The Dictionary of Nautical Literacy

Front Cover
McGraw Hill Professional, Jul 1, 2003 - Sports & Recreation - 432 pages

"One of those rare reference guides that is as much fun to read as it is useful. On every page this work offers fascinating testimony to the enduring importance of the sea to our culture."--Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the bestsellingIn the Heart of the Sea

While the body of knowledge associated with the sea is as vast as the sea itself, there is a core of information that is indispensable to understanding maritime history and culture. This unique reference provides that knowledge. Its m ore than 3,500 entries describe the ideas, events, and individuals that have shaped our maritime language, geography, commerce, warfare, law, literature, art, film, and more.

 

Selected pages

Contents

A
1
B
23
C
50
D
92
E
107
F
118
G
134
H
152
O
266
P
275
Q
299
R
303
S
319
T
362
U
380
V
385

I
170
J
181
K
190
L
197
M
220
N
248
W
396
X
410
Y
411
Z
415
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Page 164 - UNDER the wide and starry sky, Dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will. This be the verse you grave for me: Here he lies where he longed to be ; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill.
Page 132 - Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that doth fade But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell: Burden. Ding-dong. Hark! now I hear them — Ding-dong bell.
Page 76 - Columbia, the gem of the ocean, The home of the brave and the free, The shrine of each patriot's devotion, A world offers homage to thee. Thy mandates make heroes assemble, When Liberty's form stands in view, Thy banners make tyranny tremble, When borne by the Red, White, and Blue.
Page 341 - Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness ; So on the ocean tof life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
Page 274 - The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat: They took some honey, and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar, "O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are, You are, You are!
Page 95 - Fifteen men on the dead man's chest — Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

About the author (2003)

Robert McKenna has been a sailor since boyhood. He graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1985 and holds a master's degree in international transactions from George Mason University. A contributing writer to Professional Mariner and Ocean Navigator magazines, he founded Nautical World, a magazine dedicated to marine art, artifacts, history, and literature. He is a principal in the Cutwater Group, a fine arts publisher specializing in marine and sporting images.

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