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Entries preceded by a '*' are reviewed on my Nautical Book Reviews page

Entries preceded by a '+' are available electronically, see the separate Electronic Nautical Books List




Porteous, Richard Sydney ("Standby") d. 1963 (Very human realistic stories of
  WW II and after, possibly only published in Australia.)
     Little Known of these Waters, 1945
     Sailing Orders, 1949 (The Australian merchant ship HAICHOW carries troops
       and cargoes to combat areas during WW II. "Their crews risked their
       lives daily and took their ships without question wherever they were
       ordered. If they were killed, their dependents received no pension. If
       they survived they received no credit when they returned.... For were
       they not civilians? Men of peaceful occupations who wore no uniform and
       had taken no part in the fighting." [From bookjacket blurb])
     Close to the Wind and other stories, 1955 (Mostly set along the
       Queensland coast.)
     Tambai Island 1955 (Children's book.)
     The Tambai Treasure, 1958 (Chidren's book.)
     Salvage and Other Stories, 1963 (Salvage; A deal with father; Finito;
       Shaggy Dodgson's Hour of Glory; Ebb tide; Fear; The Bad Bargain;
       Conscience; The Contest; Settled Out of Court; The Hard Way; Last
       Voyage.)
     The Silent Isles, 1963 (Children's book.)

Posse, Abel
     The Dogs of Paradise, 1987 (Cosmic novel with a surreal vision about the
       end of the 15th century, Columbus, Ferdinand & Isabella, Aztecs, Incas,
       and discovery of the Americas. Argentine author, translated from
       Spanish.)

Pournelle, Jerry 1933-
     Two Novels set in the Seattle area - specifically in the college
     atmosphere. The protagonist is Paul Crane, a young consulting engineer
     drawn into CIA domestic operations by the twin lures of patriotism and a
     long-stemmed blond. Small boat sailing through the Straits of Juan de
     Fuca, north to Victoria and south to California along the Pacific Coast
     constitutes an important part of the plot. Originally published under the
     pseudonym "Wade Curtis." Science fiction readers will recognize the pen
     name as part of Pournelle's long-standing gag with Larry Niven.
       Red Heroin
       Red Dragon

Powers, Tim 1952-
     On Stranger Tides, 1987 (Magic, voodoo, Blackbeard and the Fountain of
       Youth in this early 18th century pirate adventure by the author of the
       sci-fi award winning THE ANUBIS GATE.)

Poyer, David C.
     "Tiller" Galloway series: ("Very good..." [BF])
       Hatteras Blue, 1989 (Tiller Galloway, ex-navy diver and ex-drug
         smuggler, takes on a job from a mysterious stranger to dive on the
         wreck of a WW II German sub. The original reason given was for the
         stranger to write about the adventure, the real reason was for the
         cargo... millions in gold headed to Argentina for the new Fatherland
         "A very good read." [BF])
       Bahamas Blue, 1991 (A job is offered to Tiller by the drug lord he used
         to smuggle for before he went to prison. The job was supposed to be
         to retreive cocaine from one of their boats sunk in 300 feet of
         water. When Tiller refuses, the cartel destroys his business, making
         him an offer he can't refuse. "Another good read." [BF])
       Louisianna Blue, 1994 (Tiller, broke, heads to the Gulf with his
         partner to try to earn enough money to get his business going again,
         after its destruction by the drug lord in Bahamas Blue. He lands a
         job with an oil company, where everything is not as it seems.)
     The Med, 1988  (Dan Lenson, officer in USN faces personal crises as an
       incompetent admiral bungles rescue of American hostages held in
       Lebanon. The hostages include Lenson's wife and child.)
     The Gulf, 1990  (Lenson's adventures in the Persian Gulf in a pre-Gulf
       War scenario of naval warfare with Iran.)
     The Circle, 1992 (Aging US destroyer operating in the arctic encounters a
       rogue Soviet submarine.)
     The Passage, 1994 (Dan Lenson, as a lieutenant, in action against a
       Soviet submarine, during the Cold War. Preceeds events in THE MED and
       THE GULF.)

Preston, Douglas J. and Child, Lincoln
     Riptide, 1998 (A high-tech search for a vast pirate treasure on an island
       off the coast of Maine. The island is owned by a doctor who fearfully
       joins with an exploration group in the quest to end centuries of
       mystery and uncover the supposed treasure, which is believed to lie in
       a watery pit on the small storm swept island. Many have previously
       ventured to the island to delve into the mystery of the water pit, with
       disasterous results in a number of instances. Can everyopne say "Oak
       Island"?)

Price, Jeramie
     Blackbeard's Bride, 1959 (Anne is abducted from a ship by Teach, becomes
       his 15th (or 16th) wife, and joins in with the piracy.)

Price, John-Allen
     Doomsday Ship, 1982 (The largest German ship ever built heads for New
       York City during WW II loaded with V-1 missiles and warheads full of
       germs. A US bomber squadron has to take it out.)

Prince, Peter 1942-
     The Great Circle, 1997 (As the paddle steamer LAURENTIA makes her stately
       passage across the Atlantic from Boston, the passengers have 13 days
       before they reach England to form alliances, make enemies, and swindle,
       seduce and betray one another--all while upholding the strictest
       standards of 19th-century decorum. [From the Edmond Hamilton catalog])

Purves, Libby (A well-known broadcaster and journalist in the UK who has
  also written on sailing round Britain with her husband and two children.)
     Casting Off, 1995 (The wife/crew/cook of a sailing couple suddenly takes
       off alone. She has to cope with some hairy conditions in the Channel as
       she gets to grips with whatever caused this behavioural aberration.
       Previously she was partner in a sedate tea shop.)

Pyle, Howard 1853-1911
     Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates; fiction, fact & fancy concerning the
       buccaneers & marooners of the Spanish main: from the writing & pictures
       of Howard Pyle: comp. by Merle Johnson, 1921

Quirk, John E.
     No Red Ribbons, 1963 (a US Navy top gun fighter pilots go for the big
       bucks and beautiful babes.)

Raban, Jonathan
     Foreign Land, 1985 (Modern cruise around UK.)
     The Oxford Book of the Sea, 1992 (Editor. An anthology of short prose and
       poetry about the sea, as well as excerpts from longer works.)

Raddall, Thomas Head 1903- (Born in Hythe, England in 1903 he moved to Canada
  in 1913 and five years later began work as a wireless operater on ships and
  at stations on and off the Nova Scotia coast. Subsequently a bookkeeper and
  accountant, he retired in 1938 to devote himself to writing.)
     His Majesty's Yankees, 1942 (Deals with the part played during the
       American Revolution by the Yankees of Nova Scotia. An adventure story,
       rather a tame romance and a spot of history all thrown together. Told
       in the first person by David Strang it concerns his efforts to join
       Nova Scotia to the rest of America! A bit turgid by modern standards,
       could you trust a book that finished "... this rocky homeland on the
       sea's edge, where life is a struggle that demands a man's utmost and
       will take no less, where beauty alone is bountiful, and only death
       comes easy; where courage springs from the eternal rock like the clear
       singing rivers, like the deep rooted forest itself." Plenty of shipboard
       action, although the story is not essentially set on the sea, rather by
       it!. Much of the story involves smaller boats.)
     Pride's Fancy, 1946 (French privateers from Nova Scotia cruise the
       Caribbean in 1798.)
     Tidefall, 1953 (Unscrupulous Nova Scotian retired rumrunner returns to
       his boyhood village and takes over a bankrupt shipping company.)
     Hangman's Beach, 1966 (an historical novel set in Halifax during the
       Napoleonic Wars. "The reader enjoys a tale of high adventure and
       daring. He experiences the shock of battle at sea, the torment of
       conflicting loyalities, and the searing heat of love in an
       unforgettable picture of men and women caught in the sweep of events in
       a tumultuous era." [from bookjacket blurb])

Raine, Norman Reilly 1895-
     Tugboat Annie, 1934 (The humorous Adventures of the tug NARCISSUS and her
       colorful captain in and around Puget Sound.)
     Captain Kidd, 1945 (Fiction?)

Ransome, Arthur 1884-1967 (Ransome was introduced to the English Lake District
  as a baby and spent many holidays and was partially educated there. He
  became a writer and journalist and covered the Russian Revolution where he
  met his second wife Evgenia who was Trotsky's secretary. They moved to live
  in the Lake District when he began full time writing. Most of Ransome's
  fictional locations are based on real places and so are many of the
  characters and boats. SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS was written for the Altounyan
  family, some of whose names he appropriated for the "Swallows". Both SWALLOW
  and AMAZON were based on real sailing dinghies and MAVIS, the original
  AMAZON, has been restored and is on display in Windermere. Later he moved to
  East Anglia which became the setting for some of the other stories in the
  series.)
     Swallows and Amazons series: (Nominally juvenile; will appeal to the
     traditionalist and to those who like Treasure Island. There is The
     Arthur Ransome Society, (TARS), for the enthusiasts. There are now
     several non-fiction books about all this, too.)
       Swallows and Amazons, 1930 [1] (The Walker children get permission to
         sail and camp on Wild Cat Island where they are attacked by the
         AMAZON pirates. After some wild sailing adventures, the war is won
         and an alliance concluded. Together they manage to capture a retired
         pirate and find his stolen treasure!)
       Peter Duck [2] (Written after SWALLOWDALE but chronologically before. A
         story of buried treasure leads to an eventful sail down the Channel
         and across the Atlantic to seek for the treasure of Crab Island. They
         are pursued by the evil Black Jake and the VIPER. Despite the
         attempts of Black Jake and his crew and the worst that weather can
         do, they get back successfully.)
       Swallowdale [3] (A near disaster to the SWALLOW causes the Walkers to
         camp up on the fells away from the lake. There they experience some
         aspects of Lakeland life, foil a surprise pirate attack from the
         strangely constrained AMAZONs and climb Kanchenjunga. The story ends
         with a classic sailing race between the SWALLOW and AMAZON.)
       Winter Holiday [4] (The "Ds" on a winter holiday in the Lakes meet the
         SWALLOWs and AMAZONs after signalling to Mars. They all become
         involved in Arctic exploration during an unexpectedly prolonged
         holiday. The climax is a dash to the North Pole followed up by
         several rescue expeditions.)
       Coot Club [5] The "Ds" go to the Norfolk Broads hoping to learn to
         sail. They meet the Bird Preservation Society members, one of whom
         gets into trouble with the "Hullabaloos" and has to go into hiding.
         The "Ds" do learn to sail and go on a cruise through the Broads. They
         are nearly caught by the "Hullabaloos" but instead the "Death and
         Glories" have an opportunity to gain a reward.
       Pigeon Post [6] (The SWALLOWs, AMAZONs and "Ds" seek gold on High Topps
         and have dangerous adventures in the disused mines while trying to
         foil the claim jumper Squashy Hat. Gold is found but it isn't what it
         seems. The pigeons save the day by getting a message for help through
         at a dangerous moment.)
       We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea [7] (A short cruise in the estuary turns
         into a frightening adventure when Jim Brading disappears. The
         SWALLOWs manage to do the right thing even though they have to break
         a promise and prove they are deep water sailors.)
       Secret Water [8] (A mapping expedition leads to war with the EELs and a
         near fatal encounter with the tides. Bridget becomes a human
         sacrifice but the map looks incomplete. However, last minute voyages
         mean that the expedition is crowned with success.)
       Big Six [9] (There is more trouble on the Broads and the "Death and
         Glories" are accused due to their unexplained wealth and presence at
         the scene of the crimes. Together with Tom Dudgeon and the "Ds" they
         manage to track down the real villain by using the methods of the
         "Big Five" of Scotland Yard. In a dramatic climax the wrong doers are
         caught in a flash.)
       Missee Lee [10] (Captured by Chinese pirates, the SWALLOWs and AMAZONs
         manage to win over the Cambridge-educated pirate leader in an unusual
         but unwelcome way. They seem doomed to stay prisoners for ever.
         However, the rest of the pirates think beheading is a better solution
         and so they have to dance their way to freedom.)
       The Picts and the Martyrs [11] (The "Ds" come to stay with the AMAZONs
         but have to leave and set up house on their own when an unwelcome
         visitor arrives to take charge. The AMAZON pirates have to become
         well behaved martyrs while the "Ds" are well hidden "Picts". Despite
         the problems the "Ds" learn to guddle fish, sail, burgle and even
         skin a rabbit while the "Martyrs" manage to escape from their
         imprisonment occasionally. The "Martyrs" sacrifice is worth it in the
         end.)
       Great Northern? [12] (Are they or aren't they? Unfortunately the one
         man who can confirm Dick's sighting of the Great Northern Divers
         wants them dead. The SWALLOWs, AMAZONs and "Ds" on a cruise in the
         Hebrides make a unique discovery and have to foil the owner of the
         PTERODACTYL while proving Dick's discovery is genuine. The savage
         Gaels complicate matters but help out in the end.)
       Coots in the North [13] (Unfinished fragments edited by Hugh Brogan.
         The "Death and Glories" stow away on a boat transport to the Lakes.
         There they meet the AMAZONs in an unpropitious manner. The rest of
         the book is only an unfinished outline of their adventures together.)
     (See also ARTHUR RANSOME AND CAPTAIN FLINT'S TRUNK by Christina
       Hardyment, which is mostly a non-fiction description of her visits to
       the known locations in the Ransome books and attempts to identify the
       uncertain ones, but also includes an unused introductory chapter to
       PETER DUCK showing how the story was made up by the children.)

Rappaport, Angelo S.
     The Sea: Myths and Legends, 1928 (Originally published as SUPERSTITIONS
       OF SAILORS. Folk tales, superstitions, myths and legends.)

Rascovich, Mark
     The Bedford Incident, 1963 (US destroyer plays nuclear chicken with a
       Soviet sub in the Denmark Strait.)

Ratigan, William
     Soo Canal!, 1955 (Fictionalized account of the building of the canal
       linking Superior with the rest of the Great Lakes in the 1850s.)
     The Adventures of Captain McCargo, 1956 (Picturesque saga of Captain
       "Thunder Bay" McCargo of the schooner MINONG -- Great Lakes skipper,
       lover, and adventurer par excellence.)
     (Also has written a non-fiction book: GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECKS & SURVIVALS
       which has highly descriptive accounts of the last minutes of Great
       Lakes shipwrecks.)

Rawlings, Charles
     Jarge Makes In (Doryman adrift off Newfoundland but survives.)
     Cargo of Gold (Gold laden sloop found adrift off Florida.)

Rayner, Denys Arthur 1908- (Lt-Cdr, RNVR who commanded the destroyer SHIKARI
  in 1943.)
     The Enemy Below, 1956 (A solitary British destroyer fights a German
       U-boat in the remote expanses of the South Atlantic in WW II.)
     The Long Fight, 1958 (Fictionalised account of an actual three-day Indian
       Ocean frigate battle in 1808 in which HMS SAN FIORENZO defeated and
       captured the French PIEMONTAISE. Well written in spare, spartan terms.)
     The Long Haul, 1962 (A British Destroyer captain towing a disabled tanker
       tangles with a U-boat in a deadly game of cat and mouse to the death.)

Reed, Don C.
     The Kraken, 1995 (Boy from 19th century Newfoundland fishing village
       battles giant squid. For young readers.)

Reeman, Douglas (Alexander Kent) (WW I and WW II stories, except as noted.)
     A Prayer For The Ship, 1958 (WW II adventure on British MTBs in the
       English Channel. This book struck me as being autobiographical.)
     High Water, 1959 (RNVR veteran, finding it hard to make ends meet in
       postwar Britain, gets tangled up in smuggling and other criminal
       activities in an effort to pay off the debts on the boat he purchased
       for a charter service. Reeman's second novel. "Quite possibly his
       worst." [ML])
     Send a Gunboat 1960 (Antiquated Royal Navy river gunboat and her
       disgraced captain are sent to evacuate British citizens from an island
       off the Chinese coast threatened by invasion by the Communist Chinese.)
     Dive in the Sun, a novel, 1961 (British midget submarine in action
       against the Germans in the Adriatic during WW I.)
     The Hostile Shore, 1962 (Early in WW II an old passenger launch is used
       in the flight from Singapore before the Japanese invasion and
       disappears. Rupert Blair's family were among the passengers. Twenty
       years later Blair, now rich and famous, has never forgotten or
       abandoned his obsessive need to find out exactly what had happened. He
       hires an old, beat up schooner with assorted misfits for a crew and
       hangers-on and finds his answers in the New Hebrides Islands. Not bad,
       but not up to Reeman's war novels.)
     The Last Raider, 1963 (A WW I German surface raider, and the
       relationship between the raider's captain and a female British
       captive.)
     With Blood And Iron, 1965 (The son of Captain Von Steiger of THE LAST
       RAIDER commands a small U-boat squadron based in a quiet French town
       on the Bay of Biscay in 1944, when Germany was losing "The War of
       the Atlantic".)
     HMS Saracen, 1966 (WW I and WW II adventures of a Royal Navy monitor and
       the man who served on her as a midshipman in WW I, and captain in
       WW II.)
     Path of the Storm, 1966 (Superannuated USN subchaser is ordered to a
       desolate island group in South China Sea to prepare them for use as a
       naval base in 1965.)
     The Deep Silence, 1967 (A Royal Navy nuclear attack submarine is rushed
       through its trials and hastily ordered to the Far East for a
       geopolitical confrontation with the Chinese.)
     The Pride And The Anguish, 1968 (HMS PORCUPINE, a gunboat, in action
       against the Japanese invading the Malay penninsula from December '41
       through February '42 -- including an escape to the Dutch East Indies
       during the fall of Singapore.)
     To Risks Unknown, 1969 (A British corvette's 1943 actions against the
       Nazis in the Adriaic Sea.)
     The Greatest Enemy, 1971 (A strong-willed captain takes a clapped-out
       WW II-era corvette into action against the Communist Chinese.  The
       story takes place in the South China Sea in 1970.)
     Rendezvous - South Atlantic, 1972 (A British Armored Merchant Cruiser
       in action in WW II. The story ends in a climactic battle against a
       German heavy cruiser in the South Atlantic.)
     His Majesty's U-boat, 1973 (Also titled GO IN AND SINK. German U-Boat,
       captured by the British, is pressed into service against her former
       owners.)
     The Destroyers, 1974 (A flotilla of eight V-class and W-class British
       destroyers in action in 1943 as the group is transferred to Special
       Operations.)
     Winged Escort, 1976 (British escort carrier group fights the Germans
       and Japanese in WW II.)
     Strike From The Sea, 1978 (British seize and use a formerly French
       submarine that is a sister of the SURCOUF (8" gun turret) as a raider
       against the Japanese.)
     A Ship Must Die, 1979 (A British light cruiser seeks a German surface
       raider in the Indian and Pacific Oceans in 1944.)
     Torpedo Run, 1981 (A flotilla of British MTBs is transferred to the
       Black Sea in 1943 to assist the Soviets fight the Germans.)
     Surface with Daring, 1982 (X-craft raid on Norway in 1944.)
     The Volunteers, 1985 (Special Operations units carrying out raids on
       enemy coasts and shipping in 1943-44.)
     The Iron Pirate, 1986 (Aboard the Kriegsmarine heavy cruiser PRINZ
       LUITPOLD in action against the Allies in the summer of 1944 as it
       prowls the Atlantic Ocean.)
     In Danger's Hour, 1989 (HM Minesweeper ROB ROY in action in the
       Mediterranean and English Channel during the last half of WW II.)
     The White Guns, 1989 (It is May 1945. The Germans have just surrendered.
       But as a small flotilla of British light craft begin occupation duty in
       Kiel Harbor, they discover that enemies exist even in peacetime.)
     Killing Ground, 1992 (Battle of the Atlantic as seen from the bridge of
       the destroyer HMS GLADIATOR on convoy escort duty.)
     Sunset, 1995 (LCDR Brooks, aboard HMS SERPENT in Hong Kong just prior to
       Japanese attack in 1941, refuses to admit defeat.)
     A Dawn Like Thunder, 1996 (The human torpedo is the ultimate weapon in a
       high-risk war, and only men of extreme courage or recklessness
       volunteer for the Special Operations requiring its use.)
     Battlecruiser, 1997? (Follows the fictitious HMS RELIANT, a battlecruiser
       from WW I, on convoy duty in the Atlantic during WW II.)
     Blackwood - Royal Marines series:
       Badge of Glory, 1982 [1] (Captain Phillip Blackwood, Royal Marines, and
         his marine contingent in action battling slavers off the coast of
         West Africa, from the 90 gun HMS AUDACIOUS, and his further
         adventures in the Crimea during the 1840s.)
       The First to Land, 1984 [2] (Captain David Blackwood, Royal Marines,
         takes his men into action during the Boxer Rebellion in China in
         1900.)
       The Horizon [3] (The novel covers the Gallipoli campaign and the story
         of the Naval Division in Flanders during WW I.)

Reid, Captain Mayne 1818-1883
    *The Boy Tar, or A Voyage in the Dark, 1864 (Young Philip Forster runs
      away and tries to join the ship INCA, bound for Peru, but the captain
      and crew just laugh at the wee lad, but he manages to stow away in the
      hold. He falls asleep and awakes to find that he's been trapped in the
      pitch dark hold! A horrifying ordeal follows, as he tries to escape to
      daylight.)
     The Ocean Waifs, A Story of Adventure on Land and Sea, 1882 (A tale of
       adventure and shipwreck, for the juvenile reader.)

Reit, Seymour
     Ironclad!, 1977 (Presents the historic Civil War battle between two
       ironclad ships, the MERRIMAC and the MONITOR, from the viewpoint of a
       youth serving aboard the MONITOR.)

Rhinehart, Luke (George Cockcroft?)
     Long Voyage Back, 1983 (Family and friends are sailing Chesapeake Bay in
       a trimaran on a pleasure cruise when WW III breaks out, and are forced
       to use the sea to survive the ensuing holocaust.)

Richards, Alun 1929-
     Ennal's Point, 1977 (About the fortunes and misfortunes of a small
       village RNLI lifeboat and crew in England and the closely linked
       tragedies of two lost lifeboats.)
     Against the Waves, 1978 (Editor? Sea stories.)
     The Second Penguin Book of Sea Stories, 1978 (Editor. Pt1: fiction, Pt2:
       fact. An anthology of stories under sail and steam across the oceans of
       the world.)

Richards, Jessica
     Mistress of the Western Wind, 1980 (Young wife follows clipper ship
       captain to see, winds up taking ship around Cape Horn by herself.
       Episodes of explicit sex! Based, at least loosely, on an actual event.)

Richardson, Comdr. Justin, RNVR
     The Phony Phleet, 1946 (Verse of the Royal Navy kind. Many were first
       published in PUNCH magazine.)

Roark, Garland (George Garland) 1904-
     Wake of the Red Witch, 1946 (In 1939 the captain of the last of the
       sailing trading ships in the South Seas hunts for sunken treasure and
       fights for control of a trading empire.)
     Fair Wind to Java, 1948 (Adventures aboard a clipper ship on a voyage to
       Java and the East.)
     Rainbow in the Royals, 1950 (Two brothers race their clippers from Boston
       to San Francisco for gold, glory and the (what else?) hand of a
       beautiful woman.)
     Slant of the Wild Wind, 1952 (Captain Redd of the LADY OF GLASGOW
       overtakes sister ship CASTELREAGH, takes gold, gets in trouble. Set in
       the 1890s.)
     The Wreck of the Running Gale, 1953
     Star in the Rigging; A Novel of the Texas Navy, 1954 (Captain Jeremiah
       brown of the Texas Navy (4 ships, amigo!) battles Mexican batteries
       during the war for Texas independence.)
     The Outlawed Banner, 1956 (On board Confederate and Federal ships during
       the Civil War.)
     The Lady and the Deep Blue Sea, 1958 (Wife joins the captain of a clipper
       for a race from Melbourne to Boston.)
     Tales of the Caribbean, 1959 (Collection of short stories set in the
       Caribbean during the 20th century: The Manchineel; Mr. Gilespie; Banana
       Run; The Ship that Vanished; The Strangler Vine; Our Lady of the
       Watch.)

Roberts, Kenneth 1885-1957
     Rabble in Arms, 1935 (Dramatic, though somewhat old-fashioned novel of
       Benedict Arnold's 1776-77 campaigns from Canada to Saratoga. It focuses
       on the construction of his fleet and the battle of Valcour Island on
       Lake Champlain.)
     The Lively Lady, 1931 (Follows the fortunes of Richard Nason, a Maine
       sailing master and privateer who is captured and imprisoned by the
       British during the War of 1812. Roberts writes of the courage of
       American privateers during the war and the sufferings of thousands of
       American seamen in the infamous Dartmoor Prison.)
     Captain Caution, 1934 (It is 1812 and America has declared war on
       Britain. The American ship OLIVE BRANCH is waylaid by a British
       cruiser. Captain Dorman is killed, and his crew is taken prisoner,
       including the captain's pretty and strong-willed daughter, Corunna.
       Roberts portrays the bravery of American seamen, their sufferings
       within the mist-shrouded walls of Dartmoor Prison, the invention of the
       gangway pendulum, and the sailor's dangerous and dramatic escape.)
     Lydia Bailey, 1947 (Americans involved in Toussaint L'Ouverture's revolt
       in Haiti and at war with the "Barbary Pirates".)
     Boon Island, 1956 (Shipwreck on barren Boon Island in the Gulf of Maine
       during the winter of 1710.)

Robertson, John T.
     Corvette Patrol (Novel, told in  first person, about a Royal Navy
       corvette, HMS GARGOYLE, as it participates in a raid on Norway and
       Operation Pedestal in the Mediterranean. Style similar to Barton's
       THOSE WHO SERVE.)

Robertson, Morgan 1861-1915
     Futility, or Wreck of the TITAN, 1898 (A gigantic, unsinkable steamship,
       the TITAN strikes an iceberg while recklessly racing across the
       Atlantic from England to the US on it's maiden voyage. In some ways
       eerily close to the TITANTIC disaster, but in other ways very
       different.)
     "Where Angels Fear to Tread" and Other Tales of the Sea, 1899 ("Where
       Angels Fear to Tread"; The Brain of the Battle-Ship; The Wigwag
       Message; The Trade-Wind; Salvage; Between the Millstones; The Battle
       of the Monsters; From the Royal-Yard Down; Needs Must When the Devil
       Drives; When Greek Meets Greek; Primordial.)
     Masters of Men, 1901 (Dick Halpin, 15, joins the US Navy at the time of
       the Spanish-American War, fights in Cuba.)
     Land Ho!, 1905 (Stories: The Dollar; The Ship-Owner; The Wave; The Cook
       and the Captain; The Line of Least Resistance; The Lobster; On Board
       the Athol; The Magnetized Man; The Mistake; The Submarine Destroyer;
       The Dancer; On the Rio Grande.)
     Spun-yarn Sea Stories, 1898 (The Slumber of a Soul: A tale of a Mate and
       a Cook; The Survival of the Fittest; A Creature of Circumstance; The
       Derelict Neptune; Honor Among Thieves.)
     Down to the Sea, 1914 (Stories: The Closing of the Circuit; A Cow, Two
       Men, and a Parson; The Rivals; A Chemical Comedy; A Hero of the Cloth;
       The Subconscious Finnegan; The Torpedo; The Submarine; Fifty Fathoms
       Down; The Enemies; The Vitality of Dennis; The Helix; The Shark; The
       Mutiny.)
     The Three Laws and the Golden Rule, 1969 (The Three Laws and the Golden
       Rule; The Americans; Dignity; The Honeymoon Ship; The Third Mate;
       Through the Deadlight; The Hairy Devil; The Slumber of a Soul; Honor
       Among Thieves; The Survival of the Fittest; A Creature of
       Circumstance.)

Robertson, Terence
     The Hurricane, 1960 (Four-piper destroyer in Royal Navy service endures
       a North Atlantic hurricane during escort duty in December 1942.)

Robinson, Bill 1918-
     Destruction at Noonday, 1992 (Nautical peril and adventure aboard ship
       after a devastating shoreside earthquake.  A first novel by the
       former editor of YACHTING.)

Robinson, Patrick
     The Nimitz, 1997 (Set in the next decade this sparkling first novel's
       scenario is: a nuclear powered Nimitz class carrier, the THOMAS
       JEFFERSON, suddenly vaporises, with the loss of 6000 men, in a nuclear
       explosion whilst exercising with her battle group in the Indian Ocean.
       A tragic accident that could cast doubt on the wisdom of American naval
       policy is the first thought that grips a grieving nation. The reader
       knows better - a nuclear-armed torpedo from a well-placed conventional
       submarine is to blame. We follow America's doubts, then resolution, as
       the villain is tracked down. "Highly recommended - gives a good insight
       into modern naval strategy." [PW])
     Kilo Class, 1998 (An exciting second novel! Set in the early years of the
       first decade of the twenty-first century when China places an order for
       ten Kilo class conventional submarines, almost undetectable and armed
       with nuclear torpedoes, from Russia. The chief of America's National
       Security Agency believes China's intention is to deny America access to
       the Taiwan Strait whilst they regain Taiwan back into Beijing's fold.
       This is so against America's interest that a "black" operation is
       instigated to prevent the Kilos ever reaching China. Concurrently
       Taiwan is clandestinely developing nuclear weapons at a secret island
       base. The part dealing with Russia's inland waterway system is
       extremely interesting and the story enfolds at a cracking pace. "A great
       read!" [PW])
     HMS Unseen, 1999 (Gets off to a great start, many of the main characters
       are from the author's previous novels. This story involves the Iraqi
       submarine commander from THE NIMITZ. Sadam Hussein ungratefully wants
       him killed so he offers his services to Iran. Using a stolen
       conventional submarine imaginatively fitted with a new Russian guided
       missile system he sets out to terrorise the world which, as planned,
       believes Iraq is to blame.)

Rock, Philip 1927-
     The Extraordinary Seaman, 1967 (A US Navy officer and four sailors
       stranded in the Philippines in the aftermath of the Japanese invasion
       in 1941 find a potential escape in an old Royal Navy river patrol boat
       at one of the islands south of Luzon. With the boat's captain, a RN Lt.
       Commander who is always immaculately dressed, the widow of US
       businessman killed by the strafing Japanese, and some friendly Moros,
       they set out on a journey for Australia. But as the voyage progresses
       it becomes obvious to the American Lt. jg that there is something
       strange and unearthly about Commander Finchhaven. Lots of fun to read.
       Made into a movie starring David Niven, Fay Dunaway, and Mickey
       Rooney.)

Roddy, Lee 1921- (Creator of Grizzly Adams)
     Search for the Avenger, 1980 (Twinbrothers get separated in infancy. One
       is raised in a whaling ship, the other stands to inherit fortune. Set
       in Hawaii.)

Rohan, Michael Scott
     Chase the Morning, 1990 (In thes science fiction novel our hero gets into
       a street fight, is saved by aliens from another world, and boards a
       sailing ship from 1700s for piracy, swordplay and sea battles. Wild
       stuff!)

Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 1828-1882
     The White Ship (Long poem about the loss of King Henry's son and heir.)

Rossman, Parker
     Pirate Slave, 1977 (A twelve-year-old boy captured by Muslim pirates is
       forced into a life of piracy and slave trading.)

Rostand, Robert
     Cross Currents, 1985 (White slaving and drugs in the Med, stir in a few
       ex-Nazis and season with a sprinkle of Mossad.)

Russell, William Clark 1844-1911 (American novelist who served in the British
  merchant marine, "the prose Homer of the great ocean", recommended by A.
  Conan Doyle.)
     John Holdsworth, Chief Mate, 1875
     The Wreck of the Grosvenor: an account of the mutiny of the crew and the
       loss of the ship when trying to make the Bermudas, 1877
     A Sailor's Sweetheart. An account of the wreck of the sailing ship
       WALDERSHARE, from the narrative of Mr. William Lee, second mate, 1880
     My Watch Below; or, Yarns Spun When Off Duty, 1882
     The Death Ship: a strange story, 1888 (Flying Dutchman)
     The Mystery of the Ocean Star, 1891  (short stories)
     Round the Galley Fire, 1893
     Ocean Free Lance, 1896
     What Cheer?: the sad story of a wicked sailor, 1896?
     An Ocean Tragedy, 1899 (Mad Sir Wilfred's wife has run off with the
       dashing Colonel Hope-Kennedy in the schooner yacht SHARK, and Sir
       Wilfred means to get her back. Sir Wilfred has armed his yacht, the
       BRIDE, with a long, brass 18-pounder and gone after the fleeing
       couple. The events are many, including the unfortunate death of a
       Portuguese seaman at the hands of the 18-pounder, the haunting of the
       BRIDE, the fortuitous capture of the two "lovers" in mid-ocean, the
       duel on the quarterdeck, the wreck of the BRIDE on the volcanic island
       that wasn't supposed to be there, and, best of all, the fossilized
       galleon on the crest of the island that can only be inhabited by the
       castaways after the water is drained out of her. "There's a reason
       that Russell was considered among the finest writers of sea stories at
       the time, and a reason why Melville dedicated one of his books to
       Russell, and Russell dedicated this one to him. An extraordinary work."
       [DG])
     Tales of Our Coast, 1901
     The Sea Queen (Young lady finally gets to sea with her captain husband
       for a mutiny, hurricane, fire at sea, fever, and other adventures.)

Sabatini, Rafael 1875-1950
     Captain Blood, 1922 (For treating a wounded nobleman who participated
       in the Monmouth rebellion, Dr. Peter Blood is condemned and sold as a
       slave in the Carribean. Taking advantage of a Spanish raid on the
       island on which he is held, Blood captures the Spaniard's ship, and
       embarks on the carreer of a buccaneer. Good fun.)
     The Fortunes of Captain Blood (More short stories about Blood's
       adventures as a buccaneer captain.)
     The Sea Hawk, 1924 (An English renegade who becomes a Barbary corsair
       and preys on the Spanish -- and others -- in the Elizabethan era.)
     The Black Swan, 1931 (Pirates versus buccaneers in the 17th century
       Caribbean.)
     Captain Blood Returns, 1931 (Short stories about Blood's adventures as
       a buccaneer captain.)
     Columbus, 1942
     A Century of Sea Stories (Editor)

Sadler, Samuel Whitchurch (?-1890 All of Sadler's books were first
  published in London by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.)
     Adventures of Marshall Vavasour, Midshipman, 1873
     The African Cruiser: A midshipman's adventures on the West Coast, 1873
     The Slave-Dealer of the Coanza: A naval story, 1874
     Perilous Seas and How Oriana Sailed Them, a naval romance, 1875
     The Last Cruise of the Ariadne and What Befell Her Passenger, 1876
     The Flag Lieutenant: a Story of the Slave Squadron, 1877
     Slavers and Cruisers, a tale of the West Coast, 1881 (Set during the
       Anglo-French campaign against slavers in the mid-19th century.
       Midshipman Claude Sefton, age 18, having two years experience in the
       Royal Navy, is put in command of a slaving schooner captured on the
       coast of Angola. Surviving attack by the slavers, sinking, and capture
       by African slave dealers, he displays courage and resourcefulness in
       re-capturing a British merchant vessel and rescuing his beautiful
       sister-in-law who happens to be aboard.)
     The Good Ship Barbara, a story of two brothers, 1882
     Pirate's Creek: A story of treasure quest, 1883
     The Adventurous Voyage of the "Polly," and Other Yarns, 1886
     The Ship of Ice

Savage, Douglas
     Incident in Mona Passage, 1994 (A US sub conducts a top secret biowar
       experiment that goes wrong. The sub seeks a solution to the sickness as
       another sub stalks it.)

Schaill, William S. 1918-
     Cabot Station, 1990 (A small, forgotten North Atlantic listening post
       hears Soviet subs kill an unknown submarine nearby. Oops! Now the
       station is in deep doo doo.)

Copyright © John Kohnen 1999
Commercial reproduction prohibited without written consent


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