Ocean State Libraries

Writing in 1904, Conrad invented a complex Central American country with a turbulent history and a potentially explosive population, ranging from the wealthy gringo running the Sulaco silver mine to the poorest worker loading cargo on the docks. Although the story teems with lively characters, the dazzling figure of Nostromo eclipses them all. A natural leader--brave, handsome, and incorruptible--he naturally becomes the epicenter of the revolution...

An open-water thriller about one man's battle for survival against the elements after his sailboat is destroyed at sea. Using only a sextant and nautical maps to chart his progress, he is forced to rely on ocean currents to carry him into a shipping lane in hopes of hailing a passing vessel. But with the sun unrelenting, sharks circling, and his meager supplies dwindling, the ever-resourceful sailor soon finds himself staring his mortality in the...

Tami Oldham and her fiancé Richard Sharp set sail from Tahiti, both excellent sailors, with a bright future ahead of them. 20 days into their journey, they ran into a monumental hurricane, in which Richard was blown overboard. With the masts gone, the engine shot, and Richard dead, Tami overcame tremendous odds to navigate herself to safety. It took her 41 days. This is her story.

"In the spring of 1992, Nat Philbrick was in his late thirties, living with his family on Nantucket, feeling stranded and longing for that thrill of victory he once felt after winning a national sailing championship in his youth. Was it a midlife crisis? It was certainly a watershed for the journalist-turned-stay-at-home dad, who impulsively decided to throw his hat into the ring, or water, again. With the bemused approval of his wife and children,...

In the fall of 2003, Catboat Summers, a collection of boating memoirs, hit bookseller's shelves. It quickly became a bestseller among nautical books, praised by reviewers and readers alike. This new compilation continues in the same mold...but with a bit more edge. As in Catboat Summers, the "Tales" in this book are paced so that each can be read in "one shot." If you favor ghost stories, near disasters, family boating misadventures and/or tales of...

Featured in this volume are "Billy Budd", Melville's posthumously published novella, the story of the rivalry between a handsome sailor and his demonic captain; the tale of the apathetic "Bartleby, the Scrivener; " the riveting "Benito Cereno", the story of a slave ship mutiny written at the time of the Amistad case and "The Town-Ho's Story", a chapter from Melville's masterpiece, "Moby Dick". Introduction by Joyce Carol Oates.

Told from two viewpoints, Teriana, a sea captain's daughter, and Marcus, a soldier, are compelled by Celendor's tyrranical new ruler to undertake the conquest of the West. Includes glossary. "In a world divided by meddlesome gods and treacherous oceans, only the Maarin possess the knowledge to cross the Endless Seas. But they have one mandate: East must never meet West. Teriana, second mate of the Quincense and heir to the Maarin Triumvirate, breaks...