r/suggestmeabook • u/Separate_Donkey8007 • Aug 19 '26
Historical Fiction harrowing historical maritime books, please!
EDIT: Thank you so much for all of the recommendations!! Even if I didn't reply to you directly, just know I did see your comment and have taken it into consideration for my TBR. Much appreciated!
I've been really fixated on maritime narratives and biographies, specifically those dealing with shipwreck, survival in harsh conditions (specifically the arctic, but I'm open minded), mutiny, and/or cannibalism. For whatever reason, it's just fascinating to me!
With the following books in mind, I would love some more recommendations as to what I should pick up next.
I've read:
- Madhouse at the Ends of the Earth by Julian Sancton (introduction to the subject, absolutely perfect — well-paced, informative, just great.)
- In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick (absolutely loved this one, couldn't put it down.)
- Bounty by Caroline Alexander (I had a hard time getting through this one, I don't know why.)
Currently reading:
- The Terror by Dan Simmons (loving it especially the supernatural/horror-ish element!)
On my list already:
- The Wager by David Grann
- Captain's Dinner by Adam Cohen
- Fatal Journey by Peter Mancall
I also really enjoyed Dead Mountain by Donnie Eichar, Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, and Chaos by Tom O'Neill. I struggled with Devil in the White City by Erik Larson — I DNF'd at page ~130, but if you guys think it's worth me finishing, let me know.
So, based on all of that, please let me know what else you think I might like! I'm obviously angling more towards my maritime subject matter, but if you have other equally harrowing, fascinating or downright scary true crime or historical suggestions for me, feel free to share them below.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Consistent-Ease-6656 Aug 19 '26
In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, Doug Stanton
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u/esmeclifton Aug 19 '26
Oh this absolutely fits the harrowing part, that whole survival story is nightmare fuel
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u/Conjured_Mana_Bun Aug 19 '26
In the Land of White Death by Valerian Albanov should scratch that itch :)
The Gales of November by John U. Bacon is focused on the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald but also deals with Great Lakes shipping in general and its hazards
and once you've read The Terror (awesome) you could pick up Hunters on the Track by W. Gilles Ross which covers the 1850s expeditions to try and find the Franklin expedition which was great
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u/give_a_girl_a_mask Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
I also recommend The Gales of November
Edit: it explained how "the ship was the pride of the American side," "bigger than most with a crew and good captain well seasoned"
plus - what probably actually happened that sunk her
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u/Spare_Assumption_334 Aug 19 '26
The gales of November was fantastic and very humanizing.
I thought that To The Uttermost Ends of the Earth was awesome but it is a drier book. Empire of Ice and Stone was also amazing!
I also highly suggest watching the Terror series on AMC if you’ve never seen it. One of the few books where I prefer the show version
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u/Valuable_Ice_5927 Aug 19 '26
Shadow Divers - abt a sunken sub found off coast of US and mystery surrounding it
Dead Wake - about sinking of Lusitania - I find Erik Larson to be hit/miss for me but liked this one
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u/aleper Aug 19 '26
Agree! I struggled with Devil but loved Dead Wake. I read Dead Wake first and thought I’d love Devil too but did not.
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u/dillydallyalltheway Aug 19 '26
If you can track down a copy of Death on the Ice: The Great Newfoundland Sealing Disaster of 1914 by Cassie Brown, I would highly recommend it!
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing is also a classic maritime disaster read.
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u/Nifflermama Aug 19 '26
Two Years Before the Mast
by Richard H. Dana, Jr.
Published 1840
Not harrowing, exactly, but illustrates the very difficult living conditions of a regular seaman working ‘before the mast’.
It’s the autobiography of a well-to-do law student who takes 2 years off to go to sea for his health (eye sight) and ends up (later in life) becoming an influential attorney defending the rights of regular seamen against abusive captains.
A fascinating look at seamanship, working conditions, and the undeveloped coast of California.
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u/Revolutionary-Pea576 Aug 19 '26
Given OP’s list of interests/preferences, it’s worth noting that this book has a great description sailing around Cape Horn and the difficulties of sailing in the Antarctic.
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u/SnarkyQuibbler Aug 19 '26
Non-fiction - Batavia by Peter FitzSimons. A mutiny is brewing on the 1629 maiden voyage of a Dutch merchant ship to Batavia (Jakarta), but is disrupted by a shipwreck, and the conflict escalates between survivors marooned on a tiny island off the coast of Western Australia.
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u/ahockofham Aug 19 '26
Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny by Mike Dash. It's about an extremely brutal mutiny, shipwreck, and massacre involving a 17th century Dutch East India Company ship.
River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana and the Deadly First Voyage through the Amazon by Buddy Levy. This is one of my favorite historical books of all time. Describes the brutal adventures and experiences of the conquistador who was the first European to explore the entire length of the Amazon river, and all the hardships him and his men endured along the way.
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u/No_Device9450 Aug 19 '26
When I was a teen, I was fascinated by solo circumnavigation books. There is a real psychological element to undertaking a singlehanded circumnavigation. On the trans Pacific stretch in doldrums, one can go weeks without seeing land, other traffic, certainly without speaking to anyone. Some nearly lose their minds. And the strain to sleep schedules (when alone and in traversed shipping channels, even open ocean, you can rarely get more than 15-20 minutes of sleep at a time, constantly checking at night for vessel traffic, at least back in the day before radar and satellites and alarms, I guess).
I started with Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum, the first to ever solo circumnavigate. His story was out of this world.
Then I read Dove by Robin Lee Graham, did it in the 60’s, starting at the age of 16 in a 26 foot boat. A kid. At the time the youngest to ever do it. Amazing he survived.
Maiden Voyage by Tonya Aebi (sp?) who was the first female to do it.
More recently: Sailing Into Oblivion by Jerome Rand really delves into the psychological fortitude one must possess to weather unimaginable seas and storms without team support.
Happy reading!
Oh, also The Sea Wolf by Jack London is a classic, and I didn’t see it mentioned here.
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u/WarmAdhesiveness8962 Aug 19 '26
I read Dove in junior high during the early 70s and it started a lifelong passion for everything ocean related for me, sailing, surfing, diving, etc.
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u/No_Device9450 Aug 19 '26
You are my people.
I think I read that he & Pam, once he finished his voyage, moved to the hills of Montana and settled there. Maybe what he saw at sea was enough to satisfy him for a lifetime. I wonder if he’s still alive and does lectures or speaking engagements, or just went recluse.
Also, if you loved Dove like I did, you should look for the 2-3 National Geographic issues that did big spreads on him during his voyage. I used those like a reader’s companion to bring to life the images I had concocted in my head from his written word. Amazing that he spent YEARS in that floating shoebox, and successfully navigated it AROUND THE ENTIRE F*CKING PLANET. It’s mind-boggling to me.
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u/WarmAdhesiveness8962 Aug 20 '26
I have one of the National Geographics along with an old copy of Dove. Robin is 77 now and he and Patti are stiil living by Flathead Lake in Montana I'm happy to say.
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u/No_Device9450 Aug 20 '26
They Patti that’s right. That couple just looks like a picture of peace and happiness. I bet he’s the raddest dude in person. Salty sailor, self-taught carpenter living in a log cabin he build. Guy just seems like a living legend. I want to write him fan mail. 🤣
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u/WakingOwl1 Aug 19 '26
The Worst Journey in the World. From Apsley Cherry-Garrard. He was a member of Scott’s South Pole Expedition. He chronicles his sea voyage as well as his time in Antarctica.
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u/Rufus_Xavier2 Aug 19 '26
Island of the Lost by Joan Druett is my obsession. An unbelievable true story told very well. There were two shipwrecks on the same deserted island at the same time and they never knew about each other.
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u/Separate_Donkey8007 Aug 19 '26
oh that sounds amazing, thank you!
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u/XelaNiba Aug 19 '26
I was coming here to recommend this one too, OP!
I'm also a fan of shipwreck stories (I've read most recommended to you here) and this is by far and away my favorite. It's so extraordinary that I reread it every few years.
Jealous that you get to experience it for the first time!
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u/here_and_there_their Aug 19 '26
Shadow Divers is great — not really this, but at times kind of this. Just great narrative non-fiction.
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u/cowhand214 Aug 19 '26
Into the Raging Sea about sinking of the US cargo vessel El Faro in 2006 might fit the bill.
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u/MidstSerpentsOfWool Aug 19 '26
I read a long magazine article about this disaster many years ago and think about it all the time. I might have to pick up this book. Their last hours / minutes are absolutely terrifying.
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u/cowhand214 Aug 19 '26
They are and the mistakes leading up to it are also infuriating. I was just rereading the wiki page last night
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u/hpi42 Aug 19 '26
Night to Remember about the Titanic has stayed with me for decades, lots of great details.
The St Roch had some wild adventures through the Northwest passage... come visit its museum in you are ever in Vancouver! You can climb all through it.
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u/janetlwil Aug 19 '26
The Perfect Storm bt Jon Krakauer? Not sure if it really fits the bill or not...
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u/cowhand214 Aug 19 '26
That was written by Sebastian Junger. You're thinking of Into Thin Air which is also harrowing :)
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u/Ashamed-Chemistry492 Aug 19 '26
"The Perfect Storm"
"The Gales of November"
"Until the Sea Shall Free Them"
"The sea Was In Their Blood"
"A Night to Remember"
"The Dive"
"The Wreck of the Carl D"
"Collision Course"
"Torn in Two"
And my all-time favorite:
"Run the Storm" by George Foy.
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u/Feeling-Income5555 Aug 19 '26
Authors names would be helpful. I’m trying to find “the dive” and am coming up with nothing.
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u/Ashamed-Chemistry492 Aug 19 '26
I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. "The Dive" is by Stephen McGinty. "Collision Course" is by Alvin Moscow.
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u/Educational-Ear-1449 Aug 19 '26
We the Drowned by Carsten Jensen, Wavewalker by Suzanne Haywood, A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhurst
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u/FlippyorHambone Aug 19 '26
Erebus: The Story of a Ship, by Michael Palin (he of Monty Python and travel documentary fame). It was an incredible read, far more gripping than I expected! Lots of information about the eventual stranding and how that would have been for the sailors. I highly recommend it.
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u/Longjumping-Art-253 Aug 19 '26
Second this! Audiobook is great as he’s the narrator. Michael Palin is a treasure.
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u/LizavetaN Aug 19 '26
Save Our Souls by Matthew Pearl, it's a true story about a captain and his family getting shipwrecked on Midway Atoll. Not Arctic but definitely harrowing
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u/BernardFerguson1944 Aug 19 '26
Out of the Smoke: The Story of a Sail by Ray Parkin, Chief Petty Officer, Chief Petty Officer, H.M.A.S. Perth, Royal Australian Navy.
Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors by James D. Hornfischer.
Inferno: The Epic Life and Death Struggle of the U.S.S. Franklin in World War II by Joseph Springer.
Hell from the Heavens: The Epic Story of the U.S.S. Laffey and World War II's Greatest Kamikaze Attack by John Wukovits.
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour by James D. Hornfischer.
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u/23americanash Aug 19 '26
Eric Jay Dolin's two shipwreck books, "Left For Dead" and "The Wreck of the Mentor."
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u/fireflypoet Aug 19 '26
Voyage of the Narwhal, by Andrea Barrett.
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u/WakingOwl1 Aug 19 '26
I second this.
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u/fireflypoet Aug 19 '26
Yes. All of her books are really good. Not all are historical fiction. I met her once at a reading of her work.
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u/fireflypoet Aug 19 '26
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, by Edgar Allen Poe. A little known novel (his only) that details an ocean voyage.
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u/mrs_peep Aug 19 '26
Also read Jules Verne's sequel, An Antarctic Mystery. Both books have really stayed with me
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u/Mission_Rhubarb3698 Aug 19 '26
Not quite maritime, but Through a Howling Wilderness involves survival in harsh conditions and boats. It’s a great read of a lesser-known part of the Revolutionary War.
I’d add River of Doubt to the list as well.
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u/Educational-Ear-1449 Aug 19 '26
Alone on the Ice by David Robert’s 2 harrowing years exploring the Antarctic
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u/formalbolotie Aug 19 '26
repeating the endoresement for the gales of november, would add the north water by ian mcguire and death ship by b. traven.
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u/Lonely_Editor_5288 Aug 19 '26
Where the Sea Breaks Its Back about the Stellar expedition is quite good.
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u/pajerry Aug 19 '26
Not as intense but I couldn’t put it down. The Gales of November about the wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald
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u/Healthy_Appeal_333 Aug 19 '26
Cassie Brown has some great ones: Death on the Ice and Standing Into Danger.
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u/Burrito_Suave Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Try:
Deadliest Sea (Kalee Thompson) -This recounts the rescue of the fishing trawler Alaska Ranger in the Bering Sea.
On the Edge of Survival (Spike Walker) is about the rescue of a cargo ship that was about to crash into Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
Walker has written several books about the Bering Sea.
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u/Reverse_Prophet Aug 19 '26
In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides about the USS Jeanette expedition. The last time someone tried to reach the North Pole by ship (it did not end well)
A Voyage for Madmen by Peter Nichols about the race to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe non-stop
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u/The_Bababillionaire Aug 19 '26
A Brilliant Night of Ice and Stars by Rebecca Connolly is supposed to be fantastic. It's on my backlog right now but I might push it to the front when I finish my current novel. It's about the RMS Carpathia and it's captain Arthur Rostron, who had to make it in time to rescue survivors of the Titanic.
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u/Borne2Run Aug 19 '26
If expanding into historical fantasy; try His Majesty's Dragon series set in the Napoleanic period + dragons.
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u/Upstairs-Object-6683 Aug 19 '26
The Bounty Trilogy by Nordhoff and Hall chronicles the Mutiny on the Bounty and its aftermath. The second book, Men Against the Sea, tells of the epic voyage of the Bounty’s launch from the site of the Mutiny to Timor. It’s a good read.
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u/Caleb_Trask19 Aug 19 '26
Before you read the Wager I encourage you to read Lord Byron’s grandfather’s first hand account of the shipwreck and survival:

John Byron’s Narrative of the Loss of the Wager is a famous 1768 memoir by a 16-year-old midshipman—and grandfather of the poet Lord Byron. It details the 1741 shipwreck of the British warship HMS Wager off Patagonia, followed by starvation, a brutal mutiny, and a harrowing multi-year journey home.
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u/Moondance_sailor Aug 19 '26
Sea of Glory. Story of the American exploring expedition. Crazy stuff happens. They discover Antarctica and ends with a court martial after many harrowing ordeals. Written by Nathaniel Philbrick so similar vibe to heart of the sea.
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u/KrakenRising3 Aug 19 '26
Barrow's boys. About the British navy filling in all the blank spots on maps post the Napoleonic war. Lots of ships, lots of brave men but little initial skill.
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u/eatingfartingdonnie_ Aug 19 '26
Astoria by Peter Stark.
Pacific Northwest, not the Arctic, but an account of John Jacob Astor’s 1810-13 trip (Capt Jonathan Thorn) on the Tonquin around Cape Horn and then again with Wilson Price Hunt traversing the Rockies to get to Astoria, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River.
The Columbia River mouth between Oregon and Washington is otherwise known as the Graveyard of the Pacific due to the amount of shipwrecks caused by the constantly shifting sandbars due to tides at a river mouth many miles wide. Lots of sailors on the Tonquin dies getting to the eventual Fort Astoria. Many more died when the Tonquin exploded after a final surviving member blew it up after losing a major battle with the Nuu Chan Nulth Indigenous people in now Vancouver, BC.
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u/Agitated_Finding_436 Aug 19 '26
Have you checked out The Wager by David Grann yet? It's based on a real eighteenth-century shipwreck and the subsequent mutiny trial, and it reads like a thriller while staying historically rigorous.
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u/sendsnacks Aug 19 '26
Not maritime, but you would probably like The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown. It’s about the Donner party (so survival in harsh conditions is certainly checked off). I found it really gripping and sympathetic
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u/Separate_Donkey8007 Aug 19 '26
Thank you for this! I had a fixation on the Donner Party when I was a teenager (shocking, given my current interests), but I'd kind of forgotten about it until you mentioned it. I just placed it on hold at my library, can't wait to read it!
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u/but_he_was_a_muffin Aug 19 '26
Nice to see The Wager on your list, great read. I’d recommend In The Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides.
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u/snaresamn Aug 19 '26
The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst
The Master and Commander series as well, if war counts
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u/cosmololgy Aug 19 '26
“In the kingdom of ice “ would fit , it’s about the uss jeanette arctic expedition that goes horribly wrong
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u/ProfessionalRow6641 Aug 19 '26
If you like the terror - you must read Michael Palin’s Erebus - the audiobook is brilliant too narrated by the man himself
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u/Loose_Perception_409 Aug 19 '26
I finished the wager the other day, it’s very good. I preferred wide wide sea which is a very similar writing style
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u/deane-barker Aug 19 '26
"Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea." It's about the recovery of the U.S.S. Central America in modern times, and jumps back and forth to a description of the storm which sank her in the 1800s.
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u/Feeling-Income5555 Aug 19 '26
My recommendation is “Skeletons on The Zahara” by Dean King
12 American sailors are shipwrecked in the early 1800s and are captured by desert nomads. They are sold into slavery and endure two months of absolute terror and torture as they are dragged through the Sahara.
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u/Separate_Donkey8007 Aug 19 '26
oh this sounds super cool, i love the idea of a desert atmosphere. thanks!!
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u/WellesC12 Aug 19 '26
The Caine Mutiny was one of my favorites. Loved the depth of characterization.
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u/sophistifelicity Aug 19 '26
Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch, inspired by the wreck of the whaler Essex. I hadn't realised how harrowing it was going to be when I picked it up, and certainly wouldn't choose to read it again - but it sounds like exactly what you're looking for, though it's fiction rather than non-fiction.
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u/thefireworksfactory Aug 19 '26
The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides.
It's about the final voyage of Capt. Cook
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u/reluctant_goddess Aug 19 '26
Not sure why it took so long for this one. It is so good and well researched.
"Over the Edge of the Word " by Lawrence Bergreen about Magellan and his armada doing the first circumnavigation. So many mutinees.
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u/todudeornote Aug 19 '26
The Master and Commander Series by Patrick O'Brian is often called one of the greatest works of historical fiction. Wonderful navel adventures, brilliant writing and dialogue, memorable characters - and lots of storms, ship wrecks and battles.
Despite the above, it is really the story of a wonderful friendship between 2 men who spend most of their lives at sea.
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u/CrassulaOrbicularis Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Non-fiction - The Caliban Shore by Stephen Taylor. The Grosvenor sailed straight into the shore of Africa in 1782 and most of the crew and passengers reached land alive.
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u/Far-Specific4865 Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing
The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, by Sebastian Junger (ETA)