If you enjoy adventure books you will love these books about ships and shipwrecks.
Adventure books, especially books about ships and shipwrecks, teach us about human nature. They teach us about the extremes that people will go to when facing difficult circumstances.
They teach us about leadership. Both good leadership and bad leadership. They also remind us that our actions often affect others in ways that we do not realize until it is too late.
Over the years our family has read quite a few books about ships and shipwrecks. Apparently though when it comes to books about ships we have read mainly nonfiction. Or at least the ones that we can recommend are nonfiction.
Our lists are different than most book sites because we read the books that we recommend. Our book lists and book reviews are books that we have read and enjoyed.
This list is sharing some of our favorite books about ships and shipwrecks.
Nonfiction Books About Ships and Shipwrecks
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. In the Heart of the Sea is one of Grace’s all-time favorite books. She has recommended it to so many people. My husband and I both read it after she recommended it, and we also loved it. It has so many details and insights about whaling. The story of Essex inspired the famous story, Moby Dick.
Endurance by Alfred Lansing. This is a classic nonfiction adventure book about Ernest Shackleton’s journey to the south pole. My father-in-law read this book years ago and recommended it to my husband and I. We both read and loved it.
Empire of Ice and Stone by Buddy Levy. This was a recent read for my husband and me. We both loved it. In many ways, it is the north pole version of Endurance, the book listed above. Empire of Ice and Stone is a great book about leadership, both good and bad. This is a recent release that has not gotten the attention that it deserves.
Dead Wake by Erik Larson. A WWI nonfiction book about the Lusitania, a ship sailing from New York to Liverpool. In May of 1915, a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania, killing over one thousand people. Erik Larson makes the story come alive. Once I got about fifty pages into the book I could not put it down.
Indianapolis by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic. This is the story of The USS Indianapolis. The book starts in 1932 and ends in 1945 when the USS Indianapolis was hit by two Japanese torpedoes while sailing in the Philippine Sea. For five nights and four days, almost three hundred miles from the nearest land, nearly nine hundred men struggle with injuries, sharks, dehydration, and eventually each other. In the end, only 316 will survive.
The Ghost Ships of Archangel by William Geroux. This is the story of four allied ships during WWII in the Artic trying to hide from Nazi bombers and U-boats. This is not the most riveting nonfiction book, but it is a great read about a little known part of WWII history.
Back From the Deep by Carl Lavo. This is a book about submarines, which are a form of ships. This interesting/scary story about the Squalus and Sculpin and other submarines during World War II. If you enjoy submarine warfare, this is one you will probably enjoy.
No Ordinary Joes by Larry Colton. This is a book about submarines and Japan during World War II. Like other shipwreck and military books, this is a tough read because it deals with tough subjects, but it is a good read.
Fiction Books About Ships and Shipwrecks
The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. This is the book that convinced me to finally pick up the book Dead Wake. It is a historical fiction book about the Lusitania. I liked this book but didn’t love it. You can read my full review here. However, it did make me want to know more about the Lusitania and I can see why so many people love this one.