Oxford University Press | Barcode: 9780197780756

The Great Museum of the Sea

A Human History of Shipwrecks

Author:	James P. Delgado
Published:	2025
Size:	210 × 140 × 32 mm

£20⁰⁰

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The Sea’s Hidden Museum of Shipwrecks

An immersive journey through maritime history, exploring shipwrecks from antiquity to today and the enduring human fascination with what lies beneath the waves.

The Great Museum of the Sea: A Human History of Shipwrecks takes readers on an enthralling voyage through the depths of maritime history, uncovering the stories, mysteries and meanings of the world’s shipwrecks.

Archaeologist and explorer James P. Delgado draws on decades of underwater expeditions to illuminate how ships meet their end, why they sink, and how their remains continue to shape our understanding of the past. From Titanic and USS Arizona to the slave ship Clotilda, Delgado explores more than a hundred wrecks he has personally studied, revealing what these sunken vessels tell us about human ingenuity, tragedy, and resilience.

The book delves into the many ways people engage with wrecks — as memorials, archaeological sites, sources of inspiration, and, at times, of treasure. Delgado’s perspective as both scholar and diver brings readers beneath the waves and into the heart of discovery, offering a deeply human account of our ongoing relationship with the sea’s lost ships.

Praise for The Great Museum of the Sea

“An encyclopaedic but engaging history of all things related to ships, sailors and their sometimes disastrous ends.” – The Wall Street Journal

“A superb overview of shipwrecks from around the world … Delgado is a master storyteller.” – Andrea Hamel, Current Archaeology

“A truly fascinating book about the human history of shipwrecks.” – Katy Stickland, Practical Boat Owner

About the Author

James P. Delgado is Senior Vice President of SEARCH, Inc., and former Director of Maritime Heritage for NOAA. An archaeologist, author and television presenter, he has led numerous shipwreck expeditions and appears regularly in National Geographic’s Drain the Oceans series.