For anyone with an interest in sailing ships and life at sea, Ships & Ways of Other Days will be an engaging summer read.
This free book was written by E. Kebble Chatterton, a very prolific English author of all things nautical. It tells the history of sailing ships in a chronological manner.
And then, when once they have cleared from the shelter of the haven we are free to watch not merely the ship, but the ways of ship and men. We are anxious to note carefully how they handled these various craft in the centuries of history; how they steered them, how they furled and set sail, how these ships behaved in a storm, how they fought the ships of other nations and pirates, how they made their landfalls with such surprising accuracy. As, for instance, seeing that the Norsemen had neither compass nor sextant, by what means were they able in their open ships to sail across the Atlantic and make America? In short, we shall apply ourselves to watching the evolution of seamanship, navigation, and naval strategy down the ages of time.
Whether we discuss Norsemen, pirates, or nations, the age of ships is an interesting study. The focus is on how they were used.
As such, the book covers the sailing habits and interests of various cultures and times:
- Egyptians.
- Phoenicians.
- Greece.
- Rome.
- Vikings.
- Merchant sailors.
- Spanish sailors.
- Elizabethan sailors.
- Dutch West Indian merchant sailors.
- Much more!
The 130 illustrations will work very well for creating a “history of ships” notebook. These include diagrams of the ships used during various periods of history.
A glossary will help those unfamiliar with nautical terms.
I can promise the reader that if he loves ships, if he has a sympathetic interest in that curious composite creature the seaman—who throughout history has been compelled to endure the greatest hardships and deprivations for the benefit of those whose happy fortune it is to live on shore—he will find in the ensuing pages much that will both surprise him and entertain him.
Note: After we had written this review, we noticed pejorative language that readers will find offensive. In our family we used these instances as opportunities to discuss and explain. Other families may feel differently. In the end, we decided to leave the book up, notify readers of the problems, and let the reader decide how to best serve his family.
Free eBook
Suggestions
- If this is a summer read, letting the information bubble up out of your ship enthusiast may be enough. Keep it simple.
- For a more in-depth study, have the student create a ship notebook.
- Include several of the diagrams on Drawing and Writing paper with notes explaining the subject.
- Create a ship timeline.
Additional Resources
Ships at Work {Free eBook}
For younger readers.
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