Nautilus Bookshop
Welcome to the Nautilus Bookshop – a collection of great reads to enjoy at sea and ashore. A partnership between Marine Society and Nautilus International, the bookshop stocks recent releases on a range of maritime topics, including ship histories, seafarer memoirs, studies of the Merchant Navy in wartime and even the occasional nautical novel.
The Book of the Month will feature a special discount during its respective month. All the books here have been reviewed in the Nautilus Telegraph, and new titles are added each month.
If you have a recently-published maritime book that you would like the Nautilus Telegraph to consider for review, please email: [email protected]
Featured products
Hello Sailor! The hidden history of gay life at sea
£38.00
When gays had to be closeted, ships were the only places where homosexual men could not only be out but also camp. And on some liners to the sun and the New World, queens and butches had a ball. They sashayed and minced their way across the world's oceans.
Pulling Together: The Making of a Global Maritime Trade Union
£19.99
The Book of the Month January 2024. This in-depth history will be of great interest to anyone with an interest in maritime or trade union history. The history of Nautilus is also of relevance to all unions organising in an increasingly globalised and unstable labour market. Ilustrated with 50b/w and 20 colour photos.
Meteorology for Seafarers, 6th Edition
£70.00
Meteorology for Seafarers is a technical book which aims to explain the complexities of the atmosphere and provide the information needed for professional seafarers aspiring to first class certificates of competency.
Tugs and Towing Around Britain
£15.99
The book features previously unpublished photographs from the author’s collection accompanied by informative captions.
The Rescue Ships and The Convoys
£25.00
Book of the month December 2024. The Rescue Ships and The Convoys : Saving Lives During The Second World War.
Blowing Hot and Cold
£19.99
Thermotank and the Story of Air Conditioning at Sea. The Book of the month November 2024.
Sailing Ships from Plastic Kits
£25.00
Despite their ease of assembly, plastic models of sailing ships, like the ships themselves, are complicated to build. Heavily illustrated in colour throughout, this book is an ideal addition to the purchase of any plastic ship kit. It describes and demonstrates techniques unique to plastic sailing ship models, allowing the construction of authentic and personally satisfying models.
Sea, Sand and, Katrina
£9.99
The novel follows the challenge of getting "Princess Katrina", seaworthy for the cruising season by Ben Sharpe, a former merchant navy officer and his family who live onboard.
Murder on the Holigan Express
£5.95
Murder on the Holigan Express: It's a Ferry Story
Ocean Liners: A New History
£25.00
Nautilus Telegraph's book of the month for January 2025
Operation Title: Sink the Tirpitz
£22.00
This is a readable and at times moving account of Operation Title, the attempt to disable the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway using human torpedoes or “Chariots”.
Reeds Astro Navigation Tables 2025
£27.00 £30.00
10% OFF. This is the established book of annual astro-navigation tables compiled specifically for the needs of boaters.
Ship of Lost Souls: The Tragic Wreck of the Steamship Valencia
£25.00
NOT YET PUBLISHED. EXPECTED IN FEBRUARY 2025. The Book of the Month February 2025.
One Crew: The RNLI's Official 200-Year History
£22.99
In the 200 years since it was founded, the RNLI has saved more than 144,000 lives. The book of the Month June 2024.
Sea-Time: An Ethnographic Adventure
£39.99
The Book of the month May 2024. It provides a vivid account that will appeal to academics interested in the study of work, workplace change and time. It is accessibly written and will be enjoyed by readers interested in the contemporary shipping industry, and the life and work of seafarers.
Bonnie Geordie : The Life of Tycoon Sir George Elliot
£22.99
George Elliot was a self-made Victorian entrepreneur who rose from humble beginnings as a pit boy in England's north-east to become one of the biggest coal owners in the world.
Short Story, Verse, Commentary
£9.99
Poetry. Entertaining and horizon-expanding short stories, poems and observations.
Ultimate Sailing Adventures : 100 Epic Experiences on the Water, 2nd Edition
£20.00
It is perfect for planning your next sailing adventure, or alternatively allows you to indulge in some armchair sailing in boats and places of your wildest dreams.
A History of Ship Launches and Their Ceremonies
£25.00
The evolution of this practice into today's tradition of breaking a bottle of wine against the bow of a ship before launch, still symbolising sacrifice, is explored as well as the now widely practised custom of inviting ladies to name and launch new ships.
Allied Convoys to Northern Russia, 1941–1945 : Politics, Strategy and Tactics
£25.00
Joint book of the Book of the Month April 2024. This carefully researched work providing an overview of the strategic factors dominating the costly yet war-winning Arctic convoy programme will be welcomed by experts and laymen alike.
Arctic Convoys : Bletchley Park and the War for the Seas
£20.00
Joint book of the Book of the Month April 2024. Between 1941 and 1945, more than eight hundred shiploads of supplies were delivered to the Soviet Union protected by allied naval forces. Each journey was a battle against the elements, with turbulent seas, extreme cold, and the constant dread of torpedoes
A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pirates
£16.99
The Book of the Month March 2024. A True Account tells the unforgettable, interleaved stories of two women in different worlds, both shattering the rules of their own society, both daring to risk everything to go forge their own adventure. 'A feast for the sea-loving senses.' - Sarah Penner, author of The Lost Apothecary
Thomas' Stowage 10th Edition: The Properties and Stowage of Cargoes
£115.00
New Edition published 2024 January
The Pilot Ladder Manual - 2nd Edition (2024)
£45.00 £50.00
This publication details the rules, regulations and procedures that should be followed when preparing for pilot embarkation and disembarkation. It includes relevant excerpts from SOLAS regulations and IMO resolutions. The text is supported by explanatory photographs and diagrams that demonstrate good and bad practice. This second edition supersedes both the basic and advanced editions of Pilot Ladder Manual.
The First British Empire : Global Expansion in the Early Modern Age
£20.69 £22.99
The Book of the month February 2024. The First British Empire is an authoritative, highly readable and substantial account of the origins, growth and transformation of the British Empire from its European beginnings until the aftermath of the American Revolution.