Wonderful Book of Ships Author:David Roberts The oceans cover seventy percent of the world's surface and for thousands of years people have felt the lure of travel beyond their shores. Many of the earliest small sailing boats were dangerous craft. Fierce storms sometimes wrecked them, drowning everyone on board. But gradually ships became much bigger, and journeys grew longer. The power o... more »f wind in sails gave way to steam, steam to oil and finally to the most modern ships of all, powered by nuclear energy. From reed boats to submarines, this book describes some of the biggest ships, some of the fastest and some of the strangest. The development of the ship is the story of one of the oldest and most successful forms of transport in the world.« less