Book Review: The Great Museum of the Sea by James P. Delgado (2025)
Synopsis: With more than 1 million sunken ships, including some that are thousands of years old, the ocean floors can arguably be considered the largest museum in the world. The author makes a case for this as he discusses the various shipwrecks, including some he's visited in person, while also discussing the reasons those ships sunk in the first place.
Review: I was at our local library a couple weeks ago and as is my habit, I stopped by the new book section on my way to the front desk to pick up the books I had on hold. The Great Museum of the Sea caught my eye mostly because of my recent visit to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and I decided to check it out. Overall, I have to say it was a good choice.
I think the thing I liked most about this book is how the author didn't just discuss shipwrecks and instead put those shipwrecks in the context of human history. This includes plenty of examples of how human greed resulted in lost ships and lives, including quite a few that are in modern history. Those stories were bumped up against changes that happened as a result of those tragedies (along with suggested changes that weren't necessarily implemented).
I found I learned quite a bit from reading this book too. For example, while I knew steamships were a great innovation, I never realized just how big of death traps they were. The author's tale of one ship's crew that ended up battling flames on their ship and then two other ships as they were returning home was unbelievable to the point it sounded like something out of a Greek tragedy.
Another intriguing topic in the book was the subject of ships that were purposely sunk. While I knew this was a military practice, I didn't know it was done to that much of an extent, including sinking entire fleets of dummy ships. For a moment, I wondered just how much of the ocean floor ISN'T covered with sunken vessels.
Final Opinion: It's an educational book written by someone who has personally seen quite a few shipwrecks. I learned a lot from reading it and would recommend it.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other sea-related non-fiction books:
Book Review: Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution by Eric Jay Dolin (2022)
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