Ships, a 5000 year history told by Brian Lavery:
While being in France and walking trough the streets of Bayonne I saw this book in the window of a bookshop. They had a nautical festival that week and 5 vintage boats down the river on display. So the bookshop rearranged the window for that reason. We were glad to hear about the exhibition (we went there before meeting Mr. MotArt) and to get a present with this book for a friend as well.

The book covers 5000 years of maritime history and adventures in about 400 pages. Loaded with a lot of images and drawings.  Perfect to get some basic knowledge and some inspiration.