Author Bj - Bl
Bjorneboe, Jens (1920-1976)
The Sharks: The History of a Crew and a Shipwreck. Norvik Press, 1992. 241 pages
A dark, psychological novel of storm and mutiny aboard the British ship NEPTUNE, sailing from Manila to Marseilles in 1899 with a cargo of hemp and a secret stash of pearls.
Black, William (1841-1898)
The Strange Adventures of a House-Boat. Harper, 1888. 3 volumes
A love story which takes place on a horse-drawn boat traveling the waterways from Kingston to Newbury..
Blaine, John [Pseud. Harold L. Goodwin] (1914-1990)
The Pirates of Shan. Grosset & Dunlap, 1958. 181 pages
A Rick Brant Electronic Adventure on Spindrift Island, with airplanes, boats and pirates. For young readers.
Blair, Clay (1925-1998) and Joan Blair (1929- )
Scuba! Bantam Books, 1977. 247 pages
Adventurers, sinners and lovers, lured by a fortune in gold dive in the Caribbean.
The Submariners 1 : Mission Tokyo Bay. Bantam Books, 1979. 217 pages
Just before WW II, US submarine SHARK is sent to find out why the Japanese are gathering submarines.
The Submariners 2 : Swordray's First Three Patrols. Bantam Books, 1980. 179 pages
WW II sub adventure. "The sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was barely finished when Commander Hunter Holmes began some of the most savage underwater attacks of the war."
Blake, George (1893-1961)
The Shipbuilders. Faber & Faber, 1935. 384 pages
Study of a Glasgow shipyard hit by the shipbuilding bust in late 1920s, as seen through the eyes of the owner, and a riveter who served as the owner's batman when both were in the British Army in WW I. Never gets to sea, but a fascinating portrait of a vital support maritime industry during the worst of times.
The Constant Star. Collins, 1945. 319 pages
A saga of a powerful ship and shipbuilding concern owned by the Oliphant family. When their fathers die two cousins inherit the firm. Julius believes in tradition and dreams of the perfect clipper ship, which he builds the CONSTANT STAR but Mark is an innovator and the potential of steam and iron drives him. There is plenty of detail and good characterisation in this story which spans from the end of the Napoleonic War through the American Civil War to the culmination of the tea clippers.
Blake, Patrick [pseud. Clive Egleton] (1927-2006)
Double Griffin. Macdonald, 1981. 320 pages
U.S. title: The Skorzeny project. U-Boat plans to bomb Times Square, New York on New Years Eve 1944/5.
Blochman, Lawrence G. (1900-1975)
Midnight Sailing. Harcourt, Brace, 1938. 311 pages
Silk millionaire P.G. Bonner commits suicide after a Senate investigation. He was accused of having secret plans for the latest Navy anti-aircraft gun. Reporter Glen Larkin is assigned to get on board a Japanese freighter that also carries passengers. It's headed for Japan with a load of nitrates for making gunpowder.
Blunden, Godfrey (1906-1996)
Charco Harbour: a novel of unknown seas and a fabled shore passaged with coral reefs and magnetical islands, of shipwreck and a lonely haven; the true story of the last of the great navigators, his bark, and the men in her. Vanguard Press, 1968. 401 pages
Based on James Cook's voyage of exploration 1768-1771 in the ENDEAVOR.