Conan, Ball-room Naval Wargaming, Rubber Dinosaurs, and Galleys ....... If you like the ancient world and its technology, you'll love this !

Conan the Barbarian (not the comics, peasant!) was a staple of my teenage years alongside Sven Hazel and Pan Horror books.

A WORLD OF IMAGINATION AND HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS

The Conan books are so vivid partly because they are inspired by real historical material repurposed for sword and scorcery. A world with a map and all its population of different tribes, religions and fabulous cities. If you grow up, eventually, you realise the true history of the world is far wierder and more wonderful than any fantasy - just read Herodotos - and eventually you will come to realise the most exotic themes come together around ancient galleys !




When I began wargaming one aspect was modern naval wargaming with 1/3000 scale models. It was easy to make a battlefield and you did not need many pieces. The downside was the game was boring, usually. At that time it was mostly a lot of dice throwing and using many charts to work out your boiler had a small leak. In recent years I found out about a craze that swept the U.S. during the war years for multiplayer naval wargaming which included both men and women playing in ball-rooms !

These games used a set of rules devised by one Murray Fletcher-Pratt. The game was mathematical but also fun enough to get people playing it on unused ball-room floors. Fletcher Pratt was keen on all things naval and produced the following impresive list of publications !!!

• The Compact History of the United States Navy (1957) OCLC 367782
  
• Empire and the Sea (1946) with Inga Stephens
  
• Fighting Ships of the U.S. Navy (1941) illustrated by Jack Coggins
  
• Fleet Against Japan (1946)
  
• The Navy has Wings; the United States Naval Aviation (1943)
  
• The Navy, a History; the Story of a Service in Action (1938)
  
• The Navy's War (1944)
  
• Night Work: the Story of Task force 39 (1946) OCLC 1492544
  
• Preble's Boys; Commodore Preble and the Birth of American Sea Power (1950) LCCN 50-10765
  
• Sea Power and Today's War (1939) OCLC 1450484
  
• Ships, Men - and Bases (1941) with Frank Knox
  
• A Short History of the Army and Navy (1944)
  

Unfortunately, Fletcher Pratt did not turn his attention to ancient naval matters, but he did start a writers guild, the 'Trapdoor Spiders' in 1944, who produced all kinds of fiction, originally as a way of escaping their wives for a short time! The members of the Trapdoor Spiders were an erudite bunch indeed,  Isaac Asimov, Theodore Sturgeon to name but two.

Sturgeon, Asimov, Carter AND !!!!!! Lionel Casson !!!

Amazingly enough the late, great Lionel Casson was also a member. If you are a galley fan you will know who he is.


Lin Carter produced some Conan stories as a 'posthumous' collaboration with Howard Carter by finishing some Hyperboria stories. He did this in collaboration with another Trapdoor Spider, L.Sprague de Camp. This name I knew originally from the covers of paperbacks about Conan.
Carter and Sprague de Camp were greatly interested in historical themes as well as writing. They collaborated well in completing and extending Robert Howard's oeuvre.

When I started writing this piece I was soon reminded of the Six Degrees of Bacon type game. It is so wierd that so much of what I have been interested in through life is linked together in wierd and wonderful ways. But, again, human brains are machines for pattern recognition and just like the same favourite thing you own turns up in your new girlfriend's apartment does not mean you were meant to be together! Educated middle class writer guys in 40's New York had to meet somewhere....

Anyhow, it is great to feel Conan set me up for sailing on wooden ships and being a galley fan in later life.  Onward...

Sprague de Camp was just as polymath and interesting as the other Trapdoor Spiders. He was a scientist, working in aeronautical engineering, but also interested in history. Galleys are ancient technology and so it was inevitable that he should eventually focus his attention on our favourite topic. He wrote popular science books such as explanations of evolution and energy and power.











One of the most memorable titles is 'Rubber Dinosaurs and Wooden Elephants - a collection of mind boggling essays that jump over a plethora of subjects which reminds me of James Burke's 'Connections' series but more entertaining.







More directly, getting down to galleys, my first contact with Sprague de Camp's ancient history fiction was a book I did not realise was by the same bloke writing Conan stuff. This was 'The Bronze God of Rhodes' . This is a great read with a lot of ancient history and technology in a 'rip-roaring' tale. One cannot take these books too seriously but they are atmospheric and entertaining as well as including informative factual material. Indeed, the eccentric symposium members in this book are said to have been modelled on the Trapdoor Spiders ! (who is who ?).

I did not realise until recently how many of this genre Sprague de Camp produced. They are a real mine of information and ideas - some now outdated - but always entertaining.
These books are a great antidote to getting bored slogging through factual material. The can give your interest a reviving kick and if a gamer then provide nice ideas for situations and scenarios.

The Arrows of Hercules is about inventing catapults in Dionysian Sicily.
The Golden wind is the real sailing one ! About navigating to India and back !
The Elephant for Aristotle is about transporting an elephant from Alexander in India to Athens!

Along with the fiction there is also some great reading about ancient technology. Some now a little dated but Sprague de Camp was such an entertaining writer they are still worth a go.

So, maybe I was doomed from early on to end up interested in ancient galleys. The trail from Conan to pentekonter was inevitable. But following that trail backwards is also interesting when it hits on such a crazy and fertile set of collaborations.

Sprague de Camp, Heinlein and Asimov !

Even better combination...guys girls and galleys (almost never seen in reality)

LOST CAUSES : Abandon hope all ye who enter here...

Having read a few books on ancient galleys and maybe even tried an ancient author's original work in translation you are thirsty for more ? The outlook is poor. The only cure is to 'feed the fever' !

.'.thought you did not but now realise you do'...

Here are some recommendations for books with more depth. Most written as academic studies which can be a struggle if you are not used to the style. You can get a lot out of these books if you persevere.



1) Do not expect to read them in a hurry.

2) Do not expect to understand it all in one reading.

 3) All the footnotes and references DO MATTER. It takes time, but bother to read the numbered notes as you read. These will often explain the point further or give supporting evidence for the author's view. You may, heaven forbid, also discover you really want to read the referenced work - more books, more reading, more enjoyment of the subject  :)

4)Remember you are allowed to disagree with the opinions put forward but facts cannot be changed. You can disagree with an explanation of why the Athenians lost in their Syracusan campaign but your explanation must also accommodate the same facts as any other writer's account. This is why classical studies often proceed slowly. Command of ancient sources is only mastered by a few. On the other hand, a Greek epigraphist may not have been sailing very much and if you have .......

5)It is allowed to be disappointed about the lack of colour plates and reconstructions. This will pass when you realise how little we have remaining and how wild reconstructions can be. Enjoy seeing the original sculpture or vase or coin in a black and white foto. Hopefully taken by a competent photographer and printed in adequate quality.  Despite Osprey's blurb - you cannot have everything!

 

In any event the fantastic thing is that you are reading more widely about a subject which is very rewarding. New discoveries are being made all the time. In archaeology, literary studies and epigraphy and art historical studies. We live in a time when Olympias has been built and sailed ! We can live in hope that a mark II may sail ? Maybe a billionaire will build a 5 or a 10 or a 40 ?
In the meantime we can find out about the ships - how they were built and sailed; about the men who sailed in them - their work, skills and socio-economic positions; about the states that maintained them - the geography and economy and politics of the ancient world; about the warfare which used man-powered vessels which fought by slamming into each other !!!! You could not make it up !!!!!

BOOKS - just put the title into a search engine or book-seller index. Then buy the cheapest seond hand copy you can find or loan it from the library. ( USE LIBRARIES! or they die).

'Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World' by Lionel Casson.
A gripping book. Stuffed with all about ships, sailing and the men who sailed them in the ancient world. He traces the development of the galley and sailing freighters. Un-put-downable. Lots of illustration and footnotes. A great Christmas present request - you will not be speaking to anyone for the rest of the season....!

The Age of the Galley : Conway's History of the Ship
Amazingly, Jan Morris's  book of the year when it came out. It's that good. A collection of papers about everything from origins of the trieres to weather in the Mediterranean. Also covers the later galleys. Read this if you think, as  TMP, that the two are the same. They are not.
You can read one paper and spend a few months thinking about it. This is a book for life.

The Age of Titans by William Murray
Essentially a defence of the thesis that big galleys were made for frontal ramming. But much more besides. All about ship development and rams and harbour sieges.  Murray is the galley champion of the moment. Find his other stuff. I dont agree with his thesis but the book is packed with information and useful appendices which summarise ancient references for every class of galley. And artillery. And ....
See Bill do his stuff here

'Greek Oared Ships'
The book that started it all, maybe. John Morrison's survey of literary and artefactual evidence for ancient Greek galleys. Lots of illustrations and references. This inspired John Coates to think about drawing a real plan for a real trieres, 'Olympias'. Includes discussion of linguistics and obscure references.

Trireme Olympias: The Final Report
The book that ended it all. A collection of papers discussing what was and was not learned from the Olympias project. Weather, beaching, sailing speeds, tactics. Loads to read. Maybe dry to the less enthusiastic.

The Battle of Arginusæ by Debra Hamel
A short book about one battle. The battle of Arginusæ showed Sparta and the Persians that Athens was not yet beaten despite being cornered. Chapter 2 is a near perfect summary of trireme warfare. The book involves the political repercussions of the battle for Athens and the battle is one quarter or so of the book. This book really shows how intricately ancient Greek society was linked to the sea, especially Athens.


The Age of the Dromon by John Pryor and Elizabeth Jeffreys
This is a dense volume about the navy. men, ships and tactics of the Byzantine navy 500-1204AD.

Arabs win a naval victory ? Drom - on.!

It gives a detailed account of the transition to the medieval galea and as such makes a link between the ancient and medieval naval worlds. It includes a translation of the naval manuals of Nicephoros Ouranos 'Peri Thalasomachiae'( About Sea Battles/Naval Operations) , the anonymous ''Naumachika Syntachenta Para Basileios' (arrangements for naval battles for the emperor), Leo VI's 'Naumachika Leontos Basileus' (Emperor Leo's Big Naval Battle Book), and an Arab naval manual of Muhammed Ibn Mankali(mostly nicked from Leo). Plus other source material. Long and deep but packed with interesting material about Greek fire, dromons, castles etc. Oh, and not a photo in sight but some b/w figures.

Russel Meiggs, The Athenian Empire
Less specifically about ships. Meiggs survey of fifth century Athenian history is fantastic in the way it sifts through every scrap of evidence to build a picture of the maritime state. One can just search for battles and ships but the discussions about trade and politics are gripping also. It is a collection of thematic essays rather than a narrative history but maybe one can tire of chronological story telling sometimes and discussions of 'Tribute' or 'Athens Interferences with Allies' broaden and deepen ones appreciation of how the maritime empire functioned. A standard work which feels a bit dated  now but not surpassed for being a one-stop history of Classical Athens. Fifth edition due soon ?


The Ancient Greeks. History and Culture from Archaic Times to the Death of Alexander- Dillon and Garland
 Another thick accumulation of ancient source materials which give a view of ancient Greece well-anchored in histor and not a modern author's fantasy or 'fine narrative writing underpinned by scholarship' as Literary Review said of 'Salamis' by Barry Strauss ( feel the dagger slide in under the ribs there ?)  Mainly politics and wars used to describe Greek history from Archaic times to the death of Alexander. Based on heavily cited ancient sources. One can dip in and out of this book. Essay sinclude gender, slaves and political systems. Happily it includes photos, maps and drawings.

Disappointed it was not a giant rabbit...

Ambush by Rose Mary Sheldon
This book is published by Frontline, part of Pen and Sword. They publish a lot of military stuff but much of it is derivative or dull. This blew my socks off. It is written by a military Colonel and is an original piece of research and well written. Despite placing a lot of emphasis on Homeric literature, despite only having one chapter really about naval warfare, despite being un-illustrated except for maps it is a great read. 'Ambush' is rather broadened-out to include clandestine operations, raids and surprise in general but if you read this you will gain a much deeper picture of ancient warfare in general as well as appreciate the variation in naval operations.
Oh yes, also ties Davis-Hanson's western way of war to a tree and rams it with a trireme at full speed.(nice)


PAPERS IN JOURNALS

Many shorter works exist as papers, which may range from a couple of pages to 50 or so, printed in academic or less-than-academic journals. These may be annuals, biannuals, quarterlies, westerlies , perennials.. etc, Many exist online but many are also hoarded by bastards behind paywalls. Buying a single article can cost 50 dollars or so. Most national library services can get you them if you have the reference to the paper you want. Greek pirate bays have been know  to have relevant stuff steraming out of them in a torrent also, if you know what I mean, nudge , nudge.

.

Most of the above works have many references to journal papers.
The most irritating thing about journal papers is the typing of their references out in a suitable format. I cannot, frankly, be bothered any more to so do and blogs deserve only shorthand I feel. I do not count rivets, have sleepless nights over spelling nor faint at the sight of incorrect punctuation. The important thing is to read interesting stuff. Sometimes it is relevant to a wargame, even. It is a rather sluggish bloodstream that does not race at the reading of  "Sleeswyk, A. W. (1982), A new reconstruction of the Attic trieres and bireme. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 11: 35–46."

Super heroes have too much time on their hands...

 I will put a selection of stuff up somewhere soon after this post is up.

Enjoy reading and learning more about this subject which leads one to understand so much more about the ancient world on land as well as at sea.

'Our' world

No, I haven't got to the end of the shelf yet!

ANCIENT SOURCES

Ancient sources may be translated into stilted English and one may have to read a long way to find a few paragraphs of meaty naval material. It is not really necessary to read original works when so many books exist which sift them for you and present the juicy bits as quotations or footnotes.
That said, in my opinion  there is no substitute for reading material from the ancient world including the background. The whole context of ancient maritime activity is fascinating.

If you want to read these works in the original language go to the Tufts University Perseus Project, which presents cross-referenced and searchable ancient texts with translations.

GREEKS 

HERODOTOS OF HALICARNASSUS (484-430bc) : THE HISTORIES
I am still amazed how many people have not read Herodotos. Every home should have one.
If you have a psychological barrier to dusty old books written thousands of years ago then I am sorry for you. Go back to your airport novels and your (extortionately priced) fantasy game booklets.

For 1 penny (Amazon used listing) you can get a book which includes more and wierder plotlines, personal relationship complexities , drama, blood and battles than ANY modern novel. Called 'the father of lies' by his detractors,  who could not usually be arsed to put stylus to papyrus, Herodotos of Halicarnassus invented written history. It is too much to expect him to have simultaneously invented critical, analytical history, in my opinion, but for us moderns it is awe inspiring to read what an observant and educated tourist and anecdotist wrote 2400 years ago!

In reference to galleys...Herodotos account of the Second Persian War was written within living memory of the events. It is a must-read. (Salamis etc..)

All this for  pennies. (plus postage).

I recommend two editions of The Histories, by Herodotus
 Penguin Classics, Transl. Aubrey de Selincourt, (mine from1976)
 Penquin Classics De Luxe Edition 2015 , Transl. Tom Holland

Well-read

THUCYDIDES(460-400bc) : HISTORY OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
This has become, along with Szun Tzu, a posey reference for ambitious breadheads as well as politics students. Despite this, it remains a reflective, analytical but also skewed, account of an ancient war by a high-ranking, educated participant. Of these there are but a handful surviving. On that ground alone..read it.
In terms of galley warfare, Thucydides commanded a fleet and a ship himself.!!!!!! Of course, we do not get the whole cake. Before you get excited, he did not leave us a field manual for trieres warfare, boo hoo. But it is an exciting and brutal read. He was a rival of Herodotos. Literary jealousy already!

Get the Penguin Classics translation by Rex Warner for a few pence second hand.

You could also get modern commentaries to supplement such as that by (aghem) Donald Kagan
(aghem) 'The Peloponnesian War' , Harper Perennial, (aaaggghem) 2015

XENOPHON (430-354bc) : HELLENICA
I often find myself momentarily wondering ruefully why there is no big film of 'Anabasis' - Xenophon's classic account of the retreat of 10.000 Greek mercenaries  which has a parallel only in the fortunes of the Czech Legion during the Russian Civil War. Then I remember the answer.. do not wish for it..they would create a travesty. 'The Retreat' should be read despite the fact it only has mention of ships at the very end sailing on the long awaited 'thalassa!'. If you have not read it yet do so. It is a window into many alien worlds. The past is not one other country , in the Anabasis it is many.

That aside, Xenphons account of his times in the Hellenica covers the end of the Peleponnesian War.
Read it in Penguin Classics as 'A History of My Times'. Translated by George Cawkwell.

Xenophon famously compared a trieres to both a mill and a country estate.....

Floating country estate ?

Read also his essays on equestrian matters and life of Agesilaus, Cyropedia and Revenues. These works have influenced the modern world so deeply you would be surprised. Find out how yourself.

There is also the modestly titled 'Library of the History of the World' by Diodoros Siceliotes / Diodorus Siculus

This is a wildly colourful history focussed on Sicily where Diodoros lived as a descendant of Greek colonists. It has battle accounts and much detail lacking from other historians he can be cross-referenced with but also a tendency to add 'plausible' detail. Use carefully,.. but he did write closer to the era by two thousand years than us and used sources no longer available to us.

It cannot be bought in a useful edition. Get it from Bill Thayer......

HERE WE PAUSE FOR AN ADVERT...

Lacus Curtius is a website created by Bill Thayer, a translator and engineer, who deserves several medals for his cyclopean work of presenting ancient sources and other reference material about the ancient world. His own travels and commentaries on the geography of the ancient world sit alongside an array of the most important ancient historical materials in translation. I am in awe of his project.

He has all the material I discuss here and much more so you need notpay to access the world of ancient naval warfare after all!


GO THERE AND BROWSE NOW !!!  I would not be surprised if you get lost there for a few hours and never get back to this site today, if ever.


I say no more except that if you have not been there before you are in for a treat and maybe email Bill if you like his site.

ROMANS (and Romanising Greeks)

Total War meets Ben Hur : Unfettered by ancient sources

Polybius a Greek soldier and sailor to some extent. He wrote an account of the Third Punic War which he was witness to, and of the Roman encroachment into the Balkans, Greece and Asia Minor. His close associateion with the Scipio clan and first-hand observation makes his work indispensible even if we can be annoyed ove his failure to describe naval military matter in the detail he affords to land-lubbers. Penguin Classics, Ian Scott Kilvert translating. Mine was 25 pence a long time ago.

Read about the 'raven'

 Livy wrote a history of the early wars of Rome including the Punic Wars and wars in Greece and Asia Minor. Plenty of naval engagements. Lots of politics and lots of battles. Plus the Bachanalian conspiracy - the original 'witch hunt'. Available from Oxford World Classics or Penguin.
Cæsar - arch propogandist. Ironically, for naval matters the best stuff is The Civil War which was probably ghosted by a close associate. Gripping stuff concerning the sieges of Marseille and Alexandria and, of course, 'Pompey and the Pirates'. Penguin.

Plutarch - the arch biographer. A Greek bureaucrat who wrote biographies of Romans and Greeks, paired to compare and contrast their individual qualities and explain the dominance of Rome in his time. The Penquin Classics anthology entitled 'The Rise and Fall of Athens', translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert groups Themistocles, Cimon, Nicias, Alcibiades and Lysander to give perspectives on the most important trieres wars. A few pence second hand. Even dog-eared it is gripping stuff.

Luckily for us, Plutarch still included the warry bits.

OTHERS
There are many fragments and citations from other 'historians' poets and doodlers but leave them for the future when you are deeply hooked.

BOOKS FOR GALLEYPHILES

If all the sea were paper, and all the ships of card..

I realised a little while ago I have a metre or so of books dealing with this obsession.
Maybe I should share with others some of the titles I have found useful and tell something of what particular books are good for.

I will make a few posts with reading tips.

You can find these titles second hand for little money. Personally, I never buy new books when I can get a good second hand copy cheap.
ABE BOOKS
BIBLIO
AMAZON USED LISTINGS etc.

In my opinion stay away from ebooks. They are awkward, require technology to read and do not smell of anything nor bear the evidence of others sharing your passion.OK if you collect Playboy this could be a plus...

Actually, my main bugbear with them is that they do not do figures or photos well and different books require different readers, etc. Bah, humbug !

 My list helps you avoid buying  a pig in a poke..or a glossy cover but in any case find the books online, read reviews and only then buy.

1) TOE-DIPPING BOOKS
Maybe you do not want to launch a trieres yet but you saw Ben Hur (Heston version) or heaven forbid, 300:Rise of an Empire, or a nice model and are thinking about what the topic involves and may offer in return for more study ?

One problem is that you may not know much of ancient writing which forms our historical basis for what we imagine galley warfare to have been like. I guarantee you will be infected with a virus that impels you to read every ancient author you can once you have been exposed to it.

The following books will provide a good introduction to the theme. Non are over-long and non are expensive.

..ancient sources....

The first two books  are easy to read, move along at a good pace and condense a lot of material into a paperback. If you read either of these you will have a good idea what trieres warfare was all about and want to go further.

SALAMIS by Barry Strauss, Arrow Books 2005
Lords of the Sea by John Hale, Viking 2009

It is possible to nit-pick on these titles but their accessibility and general dedication to promotion of the beautiful technology of ancient ships outweighs any detectable glitches. They also allow you to painlessly precis the ancient sources on auto-pilot. Maybe with enough detail so that you do not feel the need to buy any other books.

Love at first sight ?

OLYMPIAS

In my opinion, if you read about Olympias you will get hooked. Be warned!


Building the Trireme by Frank Welsh, Constable 1988
The project from the viewpoint of its backer.

The Athenian Trireme by J.Morrison , J. Coates, N. Rankov, Cambridge 1988
The historical and technical background, progress of the project and conclusions.
If you buy one book about ancient ships, this is the one.

Another Morrison epic..for later..

John Morrison also authored a great introductory book on ancient ships. It is deceptively slim but this one volume can get you far.

THE SHIP, LONG SHIPS AND ROUND SHIPS,
J. Morrison, National Maritime Museum, HMSO 1980

 ROMANS
Two titles by an author who takes his own photos and makes ship models! Very detailed and comprehensive material on the Roman side of things. Either of these two will set you up,,for a Bellum Civile.
Roman Warships by Michael Pitassi, Boydell Press 2011
The Roman Navy  by Michael Pitassi , Seaforth Publishing 2012

OSPREY TITLES

Osprey has a handful of titles which also allow a rapid coverage of the topic. Some are better than others but the principal to remember is that they are starting points, often with a personal viewpoint,  with nice piccies rather than the last or comprehensive word on each subject.

THE GOOD
Pylos and Sphakteria 425bc :      Campaign 261     by William Shepherd
Salamis 480bc :                           Campaign 222     by William Shepherd
Syracuse 415-413bc :                  Campaign  195    by Nic Fields


THE UGLY / THE BAD

Just joking. None are truly bad.  I just have a problem that some titles have better draughtsmanship and understanding of how a ship works than others when it comes to illustration of wooden ships.

Previous blogs on this subject are tagged as OSPREY



Actium 31BC Campaign 211  by Si Sheppard
ANCIENT WARSHIP
REPUBLICAN ROMAN WARSHIP
IMPERIAL ROMAN WARSHIP
ANCIENT GREEK WARSHIP                                              
Go to Osprey to find them HERE

The BIG and Beautiful
Coffee table books on ancient warfare are less common these days but a handful exist that are now old but still good which you MUST get hold of. They are things of beauty and will entertain you for years. Actually my copies do not get onto any coffee table,  they are safely on the shelf or being perused regularly...

Warfare in the Classical World  John Warry, Salamander Books 1980
This book is unique in having fantastic drawings of several types of galley by Jeff Burns who has illustrated many military books for Osprey , too.
Also discussion of ships and naval tactics. And much, much more!

Greece and Rome at War by Peter Connolly, Macdonald 1981
Only a few appearances of warships. But surely you have this already !? Can be got for a son gin paperback edition. Short references and illustrations re. Salamis and the corvus.

Warfare in the Ancient World, Ed. Hackett, Illustrated by Connolly, Sidgwick and Jackson 1989
Short references and illustrations re. Salamis and the corvus.

Lionel Casson

Along with  from Morrison and Coates,  Lionel Casson has produced fantastic writing on ancient ships and seafaring. He began the conjoining of technical archaeological research and ancient sources to flesh-out our understanding of ancient maritime activities

Aside from many more academic works he wrote two very accessible books which are great for the beginner and can easily lead to permanent infection with the galley disease. Warships are covered in both books but also civil craft, development, navigation etc...
Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times by Lionel Casson, British Museum Press 1994
The Ancient Mariners by Lionel Casson, Princeston University Press 1991


I make no secret that I think this subject offers a rich variety of material ranging from ancient history and archaeology to military and commercial history, social history and development, ancient technology and the evolution of wooden ships. The smell of tar and salt water, the splash of oars and the rustle of pages, the thud of a book-sized parcel landing in the postbox and the discovery that you suddenly understand some otherwise enigmatic passages someone wrote more than two thousand years ago. All this and card model ships too!