Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World

"Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World" by Lionel Casson provides an encyclopedic look at everything nautical in Ancient Greece and Rome. He covers many topics, starting with the history of naval technology from primitive times to the Roman empire, then moving on to many smaller topics such as ship construction, speed, harbors, names, and more.The book is meticulously researched and presented so that it can be read by both kinds of readers: the casual reader can read the main portion of the writing, which does not mention sources and instead contains all of the important conclusions that Casson has culled from his research; or the scholarly reader can look for specific information in the book and use the footnotes to find other sources to turn to for more depth.This book is an excellent book for anyone hoping to learn about ships in the ancient world, whether for personal enjoyment or research. The book does not cover naval history per se; naval battles are not discussed, and the importance of navies for warfare, trade, and colonization is not gone into in any depth. This book accomplishes well what it seeks to do.

This was bought as a gift for someone who knows far more than the average bear about ancient Rome but had a weak spot in Roman seamanship. She needed to do research in this area and was amazed and tickled pink at how thorough the book was for describing ancient Roman seafaring and the ships themselves . She was pleasantly surprised to see this was a book by the same author of another ancient Rome book that she found exceedingly useful. She definitely gives it the five star rating.

Good, comprehensive book on a huge subject.

Good information on old boats and boat building techniques of the past

Very pleased with this order.

This is a well written book, highly informative, well referenced and a fun study an read! Thank you!

If you are turned off by foot notes that take at times three quarters of the page, don't get it. This is a scientific work, but never dull.

Everything fine

The book came in perfect condition.

Questo testo -mai tradotto in italiano- è un classico, ormai fondamentale per lo studio della marineria dell'Antichità ed ha un buon repertorio fotografico.

tells you everything you need to know about ships in the Ancient world! very well written with good style and not too complicated, a must have for anyone studying marine archaology

Firstly it should be said that "the Ancient World" means the Mediterranean. There is a reference to Scandinavia but no description of the development of its ships. Secondly, when the book was revised the editors put the revisions into an appendix without footnotes in the main text. Having said that, the author's research is formidable and will no doubt be a reference source for future writers on this subject.