s o m e r e c e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s r e v i e w e d SHIPWRECK! by Ian Dear Published by Batsford at £17.95 ISBN 0713459530 Ian Dear has collected an interesting, if chilling, collection of photographs to illustrate his theme of shipwreck through the ages.

Most of the illustrations are reproduced over at least one page of the book's large format, and many of them occupy a double page spread, all with an extended caption detailing the circumstances surrounding the incident.

While the geographical spread of the photographs has been deliberately confined to UK and nearby continental waters (with the exception of a Spanish tanker blazing furiously off the South African coast) the period covered is as wide as can be managed photographically.

The earliest dated illustration takes the reader back more than 120 years to a Dutch brigantine ashore at Redcar in 1869, while the most recent incidents will be fresh in everyone's mind - who can forget the vivid images of the overturned Herald of Free Enterprise off Zeebrugge or the battered hulk of the Marchioness in the Thames? Although not specifically about the part played by lifeboats in the shipwrecks illustrated there are, inevitably, mentions of the Institution's activities in the text. There is also a poignant link in the photograph of the remains of the Union Star, the casualty to which the Penlee lifeboat had been launched when she was lost with her entire crew in 1981.

In addition to being a fascinating addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in ourmaritime history 'Shipwreck!' also serves as a vivid reminder that although ships and their equipment have changed over the years, the weather, the coastline and the chance of tragedy have not. THE ISLAND FROM WITHIN edited by Roger Sawyer published by Robooks at £14.95 ISBN 09516614 OX The RNLI is one of three charities which will benefit from this intriguing glimpse of the Isle of Wight as it was and how it is today.

Each of the contributors is an expert on his or her subject and either live in or work at the house or institution whose story they tell.

adding to the very real sense of 'belonging' which runs through the volume.

Chapters in the book encompass a wide variety of Island subjects, ranging from the sailing and yachting scene, literary connections, the history of the railways, Victorian fortifications, painters past and present to some of the best known landmarks such as Carisbrooke Castle.

An interesting insight into Island life for anyone with an interest in the area, or who plans to visit it.

With 26 companies sponsoring the book's production and all contributors donating their time and efforts the book is set to add to the fund's of its three chosen charities, all of which share the common aim of saving life.

THE LIFEBOATS OF PEEL by Lesley Quilliam published by Cashtal Books at £8.50 The RNLI's close connection with the Isle of Man is well-known, and this compact book by local author Leslie Quillam is a useful addition to the published works on the island's lifeboat history.

With the station soon to receive a new Mersey class lifeboat and the boathouse being rebuilt to house her, the book's 50p per copy contribution to the rebuilding fund will be a timely one.

Tracing the history of Peel's lifeboat's from the station's foundation in 1828 - and the even earlier lifesaving boats in the area - the author recounts many of the more notable services by the various lifeboats which served the port and also takes in the personalities whose story is interwoven with that of the boats which they manned.

The other side of the coin, as it were, is not forgotten, and readers will learn of the fundraising work at the station and also of the ceremonial occasions such as the naming of new lifeboats.

Well illustrated with modern as well as vintage photographs 'The Lifeboats of Peel' makes interesting reading for those whose interests lie with lifeboats, or with the island which was the home of the Institution's founder. EAST ANGLIA SHIPWRECKS by Stan Jarvis published by Countryside Books at £4.95 ISBN 1 85306 1115 A companion volume to 'Sussex Shipwrecks' (previously reviewed in these pages) 'East Anglia Shipwrecks' tells similar tale about the shallow and dangerous waters off England's eastern seaboard. Twenty seven chapters chronicle the wide variety of ships which have come to grief in the area, beginning with the brig Ann and her fate in the Swin channel in 1739 and ending with the collision between the Speedlink Vanguard and the ferry European Gateway in the mid 1980s. In between one hears of the rescue of the ere w of a pirate radio station by the Sheerness lifeboat Helen Turnbull (unfortunately consistently mis-spelt) and how a tide of oranges washed ashore at Yarmouth from wrecks offshore - twice in a period of 50 years.

Lifeboats figure quite frequently in the author's lively tales, and being a local man (a retired librarian from Chelmsford in Essex) he obviously knows the area and its offshore intricacies well.

SAILING OFF THE BEACH by Alan Watts published by Adlard Coles at £7.99 ISBN 0229 118658 Alan Watt's paperback guide to wind and weather is excellent reading for the increasing number of windsurfers and others 'Sailing Off the Beach'. The author's credentials for writing such a book are impeccable, and an understanding of its contents will give better sailing - and improved safety. BARNACLE TIDE TABLES published by Barnacle Marine A series of six pocket-size booklets covering Harwich and the South East Coast, London Bridge and the Thames Estuary, Dover, Portsmouth and the South Coast, Plymouth and the South West and Swansea nd the Bristol Channel.

The 16-page publications show high and low water and tidal ranges and have tidal corrections for other ports in the area which they cover.

Handy and cheap enough at 80p from chandlers or direct from Barnacle Marine at Blomfield Place, 25 St Botolph's Street, Colchester, Essex..