Sailing library

Six new books worth a read, from astro-navigation to murder mystery

By Nigel Calder, published by Adlard Coles Nautical at £60 When first published in 1990, we gasped at the scale of the task the author had undertaken. Calder crammed in all you need to know to maintain and troubleshoot every mechanical and electrical system on your boat, from seacocks to steering cables, from lubrication to lightning protection, stem to stern, truck to keel.

The fourth edition of this spectacularly useful book contains many updates, including a section on modern electrical systems. Going to sea without this book verges on the irresponsible and, at £60 for 944 pages of rock-solid knowledge, this book represents incredibly good value.