David Gibbins

I loved that each of the Twelve Shipwrecks had a unique story to tell. With hundreds on record and even more yet to be discovered, David Gibbins has chosen each one with a discerning eye. Personal favorites include the Dover Wreck, the oldest seagoing vessel ever found; the Marzamemi Wreck which contained 28 marble columns fit for a Byszantine Church; and the Belitung Wreck, which contained 57,000 Changsha bowls and priceless metals. And of course the legendary Wreck of the Mary Rose! Others show more include the Uluburun Wreck, the Plemmirio Wreck, the Roskilde Wreck, the Santo Christo de Castel, the Royal Anne Galley, the HMS Terror and the SS Gairsoppa.

However, this one required some effort to get through. Factually, it is flawless, and Gibbins is clearly a master of the field. Structurally though, it is cumbersome and needs refinement. First, Gibbins introduces the shipwreck and describes what was found. He then posits where it was sailing to and from. These portions are great, but you have to sift through a lot to find them. To include as much "world" as possible, Gibbins incorporates temporally adjacent events or loosely tied literary references. A single artifact may be the only link to several pages of surplus information. I often found myself simply googling the shipwreck to stay on track. This book would greatly benefit from footnotes and illustrations. I recommend having a notebook and an encyclopedia to assist with the archaeological terminology. Thankfully Gibbins' enthusiasm and passion for shipwrecks convinced me to stick with it. There's an excellent book buried here, but like an archaeologist you have to have the patience to dig it up. show less

***Happy Publication Day****

Warning - I am not the right audience for this book. I clearly made a mistake requesting it. The title was so romantic, it swept me away. Upon delving into the book, however, after reading about the scientific expeditions and shipwreck diving experiences of the author, I knew I was no longer on terra firma (double entendre not intended). I am not a scientist, nor am I an historian, so, although I tried to keep up with the descriptions of the metals and show more shipbuilding details demonstrating an historical timeline of the trade and crafting skills in areas under and around the coastlines and beyond being excavated, I got lost somewhere at around the 20% mark of the book and had to abandon ship (again, no double entendre intended - sometimes I am possessed and things just leap off my fingers onto the keyboard). I do recommend this book to readers who have an interest and at least a smidgeon of knowledge in the fields of history, archaeology, and anthropology. I confess to being totally clueless in all three and found myself in way over my head. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book for my honest review. I recommend not diving in blind, like I did. This seems to me to be a well-written scientific gem of a book for the right reader! show less

This could have been a really fascinating book, but I think the author took the wrong approach in the presentation and organization of the history. This felt very text book, with few events or characters standing out in the sea of facts.
I listened to this on audio, which may also have hampered my enjoyment. I thought for sure an AI was narrating, the vocal rhythm was so punctuated and choppy. I do not recommend the audio.

It's very disappointing when a general history book is so incredibly dull (I can give a pass to very specific, niche titles (I'm looking at you History of the Habsburg Empire by Kahn (uff, was that a slog)). The book has an extremely interesting concept, investigate history and the lives of people at various points in history by investigating shipwrecks; what were people trading and why all shown by the fairly well preserved artifacts found on the bottom of the Mediterranean, or the English show more Channel or the North Atlantic. Sounds great, right? Well could be, in the hands a decent writer. This book, not so much. I love history but I couldn't care less about the things brought up in this book and it's not due to the events discussed, it was just how they were written about.
A few specific points that stuck out:
There was an indented paragraph quote that didn't pertain to any of the preceding paragraphs, nor the paragraph immediately following. I read the quote, went back and read the previous few paragraphs thinking maybe I missed something. I hadn't, so slightly confused I continued on and once I reached the second following paragraph did I learn why the quote was there. I know this is more a criticism of the editing, but this kind of par for the course for this book.
Another item that stuck out, in one of the final chapters the author pointedly brings up a Daguerreotype of the crew of the wreck multiple times. Is that image included in the photo section in the middle of the book? Of course not.
On the other hand, he does talk about himself a lot, so there is that. show less