Recs if you like In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex...

microhistory: the intensive historical investigation of a well defined smaller unit of research (such as an event, community, individual or a settlement); it aspires to "ask large questions in small places"

For when you want something more ominous, macabre, or mysterious in taste that also centers on a deeply specific subject. Ranging from the occult to the supernatural to just plain weird and interesting. Expand your knowledge by reading these narrow glimpses into the past.

tales of history's infamous ships and those who sailed them

I mean I feel like this one is pretty self explanatory. cannibalism that happened in real life NOT true crime (mostly)

for anybody else who loved amc's the terror. a mix of fiction and non-fiction exploring both the artic and antarctica. i may also throw in some non-polar naval disasters such as the whaleship essex. i have not read all of these but they're all at least on my tbr

Thanks to alexindex for naming this list! These are books with boats, shipwrecks, and cannibalism. More description in the comments

books where disaster leads to cannibalism (non-apocalypse/dystopian)

In case you were curious at all, life is hard in the Arctic. If you enjoy reading stories about people getting marooned in very (very) cold places and eating their boots, this one's for you.

A mix of fiction and nonfiction books about people being trapped in the ice or stuck at sea and trying to survive against all odds.

ask large questions in small spaces! avoids (but not void of) memoirs/biographies, some case studies, and the macro i'm not a historian or an expert by any means but i am salty. a lot of contemporary lists for microhistory reads contain a lot of books that are absolutely not micro. At. All. think mark kurlansky ("milk", "salt", "cod" etc.), anything that starts with "a short history of [incredibly complex geopolitical event]", or literally any historical account that spans centuries/countries/cultures/individuals. while there is definitely some gray areas and overlap, a good way to attempt to distinguish micro from the macro is macrohistory looks at how an individual/event/object/place changed and influenced the world/society/culture -- an outward expansion of one idea that proliferates time and space. microhistory is the inverse. how did the contemporary society, culture, and world change and influence a specific, tangential individual/place/event? the micro attempts to answer that! so let's reduce the scale of investigation! focus on the ones history would have otherwise forgotten if not for the diligent note takers! we're talking footnotes! anecdotes! indexes! the hot goss! EA-NASIR! macrohistory is about everyone but microhistory is about you and me baby!

Nonfiction books about shipwrecks and survival.

Polymath Training Challenge is a non-fiction reading challenge that has been running on a Hungarian book site for the past 11 years. Each year it has 12 categories that participants have to pick their own nonfiction reads for (incl. memoirs and biographies). I have discovered several amazing nonfiction books through this challenge, so I decided to make a list of the best, and most mind-blowing, of them so far.

nonfiction books focusing on situations where humans find themselves fighting against nature (and sometimes their fellow humans) in hopes of survival

books i consider the best of polar/maritime/mountaineering/general outdoors nonfiction

Davy Jones, Kraken, Flying Dutchman, Ghost Ships, Pirates, Bermuda Triangle, oh my!

Nautical: of relating to sailors, sailing, or ships.

I have not read almost any of these, so sorry if a lot of these aren’t that good lol. There seem to be very few quintessential nautical horror books, but a whole lot of possibly middling ones.

Research material and references from the podcast. Relying heavily on lists made by others.

These are all books set on the sea!

Books relating to the ocean, sailing, sea creatures, ect.

Sea voyages, space missions, and exploration (colonialism, stage one) Suggestions welcome

Shipwreck narratives aren’t just thrill rides. They’re reminders of nature’s power and humanity’s vulnerability. But most of all, they’re deeply hopeful. Even in the worst conditions—cramped rafts, dwindling supplies, scorched islands—someone figures out how to endure. If you’ve ever wanted a dose of courage, or to understand what true grit looks like beyond the buzzword, these books deliver.