Tall Ships Down: The Last Voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore, and Maria Asumpta

As a Risk Management professional I'm always looking to learn from others mistakes so that I can better help my clients. I found that I couldn't read this book without my hand highlighter nearby because I was constantly wanting to mark text for later reference. There are a great number of good point made in this book on how mistakes are made. A superb teaching aid for anyone who deals with managing risk...

I am new to sailing and not a captain and have not sailed the seven seas. However, this book is the best lesson any new sailor can learn because it is a very good analysis of why ships sink, any ship, not just a tall ship. The key is that these are very big ships that people equate with safety but the principles outlined in this book apply to all boats. I feel sad for the lose of life due to these sinkings and the author makes it clear that prevention of future occurances is his goal in writing this book. I highly recommend this book.

Readers seeking spine-tingling narratives of sea disasters will be disappointed with Tall Ships Down, because this brilliant book is instead a penetrating analysis of the circumstances of loss of several traditional sail ships in recent times. In five lucid essays, the author uses each sinking to illuminate the intersection of changes in nautical technological traditions, situational decision-making, and construction of sailing heritage. Beyond sailors or maritime buffs, this superbly written work should capture anyone interested in the sociology of technological change. The author is thoughtful and engaging, with his experience as captain of large traditional sail ships only one source of the book's extraordinary insights. Tall Ships Down will take its place as a classic alongside technology and culture studies such as Hilton's Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic. I'd consider it a shame if the author does not give us next a full-length treatment of the sinking of the Pamir, or a biography of Alan Villiers.

This book is a great read for both professional mariners and armchair sailors alike. Professionals will appreciate the insight into these disasters and their causes, while the armchair sailor will find the sea stories fascinating enough to keep their interest. The author's writing style is easy to read, and his research is fairly extensive. All in all an outstanding book that deserves a place in any nautical library.

This book is an outstanding study of five sail training vessel accidents. It is not only interesting, but full of important lessons for all sailors, particularly for professional sailors of traditional vessels. Captain Parrott has done the sailing world a great service by analysing these tragedies, not with romance or melodrama, but with compassion and empathy. As a seasoned professional himself, he investigates without being judgemental, and provides us with information we can use to prevent future accidents.