In this book, Bass has gathered together chapters by various authorities to create a good reference work on the history of seafaring in the Old and New Worlds. For the beginner in the study of maritime history, this book is irreplaceable. Starting with the Fertile Crescent and passing through the Mediterranean and Europe, he takes his reader all the way to the adaptations of seafaring in the New World environment. For a short history of everything except the Middle and Far East, this book is excellent. It should still be in print so that I could assign it to my students!