Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History History, John B. Hattendorf, editor in chief, was published by Oxford University Press in 2007. The work is published in four-volumes in print and on-line in the Oxford Digital Library. The encyclopedia is devoted to global maritime history and contains some 1.6 million words in more than 950 articles written by more than 400 authors in nearly 50 different countries.
In summarizing its contents, Oxford University Press states that
The Encyclopedia covers the entire history of seafaring, from ancient Egyptian shipbuilders to the nuclear submarines and supertankers of today. Over nine hundred articles written by leading historians examine all aspects of maritime history, including naval history, shipbuilding, biographies of major figures, navigation and scientific instrumentation, maritime art and literature, commerce and economics, and international law. Placing maritime affairs in their larger historical context, the Encyclopedia shows how seafaring has both reflected and influenced the major economic, cultural, military, and political developments in world history.
In January 2008, the American Library Association at its annual meeting in Philadelphia announced that it would award its Dartmouth Medal to this Encyclopedia. The ALA news release explained:
Of all the titles the Dartmouth Medal Committee considered for this year's award, one left the others in its wake. You might say it floated to the top, or that it swam past the competition. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History is the first English-language scholarly reference log of its kind. Its four volumes hold a cargo of nearly one thousand signed entries and four hundred illustrations. One can scarcely fathom the depths of its contents. It contains all the seafaring topics you may expect “Shipwrecks,” “Navigators,” and “Ballast” and many you may not “Film,” “Terrorism,” and “Religion.” Not only did the international crew of naval, academic, and independent authors admirably achieve their goal of creating an interdisciplinary resource, they also made it fun. This title is destined to be the flagship resource in maritime history for years to come.
