Alaska Shipwrecks: 12 Months of Disasters is a month to month accounting of the worst, largest and most interesting maritime disasters in Alaska history. Each chapter is a different month and each begins with significant statistics for that month in history. Included with the descriptions of 275 significant tragedies are word for word stories told by survivors, rescuers and other first hand observers. Particular attention has been paid to listing all of the thousands of names of persons who were lost. In some cases survivors names are included as well.

Shipwrecks have captured our imagination for centuries. Here acclaimed historian Sam Willis traces the astonishing tales of ships that have met with disastrous ends, along with the ensuing acts of courage, moments of sacrifice and episodes of villainy that inevitably occurred in the extreme conditions. Many were freak accidents, and their circumstances so extraordinary that they inspired literature: the ramming of the Essex by a sperm whale was immortalized in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Some symbolize colossal human tragedy: including the legendary Titanic whose maiden voyage famously went from pleasure cruise to epic catastrophe. From the Kyrenia ship of 300 BC to the Mary Rose, through to the Kursk submarine tragedy of 2000, this is a thrilling work of narrative history from one of our most talented young historians.

In January 1910, the steamship Farallon ran aground in Cook Inlet, Alaska. The crew and passengers reached the barren, ice-strewn shore and awaited their fate, fearful that rescuers would arrive too late. A compelling photographic record of the shipwrecked party was made by amateur shutterbug John E. Thwaites, the ship's mail clerk. Fortunately, most of the party was rescued one month after the shipwreck. Six others, who had set off in a small lifeboat in search of help, were rescued later. Lloyd brings to life a riveting tale of hardy seafaring men who survived hunger and despair under brutal circumstances.

A Deadly Chase on The Bering Sea Immerse yourself in crewman Spike Walker's Working on the Edge, an adrenaline-fueled narrative that brings to life the world of Alaskan king crab fishing. Set against the merciless backdrop of the turbulent Bering Sea, the book is a visceral account of human struggle, survival, and the dogged pursuit of fortune. Working on the Edge transports you to the wretched, unforgiving conditions of the Bering Sea with its icy winds, treacherous waves, and debilitating on-deck labor. More than a mere profession, crab fishing in these chilling waters stands as a brutal testament to the battle of man against nature, where every decision carries the weight of life and death. Alongside personal stories, Walker brings to light the stories of survivors from the industry's deadly disasters, painting a vivid picture of the harsh reality of this dangerous line of work. Walker rivetingly depicts the modern-day gold rush that drew hundreds of fortune-and adventure-hunters to Alaska's dangerous waters.

Selected by The New York Times Book Review as a Notable Book of the Year A revelatory tale of science, adventure, and modern myth. When the writer Donovan Hohn heard of the mysterious loss of thousands of bath toys at sea, he figured he would interview a few oceanographers, talk to a few beachcombers, and read up on Arctic science and geography. But questions can be like ocean currents: wade in too far, and they carry you away. Hohn's accidental odyssey pulls him into the secretive world of shipping conglomerates, the daring work of Arctic researchers, the lunatic risks of maverick sailors, and the shadowy world of Chinese toy factories. Moby-Duck is a journey into the heart of the sea and an adventure through science, myth, the global economy, and some of the worst weather imaginable. With each new discovery, Hohn learns of another loose thread, and with each successive chase, he comes closer to understanding where his castaway quarry comes from and where it goes. In the grand tradition of Tony Horwitz and David Quammen, Moby-Duck is a compulsively readable narrative of whimsy and curiosity.

This impeccably researched and “adventure-packed” (The Washington Post) account of the obsessive quest by Christopher Columbus’s son to create the greatest library in the world is “the stuff of Hollywood blockbusters” (NPR) and offers a vivid picture of Europe on the verge of becoming modern. At the peak of the Age of Exploration, Hernando Colón sailed with his father Christopher Columbus on his final voyage to the New World, a journey that ended in disaster, bloody mutiny, and shipwreck. After Columbus’s death in 1506, eighteen-year-old Hernando sought to continue—and surpass—his father’s campaign to explore the boundaries of the known world by building a library that would collect everything ever printed: a vast holding organized by summaries and catalogues; really, the first ever database for the exploding diversity of written matter as the printing press proliferated across Europe. Hernando traveled extensively and obsessively amassed his collection based on the groundbreaking conviction that a library of universal knowledge should include “all books, in all languages and on all subjects,” even material often dismissed: ballads, erotica, news pamphlets, almanacs, popular images, romances, fables. The loss of part of his collection to another maritime disaster in 1522, set off the final scramble to complete this sublime project, a race against time to realize a vision of near-impossible perfection. “Magnificent…a thrill on almost every page” (The New York Times Book Review), The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books is a window into sixteenth-century Europe’s information revolution, and a reflection of the passion and intrigues that lie beneath our own insatiable desires to bring order to the world today.