• The Pocket Oxford Guide to Sailing Terms has been abridged by Ian Dean- —himself a keen sailor—from the classic work by Peter Kemp, Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. The slim volume, published by Oxford University Press, price £12.95, retains the essential information of the parent work, in a condensed, corrected and updated form. It is a well laid out guide not only to sailing terms, but also the history of sailing and of such organisations as the RNLI. Simple line drawings further enhance this thoroughly recommended bunkside browser.—N.H.

• First published in 1963, J D Sleightholme's Cruising—A Manual for Small Cruiser Sailing has been re-issued in its fourth edition and remains a useful addition to the bookshelves of any serious sailor. With advice on everything from the right sort of equipment needed to sail a cruising yacht of between 20 and 30ft, to coping with gales and men overboard, the author has brought his many years of experience of boats, sailing and writing about nautical subjects to bear in producing a common-sense practical guide which will not only help the novice, but be of equal worth for the more seasoned sailor.

In only one respect can the book befaulted, in its assertion about the RNLI that "what is not so generally known is that crews are allowed to launch the lifeboat for the purposes of salvage".

This is not true.

On a very few occasions when a lifeboat is already at sea on service, the opportunity arises for a crew to make a salvage claim and to do so is their right by law. However, lifeboat crews' unwillingness to exercise this right is shown by the fact that out of over 3,000 rescue launches annually, the number of claims amounts to only one or two a year. Alifeboat is never launched with salvage as its purpose. Cruising, published by Adlard Coles Ltd., is on sale, price £10.95.—N.H.

• Another two well documented station histories by Jeff Morris. The Story of the Rhyl Lifeboat chronicles its beginnings in 1850, the strong family tradition of its crews (from 1898 to 1921 the coxswain, Joseph Hughes, had no less than six of his sons serving under him in the crew) and, of course, the courageous services by the crews. These range from the days when sailing ships going in and out of Liverpool were driven by gales onto the North Wales coast to the first ever rescue by a lifeboat of a hovercraft in 1962. This booklet can be obtained from Mr J Frost, "Ravenscroft", 14-16 Bath Street, Rhyl, Clwyd, price £1 plus 25p post and packing.

The RNLI first placed a lifeboat at Selsey in 1861 for the protection of the crews of vessels which got stranded on the Ower's Banks and other shoals in the neighbourhood of Selsey Bill. In The Story of the Selsey Lifeboat Jeff Morris relates the history of the station from that date until the present day. The book can be obtained from Mr Charles Ford, 5 Sunnymead Close, Selsey, West Sussex PO20 ODF, price £1.50.—M.G.

• The oceans and the elements can wreak havoc upon even the greatest of ships. In Disasters at Sea Milton H.

Watson provides a complete record of every disaster resulting in the loss of an ocean-going passenger ship this century, including the Titantic in 1912 and the Mikhail Lermontove in 1986. It is an unique record of the perils of the sea and analyses all the causes of disaster and possible means of prevention. By its compilation improvements (and lapses) in safety standards can be clearly charted and with the aid of many previously unpublished photographs the book offers a new insight into the losses of these ships. The publishers are Patrick Stephens Ltd., price £14.95.

• In 1937 the present Stockport Crew of Lifeboat Auxiliaries was formed andto celebrate its 50th anniversary Wallace Lister Barber has written a booklet Unique Crew to record half a century of service to the RNLI. In the beginning there were only three members and one of these pioneers is still with the crew, which now consists of ten members and aims to further the work of the RNLI in any way possible. To do this the crew exercise with regular crews, volunteer members to crew boats on passage from repair yards to stations, undertake duties at two boathouses etc and set up displays and exhibitions, give lectures and slide displays. The crew is the only one of its kind in the country and a fascinating variety of activities is described in this booklet, which costs £1.95 plus 25p post and packing, and can be obtained from Mr Wallace Lister Barber, Flat 1, 12 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport, SK4 4NS. All profits to the RNLI.—M.G..