• The Inflatable Boat Book by Kendall McDonald and Malcolm Todd (Pelham Books, £3.75) provides a useful instruction reference for all inflatable boat users and covers a wide field in the present production lines available on the commercial market.

Inflatable boats behave differently in some respects from conventional motorboats and dinghies and their handling and capability provides almost another dimension in seagoing which this book illustrates very well.

French seamen, in particular those in Brittany, contributed much to the acceptance of this unique type of boat.

Professor Bombard used one to cross the Atlantic. The Hospitallers Sauveteurs Bretons, who ran a voluntary lifeboat service before the present national French lifeboat service, used 15' 9" inflatable Zodiac boats to cover the coastal areas between the few remaining conventional lifeboats which were left after the occupation during the 1939-45 war. Captain Cousteau, with the wonderful television programmes on the sea, has brought the inflatable boat to the attention of millions of people all over the world.

There is no doubt that the inflatable boat is established in its own right. In fact, it is only at the beginning of its role at sea; the use of inflatable sponsons, whether attached to a flexible or rigid bottom, will be extended and developed in the future to provide greater ability and safety for those who may use this type of boat for pleasure, work or as an economic rescue unit.—E.D.S.

• Publicity is such an accepted part of modern life that the lack of literature relating the subject to small organisations is surprising. Realising this deficiency, Jim Dudley wrote Promoting the Organisation (International Textbook Co., £3.20) and has produced a first-class book aimed at explaining successful basic publicity, with particular reference to fund raising. The two major factors stressed throughout the book are planning and perseverance.

Each chapter deals with a different aspect of local publicity and explores ways of obtaining the maximum return.

Favourable mention is made of RNLI publicity schemes and the Duckhams school posters and an RNLI press release are reproduced.

The commonsense approach of the book keeps it free from jargon and makes it readily comprehensible.

Having read such a book it is all too easy to think that its content was obvious from the outset. Although this is far from the truth it is a tribute to the author's style: he brings his reader simply and logically to an understanding of his subject.

Everyone concerned with local publicity should find this an inspiring and informative document.—R.K.

• When it comes to the instant portrayal of ships and vital moments of some sea crisis the photographer undoubtedly comes into his own, capturing the very essence of the emergency with a stark reality which somehow tends to escape the artist.

In East Coast Shipwrecks (Wensum Books, £2.95) C. R. Temple has illustrated many of the strandings on the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts with a number of his own striking photographs as well as some older but equally fine examples from earlier times. In addition there is a section giving the histories of the principal lifeboat stations of the same two counties with photographs of the boats and the men who manned them.

Among these, Coxswain Fleming of Gorleston and Coxswain Swan of Lowestoft are still remembered as fine, courageous lifeboatmen; so, of course, is Coxswain Henry Blogg of Cromer, of whom there is a delightful picture taken with his dog Monte, which he rescued from an Italian ship.—E.W.M.

• Portmadog Ships by Ernrys Hughes and Aled Eames (Gwynedd Archives Service, £4) is a detailed and extremely well {Illustrated account of the ships belonging to and visiting this once busy port. The late Emrys Hughes spent a lifetime collecting facts, figures and photographs towards a maritime history of his birth-place. On his death he left a massive volume of records which his widow presented to the Archives Office at Caernarfon. Its popularity among students and mature researchers led the County Archivist to ask Aled Eames,maritime historian of Anglesey, to edit the records for publication, and add the results of further studies. The resulting book contains a wealth of information, some of it rather technical, and a wonderful selection of old photographs of ships, crews, shipyards and quays with maps showing the growth of Portmadog Harbour, together with reproductions of documents one would rarely see. As the port flourished over a fixed period, from 1825 to the first world war, the story is virtually complete although, as Mr Eames states, other official documents have become available since the death of Mr Hughes which will, it is to be hoped, be the subject of a complementary volume.

For anyone with an interest in North Wales shipping, or in the days of the schooners, this book will be a welcome acquisition. With more than 400 pages and nearly 100 illustrations, it is excellent value for the money.—G.E.F.

• The Clyde Cruising Club was formed in 1909 'to gather the scattered cruisers into one organisation and by mutual association foster the love of yachting and encourage and help the younger people to a fuller knowledge and appreciation of the sport'. To this end the club began to accumulate information regarding anchorages and waterways of the west coast of Scotland, and today there can be few yachts sailing in those waters which do not have the CCC's 'Sailing Directions' close at the navigator's hand. Now the club has extended its activities to Orkney. In his preface to Orkney Sailing Directions and Anchorages the editor, Godfrey Vinycomb, says: 'Much information on anchorages in Orkney was gathered by members but in such a complex cruising ground, nearly 300 miles from the Clyde, "local knowledge" takes on a special significance.

These sailing directions could not have been compiled without the fullest cooperation and help from those who live among the islands—coxswains and lifeboat crews, fishermen, masters of commercial craft, coastguards and yachtsmen.' While these directions are not exhaustive, a most valuable addition has undoubtedly been made to navigational literature. From Clyde Cruising Club, S. V. Carrick, Clyde Street, Glasgow Gl 4LN, price £2.50 plus 20p postage.

—J.D.

• What is a boat ? And what makes it work? From America comes The Boat by the editors of Time-Life Books (£4.95) which sets out to answer these questions for the amateur sailor, and does it supremely well. There are no less than 24 pages largely of diagrams to explain in simple terms the intricacies of the art of hull design, followed by equally well illustrated chapters on 'The Push or Pull to Make It Go', rig orengine, and 'A Place for Everything', deck and accommodation layout.

Carleton Mitchell, who for more than 50 years has raced, cruised and written with the best of them, sets the tone of the book in his introduction under the heading 'The Matchless Rewards of Boating'. Talking about the fundamentals that apply to all boats and boatmen he writes: 'Foremost is the concept of safety. The sailor must never forget that no matter how alluring the water or how much at home he may feel on its surface, it is an alien element. The more experienced a seaman becomes, the more careful he is, for he understands the power of the sea and knows how fast its moods can change. He knows, too, that danger lurks not only on the open ocean. . . .

'Possibly the best advice I can pass along to a budding boatman is this: Never fail (o follow the dictates of your own judgement. No matter what others may say, if you don't like the look of the sky, shorten sail when you think you should. Run back to shelter if the engine doesn't sound right. Don't stay overnight in an exposed anchorage if the wind doesn't smell right. You may turn out to have been overcautious, but better that than deep trouble.' To read Carleton Mitchell's beautifully written closing paragraphs is to hear the call of the sea.—J.D.

• Were it not for Gericault's vivid and highly dramatic painting of the survivors of Medusa on their raft it is doubtful whether the tragedy would be remembered today at all. The picture is compulsively emotional but bears little resemblance to the written description of the actual raft, which was a very large, unwieldy and untidy structure on which some 150 survivors sought precarious safety after the French frigate Medusa grounded on a shoal off the west coast of Africa.

In Death Raft (Souvenir Press, £3.60) Alexander McKee has produced a precise and carefully researched account of the people and events linked to the tragedy from which 11 people survived their ordeal on the raft. Much of what happened, both before and after the loss of Medusa, is difficult to credit after the lapse of time and in a world of different values.—E.W.M.

• As an introduction to fishing from North Norfolk, centred round Cromer and Sheringham, Peter J. R. Stibbons has compiled a booklet entitled Crabs and Shannocks. ('Crabs' refer to people of Cromer, 'Shannocks' to people of Sheringham.) Including as he does quotations from such sources as Hakluyt's 'Principal Voyages of the English Nation', 1589, Buckland's Survey of 1875, Letters Patent and old newspapers, as well as considerable detail about the local 19th-century fleet of deep-sea luggers, or 'great boats', Mr Stibbons has set out to draw together information rather than to evaluate; he hopes to encourage others to join him in research in what is to a great extent a history of families. There is a bibliography to take those interested a little further. From P. J. R. Stibbons, 4a Chesterfield Villas, West Street, Cromer, Norfolk, 35p plus 13p postage.—J.D.

• Begin Cruising Under Sail- by Mark Brackenbury (Elliot Right Way Books, a paperfront, 35p) is a simple, inexpensive and very practical handbook for the beginner. It will slip easily into almost anjr pocket so there should be no difficulty in having it to hand for that sudden problem. The publisher's notes suggest that it is a masterpiece 'with the baffling jargon cut out'. But is that such a good thing? Seafaring terminology has a long history behind it and stems from the need for a precise description of every piece of equipment on board and of every action necessary in handlinghandling a vessel under sail. It is very far removed from jargon and every sailing man worth his salt will surely appreciate the language of the craft.

As with nearly all similar books it is difficult to agree with everything the author says. For instance, every cruising vessel must have, not should have, a compass. Nor should the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea be dismissed quite so lightly; it is the duty of the master of any vessel to understand fully his obligations to other vessels and this demands a good working knowledge of the Rule of the Road.

But there is plenty of good advice and good common sense here as well. Well worth the modest price.—E.W.M.

• Here are two more additions to the growing library of station histories, both from the east coast. The Scarborough Lifeboats, by Arthur Godfrey, goes back to 18th-century rescues made by fishermen in their own cobles and brings the story right up to the present lifeboat, /. G. Graves of Sheffield; price 55p, from Hendon Publishing Co. Ltd, Hendon Mill, Nelson, Lancashire BB9 SAD.

In The History and Work of The Walton and Frinton Lifeboat, after a general history and a look at today's station, David Paine, the editor, completes the booklet with more detailed reports of some outstanding services; price 50p plus 13p postage and packing from D. Paine, 2 East Terrace, Waltonon- Naze, Essex.

Both booklets are well illustrated and each contains lists of the station's lifeboats and coxswains.—J.D.

• Mike Peyton's cartoons on sailing have brought him an international reputation, his work appearing in yachting magazines in many countries.

The 88 cartoons in his hilarious little book Come Sailing (Nautical Publishing Co, £1.95) will appeal to weatherbeaten yachtsmen and total iand-lubbers alike, showing us the aspect of the sport which is not usually emphasised at the Earls Court Boat Show. No wonder Mr Peyton was prevented by his publishers from entitling the book 'Don't Come Sailing'.

Reading this book shortly after returning from a week's sailing off France's Atlantic coast, I particularly appreciated the cartoon depicting two sailors in a heavy swell, one leaning over the rail, the other, soup in hand, insisting that 'on the packet it said you would be surprised by the delicate and nourishing flavour'.—A.H.G.

• The Price of Charity by J. P.

Gallagher (£3.80) was reviewed in the autumn issue of THE LIFEBOAT. It is published by Robert Hale and Co., Clerkenwell House, Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R OHT..