Member Reviews

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity

Loved this!!!

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This is a beautiful book with lots of full-color pictures! I loved reading about the different shipwrecks and how they have helped underwater archeology. I also love that stories such as the women divers of Jeju and Clive Cussler were included to help tell this history. Lots of good information and presented in a way that reminds me of the Discover books we got from the library!

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This was a cool book with a lot of information. I think this is a good book, but it’s not a standout for me. It’s a book that would go off the shelf occasionally.

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Shipwrecked! Diving for Hidden Time Capsules on the Ocean Floor by Martin W. Sandler is scheduled for release tomorrow, October 31 2023. Most of the world’s ocean floor remains to be discovered. In fact, it’s estimated to be home to over 3 million sunken vessels and countless treasures of the past. This enthralling and adventure-filled nonfiction book for young readers recounts some of the most captivating shipwrecks from history, ranging from the Shinan, a Chinese merchant ship laden with riches from the 14th century, to the the HMS Erebus and Terror, two polar exploration ships that mysteriously disappeared in the early 1800s. Combining new research, stunning archival material, and vivid storytelling, Shipwrecked! dives deep into the world of marine archaeology and shows young readers what each discovery reveals about the world before our time.

Shipwrecked! is an interesting introduction the topic of shipwrecks and their discoveries. I think that this book is for young readers that already have an interest in the subject matter, and adults that are looking for a solid introduction. I have always been fascinated with archeology, and marine archeology is fascinating although not the specialty I wanted to explore back in the day. The book focused on the history of the ships and their owners, not just the wrecks and salvage. I was engaged while reading the book, and I learned a great deal. However, I think younger readers might loose interest if this is not something they are already interested in. Sometimes it read a bit dry, and I could see some losing focus. I was disappointed in the lack of maps, but I was very appreciative of the index, brief notes on other shipwrecks, bibliography, and other back matter.

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An interesting maritime read on the discovery of several historically significant shipwrecks in history. The author does an outstanding job of relaying the story behind the discovery and the efforts to recover the wreck. The author then explains the significance of the find as it related to history. A well written and recommended read for the history and maritime fan.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Aimed at young readers, apparently. I am unsure at what age group this is aimed exactly, but it‘s a lot of fairly dry text for YA. I also think this is probably only something for readers that already have a stronger interest in this or related topics. Suitable for grown-ups as well! Nice illustrations.

More about the single chapters:

The first chapter looks at a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island Antikythera in 1901. An analog computer from 200 BC, how cool is that? My favourite parts were the additional texts talking about sponge diving and the exosuit.

Chapter two, a Bronze Age shipwreck at Cape Gelidonya, Turkey. Great intro into the advent of marine biology.

With Chapter 3 we are moving away from the Mediterranean and to South Korean waters. Great additional text about Korean Sea Women. I saw a documentary about them once and hugely enjoyed it.

Chapter 4 brings us back to Europa and the Tudors. Quite a long chapter on general history, a naval battle and the shipwreck of the Mary Rose. Interesting, including the text about human remains.

Chapter 5 deals with a slave ship that sank close to Cape Town. A more gruesome and emotionally harder to stomach chapter.

Chapter 6 covers unusual ground—a submarine from the US Civil War. Clive Cussler makes an appearance and I think I might have read a book by Cussler with a Confederate submarine… not absolutely sure though. Interesting to read that he was involved in this in real life.

Chapter 7 is the Erebus and the Terror. Finally ships that I know! Fascinating look into new technologies, for example 3-D mapping of the ocean floor.

A last chapter mentions various wrecks in shorter passages. At the end is an index, which I find very useful.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher or author through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I was not required to give a positive review.

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It says for young readers, but I clearly didn't read the full description beforehand. No regrets though, as I really wanted an intro to Shipwreck discovery and I feel like I got it! The stories were both cool and inspiring.

There were also fun side notes and semi-deep dives (get it?), which I appreciated but I didn't love the formatting. They often fully interrupted the chapter, which meant I had to flip the page, finish my paragraph, and then flip back. (Don't even get me started on the frustrating mechanics of this in the app.) For a better reader experience, maybe they could just go at the ends of the chapters.

One note: I originally downloaded on kindle and it's basically unreadable. Probably shouldn't even be available that way.

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Explore the floor of the ocean with these amazing stories! There are so many wrecks out there, and not all of them have been discovered yet. For those that have been found, there are some wonderful things that can be found.
Martin W. Sandler takes us on a journey through several shipwrecks, and the treasures that were found along the ocean floor.

Absolutely enjoyed this book! I love reading about different wrecks, and this book not only covers what was found, but some of the history surrounding the wreck itself.

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Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity.

Learning the science behind the dreams of treasure hunting and discovering Marine Archeaology as a field of study was inspiring

Short Book but provided a great tasting to a career opportunity in the STEM community.
An inspiration for kids who love the shore and returning to schools after a summer at the beach or seeing Avatar 2 and thinking the ocean is neat but can be so much more

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The topic of marine archaeology, where investigation of shipwrecks focuses on the history of the ship’s owner instead of just plundering lost treasure, is told using a compelling narrative nonfiction writing style. Beginning with the 1900 discovery of an ancient Greek ship, to an African slave ship, to the wreckage of explorers in the Arctic, the chronological organization helps readers understand how this study of history developed. The elegant book design includes color photos, sidebars, drawings, and other material that facilitate the understanding of the topic, although there are no maps which would have greatly assisted the reader. Helpful back matter includes source notes, index, bibliography, and brief sections on other notable shipwrecks.

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I suppose this book, complete with the excited exclamation mark in the title (it’s Shipwrecked!, yay!) is written for young readers, but it kept me - or at least my inner child - decently entertained nevertheless.

Shipwrecks apparently can be fascinating as a means to conduct underwater archaeology, a window to the past preserved by the ocean.

Sandler focuses on a few of these: Antikythera shipwreck with its richness of antique statues and a pretty amazing artifact/ancient computer known as the Antikythera Mechanism (Greece, dating from the 1st century BCE), Cape Gelidoniya shipwreck (Turkey, from the Bronze Age around the 13th century BCE), Shinan shipwreck (South Korea, a treasure ship from the 14th century CE), The Mary Rose (Great Britain, the favorite warship of Henry VIII that sunk in 1545 during a battle with the French), São José Paquete de Africa (South Africa, a slave trade ship that sunk in 1794, taking hundreds of innocent captured people with it while the captain got away), The Hunley (USA, the confederate submarine that sunk in 1864, the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat - and to perish doing that), The Erebus and The Terror (the Arctic, Franklin expedition — British ships that were lost in the 1840s while searching for the Northwest Passage), as well as brief mentions of a few other interesting shipwrecks that the readers can research.



“Just before departing, Bass consulted with a number of land archaeologists whose opinions he valued. And he was not happy to hear what they had to say. Most of them told him they were absolutely convinced that archaeology beneath the sea was impossible and could never become an exact science. “Nothing much could be preserved underwater,” they declared, adding that “it’s not possible to execute proper archaeological plans underwater.”

Sandler touches on the beginnings of underwater archaeology here in a pretty engaging way. Apparently sponge divers were the true heroes of the early days of the discipline, having had deep diving experience in the time before specialized equipment. And the more recent aids in underwater archaeology - exosuit, Scuba, sonar - also get a mention. It’s not overly complicated, accessible and with a good selection of photos illustrating the text.

Overall interesting even for readers outside of the target age range. 4 stars.

(And right as I was finishing this review, I found a National Geographic documentary about the Franklin expedition — the one from The Erebus and The Terror ships. Go figure…)
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Thanks to NetGalley and Astra Publishing House for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Shipwrecked! Diving for Hidden Time Capsules on the Ocean Floor by Martin W. Sandler, was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. Shipwrecks are not something I can recall ever reading a book about, however, the interest is always there in how they find them, search them, etc. This book helps a layperson to understand. Further, this book covers many shipwrecks, not just the few everyone had heard about. If you, or someone you buy gifts for is interested in shipwrecks or history, or if you live near water and may want to make a new interest, give this book a read.

4 Stars

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Wonderful, fascinating book for those who love history and archaology. All about interesting and, sometimes, important vessels of the past that have gone down. About underwater diving, investigating and preservation.
I eagerly went from one ship to the next. The section on the Mary Rose, from the time of Henry VIII, is just amazing, so much so that I will definitely get to the museum if I go back to England.
This pre-published copy is such a mess, I have to say, There is not even a picture of the book title. Some passages don't make sense and captions go to what pictures? I wish it had been more finished before sending it to NetGalley.

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This was a fantastic read, so informative, factual, but interesting, and it was so great to read it, along with the kids, they were really interested in the pictures kept them engaged, it doesn’t overcomplicate things and keeps it fresh and interesting. This was wonderful book on shipwrecks and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in shipwrecks the ocean shipping?

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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This was a great juvenile non-fiction book. I liked that it covered other shipwrecks than the Titanic, which is interesting, but already written about extensively. This is a must-buy for public library collections.

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