A commanding view from the bridge of nautical history - the complete history of searafing, from the acclaimed author of the Nathaniel Drinkwater nautircal-adventure series. Mary Rose, Constitution, Sovereign of the Seas, Cutty Sark, Monitor, Dreadnought, Lusitania, Bismarck, Nautilus, and Savannah: Each of these vessels played a pivotal role in human affairs. The History of the Ship is a comprehensive look at the ships of all ages, from dugout canoes to Nelson's ships-of-the-line, from great battleships and ocean liners to today's most sophisticated container ships, aircraft carriers, and supertankers. Intertwined with the history of ships and the men who sailed them is the story of the technological, political, and economic developments that have shaped the evolution of nautical vessels, which Woodman succinctly places within their proper contexts, creating one of the most fascinating histories of man as inventor, trader, and warrior ever written. Filled with hundreds of illustrations-everything from frescoes from the pharaohs' barges to nineteenth-century watercolors of great frigates and plans of submarines and ocean liners-this is an essential reference for the history buff, the ship modeler, and the nautical-book collector.