Ships & Seamanship in the Ancient World

If you are turned off by foot notes that take at times three quarters of the page, don't get it. This is a scientific work, but never dull.

Casson's book is an essential read for anyone interesting in the history of seafaring. It has been used as a text for nautical archaeology for decades now and has a well-deserved reputation for clarity and completeness. I noticed that the other reviewer of this text took exception to the inclusion of original Greek and Latin sources. In fact, the inclusion of these texts, along with the publication of often hard-to-find illustrations, is one of the great strengths of Casson's book. For those interested in seeing what the ancients actually wrote, Casson has saved us searching the texts out ourselves.