Water Explorations

Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy's "Golden Age" when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. Best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Dolin provides this wholly original account of these seafaring outlaws.

When Tara Roberts first caught sight of a photograph at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History depicting the underwater archaeology group Diving With a Purpose, it called out to her. Here were Black women and men strapping on masks, fins, and tanks to explore Atlantic Ocean waters along the coastlines of Africa, North America, and Central America, seeking the wrecks of slave ships long lost in time. Inspired, Roberts joined them—and started on a path of discovery more challenging and personal than she could ever have imagined.

Dorian Hawke's daily routine was pretty straightforward. Wake up, pull his weight around the village, eat potatoes, go to bed. Not too shabby. Not very interesting, maybe, but it was honest work. Then a boat falls like a meteor from the sky. Next thing he knows, a gorgeous elf and stunning faun tell him that magical blood runs through his veins, and they need him to navigate their ship through space.

Five years ago, a group of human researchers and their mercenary friends helped evacuate 26 cetaceans from Earth just ahead of their arrest. The world government didn't approve of their giving the cetaceans pinplants, and it wanted to euthanize the dolphins and orcas in their care. After finding a home on the distant ice-covered ocean world of Hoarfrost, the humans and cetaceans settled in. Less than a year later, they were attacked when the planet's previous owners, the aquatic Selroth, tried to regain possession of it.

What’s in a cloud? Did you know that water vapor is invisible and actually lighter than dry air? What separates a tropical storm from a winter blizzard? And what exactly is El Niño? Elliot Rappaport, a professional captain of traditional sailing ships, has spent three decades at sea, where understanding weather is crucial to the safety of vessels and their crews. In Reading the Glass, he offers a sailor’s-eye view of the moving parts of our atmosphere and unveils the larger patterns it holds: global winds, storms, air masses, jet streams, and the longer arc of our climate.

Commander Selah Ward leads New Dawn, an American colony daring to coax life from the red dust of Mars. With mirrors in orbit and engines that sing, the first green takes hold—and with it, a fragile covenant to “not buy life with ruin.” But enemies prefer ash to seedlings. A poet of unrest, a broker of quiet ruin, and stolen radiological cores threaten to turn water into a weapon. As storms prowl the canyons and rumors hunt the truth, Selah and her unlikely circle—an engineer who writes hymns in code, a chaplain with sleeves rolled, a repentant saboteur learning the long obedience—...

The book, Conceptual Revolutions, explores the philosophy of science, including the notion that there is no truth, only a relativity of wrong. The goal of science is to find a new truth that is less wrong than the previous one. This is like looking into a black box. You need to shine enough light into the black box to enable new discoveries to become mature scientific fields of study. Then you can move on to the next box. What’s left behind is a scientific platform that can be used for new technologies to emerge and improve the human experience. As we move from box to box, our ...

In this masterful account in the spirit of Bill Bryson and Ian Frazier, a longtime deep-sea diver masterfully weaves together the science and history of Earth's last remaining frontier: the sea. In an age of unprecedented exploration and innovation, our oceans remain largely unknown, and...

Sailing to Newfoundland documents a solo journey on a 40' sailboat from Florida to the remote and uninhabited fjords of the south coast of Newfoundland, one of the few places in the world where raw, unspoiled nature meets the ocean and provides sheltered anchorages. From the author of Becoming a Sailor, Journey to the Ragged Islands, and Chasing the Nomadic Dream, this book puts you in the cockpit, and in the fjords, and on top of glacier-cut mountains in the remote backcountry of Newfoundland.

Dive into adventure with Exploring the Islands, an eBook that takes you on a journey beneath the waves to discover the vibrant and mysterious underwater world. Uncover the allure of island waters and learn why underwater exploration captivates the hearts and minds of adventurers worldwide. Begin your aquatic escapade by gearing up with expert advice on choosing the perfect snorkeling and diving equipment. Whether you're a beginner or advanced enthusiast, you'll find invaluable tips on techniques and safety to enhance your underwater experiences. Travel vicariously to the best snorkeling ...

To Mars! A groundbreaking planetary exploration book set in the early 20th century, primarily focused on the journey from Earth to Mars. The world is captivated by the McNally-Dobson controversy, sparked by Professor Richard McNally's revolutionary theories about life on Mars. This scientific exploration novel delves into the mysteries of the red planet and the incredible technological advancements of the time. An Unlikely Partnership When young inventor Thomas Fairbanks reveals his father's perfected anti-gravity device to Professor McNally, the two visionaries join forces. McNally's ...

In 1958, while flying from one island to another, Audrey Sutherland sees the remote and roadless northeast side of Molokai, with its spectacular sea cliffs and waterfalls. Always an adventurer, she decides that she must find a way to explore this then inaccessible area. After much study, she determines that the best way for her to navigate these treacherous sea walls is to swim while towing an inflatable kayak. This is the story of fulfilling her dream, of planning then implementing, of launching and advancing, of retreating and reconnoitering, of challenge and success.

Leaving her garden to the mercy of the slugs, award-winning writer Alys Fowler set out in an inflatable kayak to explore Birmingham's canal network, full of little-used waterways where huge pike skulk and kingfishers dart. Her book is about noticing the wild everywhere and what it means to see beauty where you least expect it. What happens when someone who has learned to observe her external world in such detail decides to examine her internal world with the same care?

In the late 1990s, John Pollack was working as a Washington speechwriter when, frustrated by the cynicism and hypocrisy on Capitol Hill, he quit his job to pursue a boyhood dream: to build a boat made entirely of wine corks and take it on an epic journey. Cork Boat tells the story of Pollack's improbable quest. Overcoming one obstacle after another, he convinces skeptical bartenders to save their corks, corrals a brilliant but disorganized partner, and eventually cajoles more than one hundred volunteers who help build the boat until their fingers bleed.

Mankind’s wanderlust will eventually carry our species to the stars. Earth’s pioneers have always risen to the challenge of exploring our planet’s remote rain forests, highest mountain peaks, deepest ocean abysses, and deadly frozen polar caps. Answering the wanderlust deep within us is exactly what motivated the colonists of Byanntia to brave the dangers of space travel. Their reward is the opportunity to test their mettle against an alien planet - to explore an unknown environment and attempt to survive on their own terms.

Award-winning journalist Stephen Petranek says humans will live on Mars by 2027. Now he makes the case that living on Mars is not just plausible, but inevitable. It sounds like science fiction, but Stephen Petranek considers it fact: Within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. We'll need to. In this sweeping, provocative book that mixes business, science, and human reporting, Petranek makes the case that living on Mars is an essential back-up plan for humanity and explains in fascinating detail just how it will happen.

From the dawn of civilization, humanity has been drawn to the water, but we often forget that the world's waterways are not always our allies. This book embarks on a global journey to the twenty most perilous bodies of water on Earth, exploring places where the simple act of being on the water is a high-stakes gamble. It is an unflinching examination of the planet's most hostile aquatic environments. Discover the raw, untamed power of nature, from the colossal rapids of the Congo River's Gates of Hell to the savage, unpredictable waves of the Bay of Biscay. Venture into the Amazon, a liquid...

Mars: The Rust-Colored Dream explores the allure of the Red Planet—its history of water, its potential to sustain life, and humanity’s desire to make it our next home. This book takes you through Mars’s most fascinating phenomena, from its giant dust storms to the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. Discover the mysteries of Mars’s dual moons and the critical role this planet plays in humanity’s future. But Mars is not just a dream of human exploration; it’s a cautionary tale of survival against overwhelming odds. What does Mars represent for humanity—resilience...

A powerfully built man more than six feet tall, Amundsen’s career of adventure began at the age of fifteen (he was born in Norway in 1872 to a family of merchant sea captains and rich ship owners); twenty-five years later he was the first man to reach both the North and South Poles. Lynne Cox, adventurer and swimmer, author of Swimming to Antarctica (“gripping”—Sports Illustrated) and Grayson (“wondrous, and unforgettable”—Carl Hiaasen), gives us in South with the Sun a full-scale account of the explorer’s life and expeditions.

In the second book in this series, Archie, his dad, and Pockets fly to a planet in peril: someone is stealing the water from this underwater world! Can Archie and Pockets save the day? Archie Morningstar's dad drives a taxi through outer space! And with the help of a talking cat named Pockets...