Farley Mowat had already written a book titled "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float," so he could very easily have called this volume, "The Ship Who Wouldn't Sink."

"The Serpent's Coil" is a companion book to "Grey Seas Under" and continues the story of ocean-going salvage tug operations in the Atlantic. "Grey Seas Under" chronicled the adventures of the tugboat 'Foundation Franklin' before and during World War II. "The Serpent's Coil" takes place after the war and tells the tale of ships battered by the consuming fury of not one but three hurricanes (the "serpent's coil" of the title) in the autumn of 1948.

The author blends mystery, life-and-death adventure, and humor in his tale of rescue and salvage operations on 'the Great Western Ocean.' The mystery centers around the disappearance of so many ex-wartime Liberty freighters in mid-ocean. Most of them were in ballast when they vanished, and it was assumed but never proven that shifting ballast caused the freighters to turn turtle and sink so rapidly that no message could be transmitted on the 'how' or 'why' of their plight.

'Leicester' was an ex-Liberty freighter fitted out in peace-time rig, newly under the command of Captain Hamish Lawson. He met his ship for the first time while she was taking ballast---"a sludge of sand and gravel dredged from the bottom of the [Thames]"---in preparation for a voyage to New York. Lawson had originally been scheduled to take command of another ex-Liberty freighter (called Sam-ships by the sailors, because they were built for the wartime Lend Lease program by 'Uncle Sam'), but the 'Samkey' had disappeared on route to Cuba. "'Leicester' was the twin sister to 'Samkey'; built in the same yards, to the identical design. The only difference was that she was younger by a year..."

Captain Lawson's freighter was halfway between Ireland and Nova Scotia on the Great Circle route to New York when the first storm struck. 'Leicester' rolled more than her Master liked, but she weathered the gale easily enough. His main worry was the ship's malfunctioning radio, without which he couldn't receive weather reports or transmit his own position. The Atlantic was not a good place to be in the middle of the hurricane season, without a radio.

Sure enough on the morning of September 14th, the crew of the 'Leicester' found themselves sailing under another threatening sky:

"Lawson watched the ominous black arch [of the hurricane bar] for a quarter of an hour, and even during this short interval it seemed to grow, humping up from the horizon, spreading east and west. Above it, and around the hemisphere of sky, the high clouds were thickening, growing more opaque. A light, aimless breeze that seemed to come erratically from every point of the compass had begun to play about the ship. Lawson noticed that there were no gulls or other seabirds anywhere in sight."

The Sam-ship tried to dodge the hurricane, but it was much too late for such maneuvers. Within the hour, 'Leicester' found herself enmeshed in the roaring hell of "The Serpent's Coil."

Mowat certainly knows how to tell a suspenseful sea story! The rest of his book describes the travails of 'Leicester' as she founders but does not sink amidst the coils of the first hurricane. Her adventures afterward are entwined with those of the salvage and rescue tugs, 'Foundation Lillian' and 'Foundation Josephine,' plus another, even more savage hurricane that struck while the Sam-ship lay helplessly at what was supposed to be a safe mooring.

"The Serpent's Coil" and its even more exciting companion, "Grey Seas Under" are gripping testaments to the daring and skill of Canada's master seamen. Even the sections of these books that were strictly concerned with salvage operations kept me reading ahead at full steam.

Farley Mowat ,The Dean of the Canadian outdoor Writers, at the top of his form. If you've ever wondered what it was like to work on an Ocean going Tug Boat this is the book for you. Mr. Mowat uses his wartime experience and makes the men and vessels seem to have a life of their own. It's all done in a style that make putting this book down next to impossible. Be sure to have a turtleneck sweater and a steaming mug of Grog available because as you read this account of Maritime Tug's out of Canada you'll be chilled to the bone but kept warm by rapidly turning pages.

True account of North Atlantic deep sea salvage.Men and equipment routinely battle impossible odds and harrowing conditions to save stricken ships. Reads like fiction.

You remember seeing them in the 1950's as children. Your family had one -- the neighbors had one -- and you encountered them everywhere! The classic and sometimes bizarre cars of the chrome and fin-laden 1950's are re-born in this extremely well documented and photographed book. It's not just a book about cars - but captures the period and the business success [and failure] of American automakers at the time they dominated the consumer market. You won't be able to stop turning the pages -- shaking your head -- remembering those cars your young eyes once marveled at. Great price & great book.

This book has beautiful pictures, is a great gift for those who have a passion for classic cars. It is divided in cars from the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, is worth every cent!

This book, writes Jenkins in the preface, is not a definitive biography of Lord Leicester. That much is certainly true. But is it the definitive biography of the romance of Leicester and Elizabeth? Not either. According to Jenkins, the romantic feelings of the couple were real, but Elizabeth was almost too much of a monarch, and too much the traumatized daughter of Anne Boleyn, to give into them on ANY level. Jenkins satisfyingly explains this with much attention to detail, saying what Dudley and other important courtiers gave to the Queen at New Year's for example, and then commenting on the spirit in which the gifts were given and received. And she maintains enough of a distance from her subjects, Elizabeth, and Leicester's relationship to her, to keep the mystery of their romance vivid. One feels a History book about this couple OUGHT to be this detached and reverent. One learns a great deal about the personal likes and dislikes of the great Queen (a very sensitive nose, a passion for flirting, a thirst for power) and reads the reported, but obviously public, dialogue between the couple. "You are like my dog," Elizabeth tells Robin, "whenever people see you they know I am coming." Snippets like this make it understandable that Dudley would have been a bit frustrated with his Queen and his love. On the other hand when Dudley becomes curious about the Queen's relationship to her much younger suitor, the Duc D'Alençon, he asks her if "she is a maid or a woman." The Queen laughs and replies "a maid." Jenkins concludes, to the disappointment of Historical novelists everywhere, that this 'shows he had never deflowered her'. Uhuh, or that he didn't want the entire court to know that he had. That could explain why she laughed before answering. Nonetheless, the book is a gift for its information and insight, particularly into the political world in which Leicester operated.

this was a very good account of robert dudley's life. i found his relationships with queen elizabeth and lettice knollys to be rather fascinating. if you love the elizabethan era, this one will charm you.

EXCELLENT,SUSPENSEFUL WORK FROM ARTHUR LA BERN..........YOU CAN SEE WHY HITCHCOCK WANTED TO ADAPT THIS INTO THE '72 MOVIE,''FRENZY''..........WHILE THIS DOESNT DIFFER TOO MUCH FROM THE FILM,IT DOES HAVE A MORE DOWNBEAT ENDING.........IT'S GOOD TO SEE THIS BACK IN PRINT AFTER ALL THIS TIME!!

Great Book! Plenty of great photos, non-technical but contains plenty of info. Covers: Street Rods, Custom Rods, Musclecars, Factory Rods & Pickups. This book can be re-read many times. Highly Recommended!

Janice Meredith is one of my all time favorite books. I read this book over 30 years ago and would love to read it again. It was part of a school assignment. In the 8th grade Johnny Tremaine was a required reading assignment. Our class was given an assignment to read another historical novel also taking place during the American Revolution. The book Janice Meredith was one of the 20 books we could choose from (if we could find it). It was the only book on the list with a female central character and my local library had a copy of the book in their "old books" section.

The book begins with Janice and her family at home at the beginning of the Revolution. Janice's father is a troy, which means he was a support of the British. The male central character (whose name escapes me, but I'll refer to as Mark)was an indentured servant working for her father. He and Janice are friends, who eventually fall in love, but there are obstacles in the way. For one thing, he leaves the Meredith's family's service before his indenture period is over in order to join the Revolutionary army. Before he leaves he gives Janice a locket. Inside is a picture of a beautiful woman, who the reader and Janice eventually meet.

The book continues with Janice's adventures during the revolution. She meets "Mark" several times throughout the book. Janice also meets many well known historical figures along the way, including George & Martha Washington. "Mark" becomes an officer and is on General Washington's staff.

Janice meets the woman, whose picture is in the locket and is jealous. Eventually, she learns who the woman is. At one point Janice and "Mark" are engaged, but the engagement is broken. Janice's father is an active troy and he becomes a prisioner of the Revolutionary Army. Janice asks "Mark" for his help to save her father. He ends up doing something that could get him in serious trouble himself. He never tells Janice. Her father is free, but the engagement is broken. It is Martha & George Washington, who eventually tell Janice what "Mark" did to save her father and at what risk to himself.

I rate this book "5 star." As I said it is one of my all time favorite books, which I would love to read again. Even after 30 years I remember the book. This is a book for adults and one that parents can feel comfortable giving to a 13 year old to read.

Kings of the Road : A Pictorial History of Trucks is informative and has great pictures. It goes back to the beginning of motorized travel and brings the reader up to the late 90s. If you get goosebumps when seeing a powerful Mack or a sleek Freightliner, give this book a read.

This book gives a fascinating glimpse into the minds and hearts of newspaper reporters. The section of how reporters covered the Black Dahlia murder case was interesting, if not a little disturbing. Very thorough look at L.A. and its newspapers.

Rob Wagner has performed a great and long overdue service. He has chronicled the history of L.A. newspapers in the first half of the 20th Century---a "Front Page" era when L.A. had a half-dozen dailies, with many editions per day. Wagner is to be particularly congratulated for recounting the rise and fall of the original L.A. Daily News, a peach-colored oversized tabloid much revered in its day. The DN, at one time the circulation leader, hosted an array of great writers, from the legendary Matt Weinstock (THE L.A. columnist of his day)to Jack Smith and Jim Murray. The book is painstaking in its research of circulation figures and union struggles---spiced with rollicking anecdotes about great newspapermen (and women) of the day. This is the definitive history of Los Angeles newspapers.

Red Ink, White Lies is an impressive and informative chronicle of the successes and failures of six Los Angeles daily newspapers during an era of the city's fiercest newspaper wars and competitions. Author Rob Wagner (who is a veteran of more than 26 years as a reporter, city editor, managing editor, and night editor) interviewed dozens of newsman and women, resulting in a vivid and candid portrait of prewar and postwar newspaper reporters, including their lifestyle, ethics and professionalism. From celebrity journalism to mob era police corruption, reportage of ethnic minority communities and the "red-baiting" 50s, Red Ink, White Lies is a thoroughly fascinating, insightful contribution to the 20th century history of journalism.