Set Sail: Fiction and Non-Fiction at Sea

Embark on a literary voyage and explore the vast expanse of the sea and the captivating stories it holds.

In this collection, you'll encounter fiction and non-fiction tales of high-seas adventures, gripping maritime mysteries, and the timeless allure of life on the water. From daring pirates to intrepid sailors, from historic voyages to modern-day odysseys, there's something to captivate every reader's imagination.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. It is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal-a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Written in 1952, this hugely successful novel confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
An epic sea story of Captain Ahab's voyage in pursuit of Moby Dick, a great white whale. It initially received mixed reviews but is now considered one of the Great American Novels and a leading work of American Romanticism.
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
The classic first novel of the epic Aubrey/Maturin series, widely considered "the best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, New York Times).
In The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
In 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry sperm whale, leaving the desperate crew to drift for more than ninety days in three tiny boats. Nathaniel Philbrick uses little-known documents and vivid details about the Nantucket whaling tradition to reveal the chilling facts of this infamous maritime disaster. In the Heart of the Sea, recently adapted into a major feature film starring Chris Hemsworth, is a book for the ages.
Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton
The "exquisitely researched and deeply engrossing" (The New York Times) true survival story of an early polar expedition that went terribly awry—with the ship frozen in ice and the crew trapped inside for the entire sunless, Antarctic winter
The Wager by David Grann
A rousing story of a maritime scandal…Drawing on a trove of firsthand accounts—logbooks, correspondence, diaries, court-martial testimony, and Admiralty and government records—Grann mounts a chilling, vibrant narrative…recounting the tumultuous events in tense detail…A brisk, absorbing history and a no-brainer for fans of the author's suspenseful historical thrillers. — Kirkus, Starred Review