On August 10, 1628, Sweden’s newest, biggest war ship, Vasa, never having left the waters from which it was launched, capsized and sank into the cold, dark waters of the Stockholm harbor. 333 years later, this vessel was salvaged and seen above water for the first time. The Baltic waters are characteristically unique in that it does not have any shipworm, Teredo, which would have normally eaten away wood. This ship came out of the waters sufficiently intact to float on its own. The savage and preservation resulted in one of the most unique museums in the world – the Vasa museum. No other such artifact exists in such completeness, along will all the articles found onboard; imagine 333 years old butter! It was magnificent to behold in the museum, and this book does a good job providing all the background information one may want to read. The biggest ding – it needs more photos of the ship as it is today in the museum. For the first time ever, I have better photos than the souvenir book. Other than that, excellent information. ( )