Carl Douglas – författare

I denna magnifika fotobok får vi följa med dykarna Jonas Dahm och Carl Douglas till de mest spektakulära vraken i Östersjön. Detta unika hav rymmer närmare 100 000 vrak – det kalla vattnet och avsaknaden av skeppsmask har skapat en skattkista för vrakletare. Det är regalskepp från stormaktstiden, ståtliga träskepp från 1700-talet, lastfartyg från 1800-talet och ubåtar från andra världskriget. Ombord på dessa sjunkna skepp har tiden stått stilla – ofta känns det som om besättningen nyss lämnat fartyget. Vraken blir ett slags tidsmaskiner, en märklig blandning av brutal dramatik och det mjukt insomnade.

Dessa fantastiska bilder av vrak har väckt uppmärksamhet över hela världen och de visas här för första gången i riktigt stort format.

In the days of sailing ships, the waters off Britain’s south-western coast could be some of the most treacherous in the world with tidal currents, submerged rocks, storms and murky depths. Thousands of ships were lost there over the centuries. From the remote Isles of Scilly, four generations of the Gibson family documented these shipwrecks in photographs, creating a unique archive of an era when seafaring could mean risking one’s life.

This magnificent book is the largest ever created on the subject, with over 100 exceptional images presented as never before alongside text by historian and diver Carl Douglas and marine archaeologist Björn Hagberg. The result is a work that conveys mankind’s struggle against the elements.

För segelfartyg var vattnen utanför sydvästra England bland de farligaste i världen – tidvattenströmmar, undervattensklippor, stormar och mörker. Tusentals fartyg har gått under här. På de extremt utsatta Scilly-öarna har familjen Gibson i fem generationer dokumenterat dessa skeppsbrott med sina kameror. Resultatet är helt unika bilder som är ödesmättade dokument över en tid då sjöfart ibland var en fråga om liv och död.

Denna storslagna bok är den största i sitt slag som någonsin har gjorts – över 100 enastående bilder presenteras på ett helt nytt sätt. Boken är skriven av historikern och dykaren Carl Douglas tillsammans med marinarkeologen Björn Hagberg. Deras texter skildrar tillsammans med bilderna människans kamp mot elementen.

This magnificent large-format illustrated book takes you down to the most spectacular wrecks in the Baltic Sea. This unique sea holds close toere are nearly 100,000 wrecks on the seabed here – many of them in surprisingly well keptgood condition. The unique qualities of the Baltic, with its cold water and the historic lack of shipworms, has help to preserved the shipwrecks better than anywhere else in the world – thus. This makes the Baltic Sea provides an enthralling irresistible treasure chest trove for divers. There are warships dating from the 17th century, magnificent wooden ships from the 18th century, cargo ships from the 19th century and warships from the Second World War.

On board these sunken ships, time has stood still on board these sunken ships frozen – it often feels as if the crew has only just left the vessel. The wrecks have become like time capsules, a spooky mixture of serene beauty and haunting reminders of many a brutal dramas.

These amazing images of the ghost ships of the Baltic have attracted global attention. This is the first time they have been reproduced in a large format. and appear in this book reproduced really large for the first time.

This is the largest photo book of shipwrecks in the Baltic sea ever published. It is the collector’s edition of this acclaimed book that takes you down to the most spectacular wrecks in the Baltic Sea. The format 48 x 35 centimeters and the weight is almost five kilos. It is printed in a limited edition of 459 individually numbered copies, each signed by the authors.

This unique sea holds close to 100,000 wrecks – many of them surprisingly well kept. The cold water and the historic lack of shipworms has preserved the ships better than anywhere else in the world – thus the Baltic Sea provides an enthralling treasure chest for divers. There are warships from the 17th century, magnificent wooden ships from the 18th century, cargo ships from the 19th century and warships from the Second World War.

On board these sunken ships, time has frozen – it often feels as if the crew has only just left the vessel. The wrecks have become like time capsules, a spooky mixture of serene beauty and haunting reminders of a brutal drama.

These amazing images of the ghost ships of the Baltic have attracted global attention and appear in this book reproduced really large for the first time.

In the days of sailing ships, the waters off Britain’s south-western coast could be some of the most treacherous in the world with tidal currents, submerged rocks, storms and murky depths. Thousands of ships were lost there over the centuries. From the remote Isles of Scilly, four generations of the Gibson family documented these shipwrecks in photographs, creating a unique archive of an era when seafaring could mean risking one’s life.

This magnificent book is the largest ever created on the subject, the format is 48 x 35 centimeters and the weight is almost five kilos. Printed in a limited edition of 1000 with over 100 exceptional images presented as never before alongside text by historian and diver Carl Douglas and marine archaeologist Björn Hagberg. The result is a work that conveys mankind’s struggle against the elements.

Havet har alltid fascinerat människan. Det var havet som tog människor till nya kontinenter och det var havet som möjliggjorde handel och utveckling. Men det var också havet som hotade människor och liv, som var mörkt och stormigt.

I dag uppfattar vi havet som något vackert men historiskt sett sågs alltså havet ofta som farligt. I konsten var skeppsbrott ett vanligt tema där förlisningarna blev en kraftfull metafor för mänsklig utsatthet. Målningarna handlar om rädsla och hjältemod, om hopp och förtvivlan, om liv och död – om den lilla människans kamp mot den stora faran.

Författaren och historikern Carl Douglas har efter succéerna med böckerna Ghostships och Skeppsbrott nu skapat praktverket Abandon Ship – skeppsbrott i konsten. Tillsammans med marinarkeologen Björn Hagberg och vetenskapsjournalisten Martin Widman tar han med läsaren på en flera hundra år lång resa, från medeltidens mytologiska katastrofer via romantikens tragedier till samtidsrealismens förlisningar.

I boken visas närmare sjuttio av konsthistoriens viktigaste och mest intressanta målningar av skeppsbrott – som påfallande ofta har en verklighetsbakgrund. Konstverken återges med högsta kvalitet i stort format, 32 x 24 cm. Inledningen är skriven av konstexperten Christine Riding från National Gallery i London.

”Jag behöver havet eftersom det lär mig”

Pablo Neruda

The sea has always held a special fascination. It carried people to new continents and enabled trade and progress. But the sea, dark and stormy, also represented a threat to human life.

This book is a dramatic, tempestuous, glorious journey through art history. Spectacular paintings have transformed shipwrecks into powerful metaphors for human vulnerability. These works depict fear and bravery, hope and desperation, life and death – and people’s struggle against immense danger. Rocky coastlines and gales can reduce human ambitions to splinters.

Following on from his successful titles Ghost Ships and Shipwreck, also published by Max Ström, author and historian Carl Douglas has joined forces with marine archaeologist Björn Hagberg and science journalist Martin Widman to create this magnificent volume. They take the reader on a journey spanning several centuries, from medieval mythical disasters via Romantic tragedies to shipwrecks in the contemporary realist era. The introduction is written by Christine Riding, head of the curatorial department at London’s National Gallery.