The history beneath our hulls
Shipwrecks of the Solent, by Richard M Jones
This slim volume of maritime history is a fascinating book to have by your side when you're crossing the busy Solent sea area.
Telegraph readers will no doubt remember the Singapore-flagged car carrier Hoegh Osaka, which came to grief in the Solent in 2015. Its master and pilot were praised for their quick thinking in deliberately grounding the ship after it took a sudden 'life-threatening' list.
Other vessels detailed in Shipwrecks of the Solent were less fortunate, including Henry VIII's flagship Mary Rose, and more recently the cement-laden cargo ship Flag Theofano, which sadly sank without even a distress call.
It's a sobering reminder of how challenging seafaring can be, even so close to the English coast.
Shipwrecks of the Solent
By Richard M Jones
Amberley, £15.99
ISBN: 978 13981 17501
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Unexpected family fallout from the Titanic disaster
Titanic Legacy, by Dan E. ParkesDan Parkes, a filmmaker known for his 40 years of award-winning work on the Titanic, brings a different story to life in his first book, which explores the legacy of the disaster for the family of Captain Edward Smith – a member of the Nautilus predecessor union MMSA.
When the Merchant Navy goes to war
The QE2 in the Falklands War, by Commodore Ronald Warwick and David HumphreysWhen the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth 2 became a STUFT (ship taken up from trade) in the 1982 Falklands War, the vessel's civilian crew were up for the challenge.
Crowning the latest Queen
Queen Anne: A Photographic Journey, by Chris Frame and Rachelle CrossThis glossy title celebrates the launch in May 2024 of the Queen Anne, Cunard's second largest ship, and the eighth 'Queen' in its fleet of luxury passenger vessels.
Passenger liners at their peak
The True Transatlantic Super-Liners, by David L. Williams and Richard P. De KerbrechThis captivating book transports the reader to a world before the advent of affordable air travel, when passenger liners ruled the Atlantic Ocean.