A really neat book for looking, learning, and researching. So much to see, you'll need to open the pages again and again to learn all that is inside.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Loved looking at all of the ships in this book and reading all the details.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this and will be picking up a copy as soon it releases. 💕
It was well written and I really enjoyed my time reading it. The information was very interesting and well written.

Rating 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love nautical history, and in particular sailing ships. Despite the cover, I had hopes that this would live up to its summary as a visual encyclopedia of all nautical history, and not be mostly about post-sail warships. I was disappointed. This book is not an encyclopedia in any way. It is not systematic in its approach, and it fails to define basic information, up to and including what the author considers a "ship". It claims that all the most famous ships in the world grace its pages, and then doesn't include the Blue Nose, which is understandable given how few pages are given to sailing ships, but certainly belies the claim. It does not even come close to including every type of sailing ship, and the coverage is far from global, especially prior to WW2. Someone who doesn't know much about ships won't learn much from this book, since nothing is explained or defined for the uninitiated. The selection of ships seems almost random, and does not seem to be a matter of choosing a specific ship to represent its class. The illustrations, however, are excellent, and kudos go to the anonymous artist(s).

Ships is an interesting and well illustrated chronological encyclopedia of the shipbuilding arts by David Ross. Originally released in 2010, this reformat and re-release from Amber Books is due out 14th June 2024. It's 448 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is a great reference, featuring over 1000 ships with their specs, class information, history, national origin and noteworthy military engagements. The illustrations are clear and in color, rendering it a very valuable resource to artists, media folks, military history enthusiasts, modelmakers etc.

The book also includes several information dense and useful appendices including a solid glossary of terms, index of ships by name in alphabetical order, and a general cross referenced index.

Five stars. It would make an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, artist/modelmaker's studio, wargamers, and general maritime military history fans.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Ships is a great example of engaging non-fiction. If you have any readers who like ships then this one is for them! This would be great for a middle school and up library, classroom library, or gift for a person who loves learning about ships. I think this book has a great balance between diagrams and text information -- they really complement each other and make it an easier, more engaging read. There's a lot of variety -- it goes over many different types of ships -- and something for everyone. I can see students who enjoy ships, war, exploration, non-fiction, or boat-related topics gravitating toward this one. It would be great for those who love to read and those who don't because of the fantastic balance of diagrams and text. Definitely recommend! I hope to some day get this as an updated title in our high school library for students looking for engaging non-fiction with an interest in boats or even building.

A great illustrated look at the history of ships. The artwork is well-done, and the short bios of the featured ships are easy to understand and informative. A great nautical book.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.