This is a beautifully produced book and there is much of interest on board, but it has two serious flaws. A miscellany such as this most certainly needs a Contents List and also needs an Index. There are eight blank pages at the end of the book, enough for a decent index - perhaps the publisher had in mind that the reader could add their own index in manuscript. Of course, this means that there really was room for two pages of Contents before page 1 and six pages of Index at the end of the book. Why are the publishers and authors so lazy? In our modern times, it's easier than ever to search a text and produce Contents and Index pages! I have, therefore, spent time doing the publisher's job and all the main subject headings are listed in the tags below.

I applaud the authors in their attempt to answer "What's the difference between a Boat and a Ship?". There is no exact answer to the conundrum but they are right with one suggested answer (with the qualifications they state) - Ships carry Boats.

Given the surname of the two authors, it is a surprise that they did not include a section about nautical clothing - Slops, Naval Uniform, Cap Tally, Blue Collar, Bell Bottom, Sou-wester, Steaming Boots and so on. ( )