Ships and Science

This is a superb volume, and is likely to be regarded in coming years as the starting point of the now fast growing study of the foundations of applied science and engineering. -- Fred M. Walker, Mariner's Mirror Naval architect and historian Larrie Ferreiro set out to understand the history of ship design in the West. He found the first half of the story encapsulated in the remarkable achievement of the French mathematician and astronomer Pierre Bouguer. Ferreiro uses Bouguer's seminal study, Traite du navire (1746), as a window onto ship design in the pre-Industrial era. This authoritative and engaging history leaves one eagerly anticipating its sequel. --Alex Roland, Professor of History, Duke University Naval architecture has been a rarity among the sciences, having no written history worthy of the name--until now. In this book, Larrie Ferreiro has produced a work worthy of the discipline he has practiced and studied with equal ability. For the first time the many and varied theoretical and practical traditions of European ship design have been analyzed as part of the scientific and intellectual world in which they developed. The result is a work of the highest importance, linking science, ships, and sea power. --Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History, King's College London The history of naval architecture is a fascinating adventure. Ferreiro's book takes the reader on a journey through time, exploring how the science and engineering developed. A myriad of topics are included such as the important prerequisite of stability. It is a marvelous voyage of discovery, written in a very readable manner which will appeal to all, from the curious to those of us actively practicing the profession. --Stephen M. Payne OBE, Vice President and Chief Naval Architect, Carnival Corporate Shipbuilding, designer of the Queen Mary 2