After decades of internecine warfare, the tribes of the Tiste Edur have at last united under the Warlock King of the Hiroth. There is peace--but it has been exacted at a terrible price: a pact made with a hidden power whose motives are at best suspect, at worst, deadly. To the south, the expansionist kingdom of Lether, eager to fulfill its long-prophesized renaissance as an Empire reborn, has enslved all its less-civilized neighbors with rapacious hunger. All, that is, save one--the Tiste Edur. And it must be only a matter of time before they too fall--either beneath the suffocating weight of gold, or by slaughter at the edge of a sword. Or so destiny has decreed. Yet as the two sides gather for a pivotal treaty neither truly wants, ancient forces are awakening. For the impending struggle between these two peoples is but a pale reflection of a far more profound, primal battle--a confrontation with the still-raw wound of an old betrayal and the craving for revenge at its seething heart. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Here is the ultimate collection of stories about the sea for sailors old and young, experienced seamen and armchair admirals. For thousands of years, we have set out sailing for all kinds of reasons—for battle, for wealth, for excitement, and for escape. We have always had a primal relationship with the sea. Even those who have never been to sea are fascinated by the seafaring life and tales of salty adventure. This oversized collection of the greatest sailing stories of all time brings together such diverse authors as James Fenimore Cooper, Daniel Defoe, Homer, Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, Richard Middleton, Victor Hugo, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, John Masefield, Stephen Crane, H. G. Wells, Herman Melville, and dozens more. Many of the writers whose words are featured here are instantly recognizable and have achieved deserved fame; others are less well-known, and rarely featured in print, but here take their rightful place on the shelves of sailing literature. Each story is illustrated with black-and-white line art that makes this book a true classic. Even if you are enjoying The Gigantic Book of Sailing Stories from the warm, dry comfort of your own living room, you are bound to be inspired by the colorful and stirring stories in this timeless collection. 50 b/w illustrations. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team. In addition to books on popular team sports, we also publish books for a wide variety of athletes and sports enthusiasts, including books on running, cycling, horseback riding, swimming, tennis, martial arts, golf, camping, hiking, aviation, boating, and so much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

For the use of the midshipmen at the Naval Academy -- Preface.