the medium of robot vehicles. It is a great dream.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Dolores Drapalikgreat
